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Remote Sens., Volume 10, Issue 10 (October 2018) – 169 articles

Cover Story (view full-size image): Warming of the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes and the observed changes in boreal forest areas affect the global surface albedo and climate. This study looks at the melt seasons of land areas between 40°N and 80°N over the years from 1982 to 2015. The analysis is based on optical satellite data. The results show that the changes in surface albedo already begin before the start of the melt. The largest absolute changes in pre-melt-season albedo are concentrated in the areas of the boreal forest, while the pre-melt albedo of tundra remains unchanged. Trends in melt season timing are also consistent over large areas. The changes result in longer and shorter melt seasons, as well as changes in the timing of the melt, depending on the area. The changes in albedo are more closely linked to changes in vegetation, whereas the changes in melt season timing are linked to changes in climate. View this paper.
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19 pages, 18505 KiB  
Article
The Global Mangrove Watch—A New 2010 Global Baseline of Mangrove Extent
by Pete Bunting, Ake Rosenqvist, Richard M. Lucas, Lisa-Maria Rebelo, Lammert Hilarides, Nathan Thomas, Andy Hardy, Takuya Itoh, Masanobu Shimada and C. Max Finlayson
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1669; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101669 - 22 Oct 2018
Cited by 409 | Viewed by 28358
Abstract
This study presents a new global baseline of mangrove extent for 2010 and has been released as the first output of the Global Mangrove Watch (GMW) initiative. This is the first study to apply a globally consistent and automated method for mapping mangroves, [...] Read more.
This study presents a new global baseline of mangrove extent for 2010 and has been released as the first output of the Global Mangrove Watch (GMW) initiative. This is the first study to apply a globally consistent and automated method for mapping mangroves, identifying a global extent of 137,600 km 2 . The overall accuracy for mangrove extent was 94.0% with a 99% likelihood that the true value is between 93.6–94.5%, using 53,878 accuracy points across 20 sites distributed globally. Using the geographic regions of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Asia has the highest proportion of mangroves with 38.7% of the global total, while Latin America and the Caribbean have 20.3%, Africa has 20.0%, Oceania has 11.9%, North America has 8.4% and the European Overseas Territories have 0.7%. The methodology developed is primarily based on the classification of ALOS PALSAR and Landsat sensor data, where a habitat mask was first generated, within which the classification of mangrove was undertaken using the Extremely Randomized Trees classifier. This new globally consistent baseline will also form the basis of a mangrove monitoring system using JAXA JERS-1 SAR, ALOS PALSAR and ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 radar data to assess mangrove change from 1996 to the present. However, when using the product, users should note that a minimum mapping unit of 1 ha is recommended and that the error increases in regions of disturbance and where narrow strips or smaller fragmented areas of mangroves are present. Artefacts due to cloud cover and the Landsat-7 SLC-off error are also present in some areas, particularly regions of West Africa due to the lack of Landsat-5 data and persistence cloud cover. In the future, consideration will be given to the production of a new global baseline based on 10 m Sentinel-2 composites. Full article
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22 pages, 2865 KiB  
Article
Ultra-Light Aircraft-Based Hyperspectral and Colour-Infrared Imaging to Identify Deciduous Tree Species in an Urban Environment
by Gintautas Mozgeris, Vytautė Juodkienė, Donatas Jonikavičius, Lina Straigytė, Sébastien Gadal and Walid Ouerghemmi
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1668; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101668 - 22 Oct 2018
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5672
Abstract
One may consider the application of remote sensing as a trade-off between the imaging platforms, sensors, and data gathering and processing techniques. This study addresses the potential of hyperspectral imaging using ultra-light aircraft for vegetation species mapping in an urban environment, exploring both [...] Read more.
