Monitoring military landscapes and detection of underground man-made critical infrastructures in Cyprus using Earth Observation

Abstract. This paper aims to explore the importance of monitoring military landscapes in Cyprus using Earth Observation. The rising availability of remote sensing data provides adequate opportunities for monitoring military landscapes and detecting underground military man-made structures. In order to study possible differences in the spectral signatures of vegetation so as to be used for the systematic monitoring of military landscapes that comprise underground military structures, field spectroscopy has been used. The detection of underground and ground military structures based on remote sensing data could make a significant contribution to defence and security science. In this paper, underground military structures over vegetated areas were monitored, using both ground and satellite remote sensing data. Several ground measurements have been carried out in military areas, throughout the phenological cycle of plant growth, during 2016–2017. The research was carried out using SVC-HR1024 ground spectroradiometers. Field spectroradiometric measurements were collected and analysed in an effort to identify underground military structures using the spectral profile of the vegetated surface overlying the underground target and the surrounding area, comprising the in situ observations. Multispectral vegetation indices were calculated in order to study their variations over the corresponding vegetation areas, in presence or absence of military underground structures. The results show that Vegetation Indices such as NDVI, SR, OSAVI, DVI and MSR are useful for determining areas where military underground structures are present.

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