Utilization of ERTS-1 data to monitor and classify eutrophication of inland lakes
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Rogers, R. H..
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
The author has identified the following significant results. Computer techniques were applied to process ERTS tapes acquired over coal mining operations in southeastern Ohio on 21 August 1972 and 3 September 1973. ERTS products obtained included geometrically-correct map overlays, at scales from 1:24,000 to 1:250,000, showing stripped earth, partially reclaimed earth, water, and natural vegetation. Computer-generated tables listing the area covered by each land-water category in square kilometers were also produced. By comparing these mapping products, the study demonstrates the capability of ERTS to monitor changes in the extent of stripping and reclamation. NASA C-130 photography acquired on 7 September 1973 when compared with the ERTS products generated from the 3 September 1973 tape established the categorization accuracy to be better than 90%. It is estimated that the stripping and reclamation maps and data were produced from the ERTS CCTs at a tenth of the cost of conventional techniques.
The author has identified the following significant results. Spacecraft data and computer techniques can be used to rapidly map and store onto digital tapes watershed land use information. Software is now available by which this land use information can be rapidly and economically extracted from the tapes and related to coliform counts and other lake contaminants (e.g. phosphorus). These tools are basic elements for determining those land use factors and sources of nutrients that accelerate eutrophication in lakes and reservoirs.
In response to the urgent need for a faster and more economical means of generating strip mine and reclamation maps, a study was conducted to evaluate the suitability of using ERTS computer compatible tape for automatic mapping. The procedure uses computer target spectral recognition techniques as a basis for classification. The area encompassed by this investigation includes five counties in eastern Ohio that comprise nearly 7,500 square kilometers (3,000 square miles). The counties have been disrupted by coal mining since the early 1800's, and strip mining has been practiced in all of them. The environmental effects of strip mining are also discussed.
The author has identified the following significant results. Based on processing ERTS CCTs and ground truth measurements collected on Michigan test site for January through June 1973 the following results are reported: (1) atmospheric transmittance varies from: 70 to 85% in band 4, 77 to 90% in band 5, 80 to 94% in band 6, and 84 to 97% in band 7 for one air mass; (2) a simple technique was established to determine atmospheric scattering seen by ERTS-1 from ground-based measurements of sky radiance. For March this scattering was found to be equivalent to that produced by a target having a reflectance of 11% in band 4, 5% in band 5, 3% in band 6, and 1% in band 7; (3) computer ability to classify targets under various atmospheric conditions was determined. Classification accuracy on some targets (i.e. bare soil, tended grass, etc.) hold up even under the most severe atmospheres encountered, while performance on other targets (trees, urban, rangeland, etc.) degrades rapidly when atmospheric conditions change by the smallest amount.
The author has identified the following significant results. Computer processing techniques were applied to ERTS-1 computer-compatible tape (CCT) data acquired in August 1972 on the Ohio Power Company's coal mining operation in Muskingum County, Ohio. Processing results succeeded in automatically classifying, with an accuracy greater than 90%: (1) stripped earth and major sources of erosion; (2) partially reclaimed areas and minor sources of erosion; (3) water with sedimentation; (4) water without sedimentation; and (5) vegetation. Computer-generated tables listing the area in acres and square kilometers were produced for each target category. Processing results also included geometrically corrected map overlays, one for each target category, drawn on a transparent material by a pen under computer control. Each target category is assigned a distinctive color on the overlay to facilitate interpretation. The overlays, drawn at a scale of 1:250,000 when placed over an AMS map of the same area, immediately provided map locations for each target. These mapping products were generated at a tenth of the cost of conventional mapping techniques.
The author has identified the following significant results. ERTS-1 computer compatible tapes were used as a basis to generate land use maps in lake watersheds in southeastern Michigan. These maps, generated on a repetitive basis, provide information essential to governmental agencies concerned with planning and control of lake eutrophication. The ERTS mapping products included geometrically current land use map overlays at 1:250,000 and 1:48,000 scale and area measurement printouts. The printouts provide, within the watershed boundaries and by land use category, a quantitative measure of the amount of land, in square kilometers and acres. This quantitative measure of land use in watersheds is essential to the development and application of deterministic models, which compute nutrient flows into lakes and establish lake eutrophication rates.
The author has identified the following significant results. In response to the need for a faster, more economical means of producing land use maps, this study evaluated the suitability of using ERTS-1 computer compatible tape (CCT) data as a basis for automatic mapping. Significant findings are: (1) automatic classification accuracy greater than 90% is achieved on categories of deep and shallow water, tended grass, rangeland, extractive (bare earth), urban, forest land, and nonforested wet lands; (2) computer-generated printouts by target class provide a quantitative measure of land use; and (3) the generation of map overlays showing land use from ERTS-1 CCTs offers a significant breakthrough in the rate at which land use maps are generated. Rather than uncorrected classified imagery or computer line printer outputs, the processing results in geometrically-corrected computer-driven pen drawing of land categories, drawn on a transparent material at a scale specified by the operator. These map overlays are economically produced and provide an efficient means of rapidly updating maps showing land use.