One may consider the application of remote sensing as a trade-off between the imaging platforms, sensors, and data gathering and processing techniques. This study addresses the potential of hyperspectral imaging using ultra-light aircraft for vegetation species mapping in an urban environment, exploring both the engineering and scientific aspects related to imaging platform design and image classification methods. An imaging system based on simultaneous use of Rikola frame format hyperspectral and Nikon D800E adopted colour infrared cameras installed onboard a Bekas X32 manned ultra-light aircraft is introduced. Two test imaging flight missions were conducted in July of 2015 and September of 2016 over a 4000 ha area in Kaunas City, Lithuania. Sixteen and 64 spectral bands in 2015 and 2016, respectively, in a spectral range of 500–900 nm were recorded with colour infrared images. Three research questions were explored assessing the identification of six deciduous tree species: (1) Pre-treatment of spectral features for classification, (2) testing five conventional machine learning classifiers, and (3) fusion of hyperspectral and colour infrared images. Classification performance was assessed by applying leave-one-out cross-validation at the individual crown level and using as a reference at least 100 field inventoried trees for each species. The best-performing classification algorithm—multilayer perceptron, using all spectral properties extracted from the hyperspectral images—resulted in a moderate classification accuracy. The overall classification accuracy was 63%, Cohen’s Kappa was 0.54, and the species-specific classification accuracies were in the range of 51–72%. Hyperspectral images resulted in significantly better tree species classification ability than the colour infrared images and simultaneous use of spectral properties extracted from hyperspectral and colour infrared images improved slightly the accuracy over the 2015 image. Even though classifications using hyperspectral data cubes of 64 bands resulted in relatively larger accuracies than with 16 bands, classification error matrices were not statistically different. Alternative imaging platforms (like an unmanned aerial vehicle and a Cessna 172 aircraft) and settings of the flights were discussed using simulated imaging projects assuming the same study area and field of application. Ultra-light aircraft-based hyperspectral and colour-infrared imaging was considered to be a technically and economically sound solution for urban green space inventories to facilitate tree mapping, characterization, and monitoring. Full article
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17 pages, 8036 KiB  
Article
Laboratory Measurements of Subsurface Spatial Moisture Content by Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) Diffraction and Reflection Imaging of Agricultural Soils
by Omer Shamir, Naftaly Goldshleger, Uri Basson and Moshe Reshef
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1667; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101667 - 22 Oct 2018
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4398
Abstract
Soil moisture content (SMC) down to the root zone is a major factor for the efficient cultivation of agricultural crops, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Precise SMC can maximize crop yields (both quality and quantity), prevent crop damage, and decrease irrigation expenses [...] Read more.
Soil moisture content (SMC) down to the root zone is a major factor for the efficient cultivation of agricultural crops, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Precise SMC can maximize crop yields (both quality and quantity), prevent crop damage, and decrease irrigation expenses and water waste, among other benefits. This study focuses on the subsurface spatial electromagnetic mapping of physical properties, mainly moisture content, using a ground-penetrating radar (GPR). In the laboratory, GPR measurements were carried out using an 800 MHz central-frequency antenna and conducted in soil boxes with loess soil type (calcic haploxeralf) from the northern Negev, hamra soil type (typic rhodoxeralf) from the Sharon coastal plain, and grumusol soil type (typic chromoxerets) from the Jezreel valley, Israel. These measurements enabled highly accurate, close-to-real-time evaluations of physical soil qualities (i.e., wave velocity and dielectric constant) connected to SMC. A mixture model based mainly on soil texture, porosity, and effective dielectric constant (permittivity) was developed to measure the subsurface spatial volumetric soil moisture content (VSMC) for a wide range of moisture contents. The analysis of the travel times for GPR reflection and diffraction waves enabled calculating electromagnetic velocities, effective dielectric constants, and spatial SMC under laboratory conditions, where the required penetration depth is low (root zone). The average VSMC was determined with an average accuracy of ±1.5% and was correlated to a standard oven-drying method, making this spatial method useful for agricultural practice and for the design of irrigation plans for different interfaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Subsurface Sensing Technologies)
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25 pages, 8854 KiB  
Article
Modelling the Vertical Distribution of Phytoplankton Biomass in the Mediterranean Sea from Satellite Data: A Neural Network Approach
by Michela Sammartino, Salvatore Marullo, Rosalia Santoleri and Michele Scardi
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1666; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101666 - 21 Oct 2018
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5048
Abstract
Knowledge of the vertical structure of the bio-chemical properties of the ocean is crucial for the estimation of primary production, phytoplankton distribution, and biological modelling. The vertical profiles of chlorophyll-a (Chla) are available via in situ measurements that are usually quite rare [...] Read more.
