The radiometric normalization of multitemporal Thematic Mapper imagery of the midlands of Ireland - a case study

Two Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) scenes of the same area of the midlands of Ireland were required to be radiometrically normalized. Standard techniques were reviewed and considered unsuitable. A hybrid approach was adopted that used linear transformation functions. As part of this approach, a novel thresholding-based method for extracting reference data from a land cover class with sub-pixel scale elements was developed. This method was shown to be robust with a consistency of ca - 1 digital number (DN) being achievable in the extracted reference data. A procedure for removing pixels influenced by thin cloud and associated shadow was included. The radiometric normalization approach produced acceptable Root Mean Square Errors in the range 0.8-2.5 DN. Whereas the strategies and methodologies developed were appropriate to the particular environment, the developmental process may serve as a template for analysts working in similar environments elsewhere.

[1]  J. Campbell Introduction to remote sensing , 1987 .

[2]  William J. Volchok,et al.  Radiometric scene normalization using pseudoinvariant features , 1988 .

[3]  Eric F. Lambin,et al.  Change Detection at Multiple Temporal Scales: Seasonal and Annual Variations in Landscape Variables , 1996 .

[4]  P. Chavez An improved dark-object subtraction technique for atmospheric scattering correction of multispectral data , 1988 .

[5]  Eugene McGovern,et al.  Remotely sensed satellite imagery as an information source for industrial peatlands management. , 2000 .

[6]  V. Caselles,et al.  An alternative simple approach to estimate atmospheric correction in multitemporal studies , 1989 .

[7]  Robert K. Vincent,et al.  An ERTS multispectral scanner experiment for mapping iron compounds. , 1972 .

[8]  P. Chavez Image-Based Atmospheric Corrections - Revisited and Improved , 1996 .

[9]  K. Rutchey,et al.  Inland Wetland Change Detection in the Everglades Water Conservation Area 2A Using a Time Series of Normalized Remotely Sensed Data , 1995 .

[10]  Eric P. Crist,et al.  A Physically-Based Transformation of Thematic Mapper Data---The TM Tasseled Cap , 1984, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[11]  Joon Heo,et al.  A Standardized Radiometric Normalization Method for Change Detection Using Remotely Sensed Imagery , 2000 .

[12]  R. Kauth,et al.  The tasselled cap - A graphic description of the spectral-temporal development of agricultural crops as seen by Landsat , 1976 .

[13]  Christopher D. Elvidge,et al.  Relative radiometric normalization of Landsat Multispectral Scanner data using an automatic scattergram-controlled regression , 1998 .

[14]  R. N. Fraser,et al.  Multispectral remote sensing of turbidity among Nebraska Sand Hills lakes , 1998 .

[15]  Anupma Prakash,et al.  Land-use mapping and change detection in a coal mining area - a case study in the Jharia coalfield, India , 1998 .