Using computer processing techniques, it is possible to produce geometrically-corrected maps of the coal strip mines in East-Central Ohio by utilizing ERTS-1 CCTs. Several target categories can be drawn by a computer-controlled pen on film that will accurately overlay a base map of any scale selected by the operator. For each overlay, the computer can generate a table that shows the area of each target category in square kilometers, acres, or percent of total area.
A technique is described by which ERTS investigators can obtain and utilize solar and atmospheric parameters to transform spacecraft radiance measurements to absolute target reflectance signatures. A radiant power measuring instrument (RPMI) and its use in determining atmospheric paramaters needed for ground truth are discussed. The procedures used and results achieved in processing ERTS CCTs to correct for atmospheric parameters to obtain imagery are reviewed. Examples are given which demonstrate the nature and magnitude of atmospheric effects on computer classification programs.
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The author has identified the following significant results. Results achieved by ERTS-Atmospheric Experiment PR303, whose objective is to establish a radiometric calibration technique, are reported. This technique, which determines and removes solar and atmospheric parameters that degrade the radiometric fidelity of ERTS-1 data, transforms the ERTS-1 sensor radiance measurements to absolute target reflectance signatures. A radiant power measuring instrument and its use in determining atmospheric parameters needed for ground truth are discussed. The procedures used and results achieved in machine processing ERTS-1 computer -compatible tapes and atmospheric parameters to obtain target reflectance are reviewed.
The author has identified the following significant results. Significant findings are: (1) one-acre lakes and one-acre islands are detectable; (2)removal of atmospheric parameters derived from RPMI measurements show test lakes to have reflectances of 3.1 to 5.5% in band 4 and 0.3 to 2.3% in band 5; (3) failure to remove reflectance caused by atmosphere results in errors up to 500% in computing lake reflectance from ERTS-1 data; (4) in band 4, up to seven reflectance levels were observed in test lakes; (5) reflectance patterns have been displayed on a color-coded TV monitor and on computer-generated gray scales; (6) deep and shallow water can be separated by a trained photointerpreter and automatic machine processing, with estimates of water depth possible in some cases; (7) RPMI provides direct spectral signature measurements of lakes and lake features such as algal scums and floating plants; (8) a method is reported for obtaining lake color, as estimated by Forel-Ule standards, from ERTS-1 data; (9) a strong correlation between browner water color, diminishing water transparency; and (10) classifying lake eutrophication by observation of surface scums or macrophytes in shallow water seems straightforward.
Significant findings during this report period are: (1) The feasibility of using techniques for obtaining and using atmospheric parameter to transform ERTS data into absolute target reflectance was demonstrated. (2) Ground-truth instrumentation must have a dynamic range of 100,000 for obtaining the full set of atmospheric parameters encountered in the field. (3) Atmospheric transmittance for January through May 1973 varied from 13 to 18 percent in the ERTS bands. (4) Energy scattered to the spacecraft from the atmosphere for the March overflight was equivalent to that produced by a target having a reflectance of 11% in band 4, 5% in band 5, 3% in band 6, and 1% in band 7. (5) This atmospheric radiance varies as a function of sun zenith angle (scatter angle) and is predicted to change by 30% for sun angles at the latitude of the Michigan test site. (6) If not removed from spacecraft measurements before computing reflectance of surface targets, this radiance is a major source of error.
The author has identified the following significant results. A technique is described by which an ERTS investigator can obtain absolute target reflectances by correcting spacecraft radiance measurements for variable target irradiance, atmospheric attenuation, and atmospheric backscatter. A simple measuring instrument and the necessary atmospheric measurements are discussed, and examples demonstrate the nature and magnitude of the atmospheric corrections. Preliminary results indicate that the radiant power measuring instrument will provide one technique for calibrating ERTS-1 data. The March 27, 1973 mission was significant in the NASA C-130 aircraft and ERTS-1 simultaneously passed over the test sites where RPMI's were being deployed to measure solar and atmospheric parameters and site reflectance.
Radiometric calibration technique for correcting ERTS-1 data for solar and atmospheric effects
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
There are no author-identified significant results in this report. The radiant power measuring instrument is a rugged, hand-carried instrument which provides an ERTS investigator with a capability of obtaining radiometric measurements needed to determine solar and atmospheric parameters that affect the ERTS radiance measurements. With these parameters, ERTS data can be transformed into absolute target reflectance signatures, making accurate unambiguous interpretations possible.