Knowledge of the vertical structure of the bio-chemical properties of the ocean is crucial for the estimation of primary production, phytoplankton distribution, and biological modelling. The vertical profiles of chlorophyll-a (Chla) are available via in situ measurements that are usually quite rare and not uniformly distributed in space and time. Therefore, obtaining estimates of the vertical profile of the Chla field from surface observations is a new challenge. In this study, we employed an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to reconstruct the 3-Dimensional (3D) Chla field in the Mediterranean Sea from surface satellite estimates. This technique is able to reproduce the highly nonlinear nature of the relationship between different input variables. A large in situ dataset of temperature and Chla calibrated fluorescence profiles, covering almost all Mediterranean Sea seasonal conditions, was used for the training and test of the network. To separate sources of errors due to surface Chla and temperature satellite estimates, from errors due to the ANN itself, the method was first applied using in situ surface data and then using satellite data. In both cases, the validation against in situ observations shows comparable statistical results with respect to the training, highlighting the feasibility of applying an ANN to infer the vertical Chla field from surface in situ and satellite estimates. We also analyzed the usefulness of our approach to resolve the Chla prediction at small temporal scales (e.g., day) by comparing it with the most widely used Mediterranean climatology (MEDATLAS). The results demonstrated that, generally, our method is able to reproduce the most reliable profile of Chla from synoptical satellite observations, thus resolving finer spatial and temporal scales with respect to climatology, which can be crucial for several marine applications. We demonstrated that our 3D reconstructed Chla field could represent a valid alternative to overcome the absence or discontinuity of in situ sampling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Ocean Colour)
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27 pages, 11436 KiB  
Article
Nationwide Projection of Rice Yield Using a Crop Model Integrated with Geostationary Satellite Imagery: A Case Study in South Korea
by Seungtaek Jeong, Jonghan Ko and Jong-Min Yeom
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1665; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101665 - 21 Oct 2018
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4328
Abstract
The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) of the Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) increases the chance of acquiring images with greater clarity eight times a day and is equipped with spectral bands suitable for monitoring crop yield in the national scale with [...] Read more.
The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) of the Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) increases the chance of acquiring images with greater clarity eight times a day and is equipped with spectral bands suitable for monitoring crop yield in the national scale with a spatial resolution of 500 m. The objectives of this study were to classify nationwide paddy fields and to project rice (Oryza sativa) yield and production using the grid-based GRAMI-rice model and GOCI satellite products over South Korea from 2011 to 2014. Solar insolation and temperatures were obtained from COMS and the Korea local analysis and prediction systems for model inputs, respectively. The paddy fields and transplanting dates were estimated by using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance and land cover products. The crop model was calibrated using observed yield data in 11 counties and was applied to 62 counties in South Korea. The overall accuracies of the estimated paddy fields using MODIS data ranged from 89.5% to 90.2%. The simulated rice yields statistically agreed with the observed yields with mean errors of −0.07 to +0.10 ton ha−1, root-mean-square errors of 0.219 to 0.451 ton ha−1, and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiencies of 0.241 to 0.733 in four years, respectively. According to paired t-tests (α = 0.05), the simulated and observed rice yields were not significantly different. These results demonstrate the possible development of a crop information delivery system that can classify land cover, simulate crop yield, and monitor regional crop production on a national scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing in Agriculture and Vegetation)
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26 pages, 7571 KiB  
Article
Change Detection Based on Multi-Feature Clustering Using Differential Evolution for Landsat Imagery
by Mi Song, Yanfei Zhong and Ailong Ma
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1664; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101664 - 21 Oct 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3782
Abstract
Change detection (CD) of natural land cover is important for environmental protection and to maintain an ecological balance. The Landsat series of satellites provide continuous observation of the Earth’s surface and is sensitive to reflection of water, soil and vegetation. It offers fine [...] Read more.
Change detection (CD) of natural land cover is important for environmental protection and to maintain an ecological balance. The Landsat series of satellites provide continuous observation of the Earth’s surface and is sensitive to reflection of water, soil and vegetation. It offers fine spatial resolutions (15–80 m) and short revisit times (16–18 days). Therefore, Landsat imagery is suitable for monitoring natural land cover changes. Clustering-based CD methods using evolutionary algorithms (EAs) can be applied to Landsat images to obtain optimal changed and unchanged clustering centers (clusters) with minimum clustering index. However, they directly analyze difference image (DI), which finds itself subject to interference by Gaussian noise and local brightness distortion in Landsat data, resulting in false alarms in detection results. In order to reduce image interferences and improve CD accuracy, we proposed an unsupervised CD method based on multi-feature clustering using the differential evolution algorithm (M-DECD) for Landsat Imagery. First, according to characteristics of Landsat data, a multi-feature space is constructed with three elements: Wiener de-noising, detail enhancement, and structural similarity. Then, a CD method based on differential evolution (DE) algorithm and fuzzy clustering is proposed to obtain global optimal clusters in the multi-feature space, and generate a binary change map (CM). In addition, the control parameters of the DE algorithm are adjusted to improve the robustness of M-DECD. The experimental results obtained with four Landsat datasets confirm the effectiveness of M-DECD. Compared with the results of conventional methods and the current state-of-the-art methods based on evolutionary clustering, the detection accuracies of the M-DECD on the Mexico dataset and the Sardinia dataset are very close to the best results. The accuracies of the M-DECD in the Alaska dataset and the large Canada dataset increased by about 3.3% and 11.9%, respectively. This indicates that multiple features are suitable for Landsat images and the DE algorithm is effective in searching for an optimal CD result. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing Image Processing)
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20 pages, 7183 KiB  
Article
Upscaling Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence from an Instantaneous to Daily Scale Gives an Improved Estimation of the Gross Primary Productivity
by Jiaochan Hu, Liangyun Liu, Jian Guo, Shanshan Du and Xinjie Liu
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1663; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101663 - 21 Oct 2018
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 4882
Abstract
Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is closely linked to the photosynthesis of plants and has the potential to estimate gross primary production (GPP) at different temporal and spatial scales. However, remotely sensed SIF at a ground or space level is usually instantaneous, which cannot [...] Read more.
Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is closely linked to the photosynthesis of plants and has the potential to estimate gross primary production (GPP) at different temporal and spatial scales. However, remotely sensed SIF at a ground or space level is usually instantaneous, which cannot represent the daily total SIF. The temporal mismatch between instantaneous SIF (SIFinst) and daily GPP (GPPdaily) impacts their correlation across space and time. Previous studies have upscaled SIFinst to the daily scale based on the diurnal cycle in the cosine of the solar zenith angle ( cos ( SZA ) ) to correct the effects of latitude and length of the day on the variations in the SIF-GPP correlation. However, the important effects of diurnal weather changes due to cloud and atmospheric scattering were not considered. In this study, we present a SIF upscaling method using photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) as a driving variable. First, a conversion factor (i.e., the ratio of the instantaneous PAR (PARinst) to daily PAR (PARdaily)) was used to upscale in-situ SIF measurements from the instantaneous to daily scale. Then, the performance of the SIF upscaling method was evaluated under changing weather conditions and different latitudes using continuous tower-based measurements at two sites. The results prove that our PAR-based method can reduce not only latitude-dependent but also the weather-dependent variations in the SIF-GPP model. Specifically, the PAR-based method gave a more accurate prediction of diurnal and daily SIF (SIFdaily) than the cos ( SZA ) -based method, with decreased relative root mean square error (RRMSE) values from 42.2% to 25.6% at half-hour intervals and from 25.4% to 13.3% at daily intervals. Moreover, the PAR-based upscaled SIFdaily had a stronger correlation with the daily absorbed PAR (APAR) than both the SIFinst and cos ( SZA ) -based upscaled SIFdaily, especially for cloudy days with a coefficient of determination (R2) that increased from approximately 0.5 to 0.8. Finally, the PAR-based SIFdaily was linked to GPPdaily and compared to the SIFinst or cos ( SZA ) -based SIFdaily. The results indicate that the SIF-GPP correlation can obviously be improved, with an increased R2 from approximately 0.65 to 0.75. Our study confirms the importance of upscaling SIF from the instantaneous to daily scale when linking SIF with GPP and emphasizes the need to take diurnal weather changes into account for SIF temporal upscaling. Full article
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15 pages, 1805 KiB  
Article
Using Single- and Multi-Date UAV and Satellite Imagery to Accurately Monitor Invasive Knotweed Species
by François-Marie Martin, Jana Müllerová, Laurent Borgniet, Fanny Dommanget, Vincent Breton and André Evette
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1662; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101662 - 20 Oct 2018
Cited by 51 | Viewed by 6173
Abstract
Understanding the spatial dynamics of invasive alien plants is a growing concern for many scientists and land managers hoping to effectively tackle invasions or mitigate their impacts. Consequently, there is an urgent need for the development of efficient tools for large scale mapping [...] Read more.
Understanding the spatial dynamics of invasive alien plants is a growing concern for many scientists and land managers hoping to effectively tackle invasions or mitigate their impacts. Consequently, there is an urgent need for the development of efficient tools for large scale mapping of invasive plant populations and the monitoring of colonization fronts. Remote sensing using very high resolution satellite and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery is increasingly considered for such purposes. Here, we assessed the potential of several single- and multi-date indices derived from satellite and UAV imagery (i.e., UAV-generated Canopy Height Models—CHMs; and Bi-Temporal Band Ratios—BTBRs) for the detection and mapping of the highly problematic Asian knotweeds (Fallopia japonica; Fallopia × bohemica) in two different landscapes (i.e., open vs. highly heterogeneous areas). The idea was to develop a simple classification procedure using the Random Forest classifier in eCognition, usable in various contexts and requiring little training to be used by non-experts. We also rationalized errors of omission by applying simple “buffer” boundaries around knotweed predictions to know if heterogeneity across multi-date images could lead to unfairly harsh accuracy assessment and, therefore, ill-advised decisions. Although our “crisp” satellite results were rather average, our UAV classifications achieved high detection accuracies. Multi-date spectral indices and CHMs consistently improved classification results of both datasets. To the best of our knowledge, it was the first time that UAV-generated CHMs were used to map invasive plants and their use substantially facilitated knotweed detection in heterogeneous vegetation contexts. Additionally, the “buffer” boundary results showed detection rates often exceeding 90–95% for both satellite and UAV images, suggesting that classical accuracy assessments were overly conservative. Considering these results, it seems that knotweed can be satisfactorily mapped and monitored via remote sensing with moderate time and money investment but that the choice of the most appropriate method will depend on the landscape context and the spatial scale of the invaded area. Full article
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24 pages, 11617 KiB  
Article
Application of a Three-Dimensional Radiative Transfer Model to Retrieve the Species Composition of a Mixed Forest Stand from Canopy Reflected Radiation
by Natalia Levashova, Dmitry Lukyanenko, Yulia Mukhartova and Alexander Olchev
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1661; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101661 - 20 Oct 2018
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5213
Abstract
The paper introduces a three-dimensional model to derive the spatial patterns of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) reflected and absorbed by a non-uniform forest canopy with a multi-species structure, as well as a model algorithm application to retrieve forest canopy composition from reflected PAR [...] Read more.
The paper introduces a three-dimensional model to derive the spatial patterns of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) reflected and absorbed by a non-uniform forest canopy with a multi-species structure, as well as a model algorithm application to retrieve forest canopy composition from reflected PAR measured along some trajectory above the forest stand. This radiative transfer model is based on steady-state transport equations, initially suggested by Ross, and considers the radiative transfer as a function of the structure of individual trees and forest canopy, optical properties of photosynthesizing and non-photosynthesizing parts of the different tree species, soil reflection, and the ratio of incoming direct and diffuse solar radiation. Numerical experiments showed that reflected solar radiation of a typical mixed forest stand consisting of coniferous and deciduous tree species was strongly governed by canopy structure, soil properties and sun elevation. The suggested algorithm based on the developed model allows for retrieving the proportion of different tree species in a mixed forest stand from measured canopy reflection coefficients. The method accuracy strictly depends on the number of points for canopy reflection measurements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Radiative Transfer Modelling and Applications in Remote Sensing)
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22 pages, 3256 KiB  
Article
Airborne Laser Scanning Cartography of On-Site Carbon Stocks as a Basis for the Silviculture of Pinus Halepensis Plantations
by Rafael Mª Navarro-Cerrillo, Joaquín Duque-Lazo, Carlos Rodríguez-Vallejo, Mª Ángeles Varo-Martínez and Guillermo Palacios-Rodríguez
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1660; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101660 - 19 Oct 2018
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4093
Abstract
Forest managers are interested in forest-monitoring strategies using low density Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS). However, little research has used ALS to estimate soil organic carbon (SOC) as a criterion for operational thinning. Our objective was to compare three different thinning intensities in terms [...] Read more.
Forest managers are interested in forest-monitoring strategies using low density Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS). However, little research has used ALS to estimate soil organic carbon (SOC) as a criterion for operational thinning. Our objective was to compare three different thinning intensities in terms of the on-site C stock after 13 years (2004–2017) and to develop models of biomass (Wt, Mg ha−1) and SOC (Mg ha−1) in Pinus halepensis forest, based on low density ALS in southern Spain. ALS was performed for the area and stand metrics were measured within 83 plots. Non-parametric kNN models were developed to estimate Wt and SOC. The overall C stock was significantly higher in plots subjected to heavy or moderate thinning (101.17 Mg ha−1 and 100.94 Mg ha−1, respectively) than in the control plots (91.83 Mg ha−1). The best Wt and SOC models provided R2 values of 0.82 (Wt, MSNPP) and 0.82 (SOC-S10, RAW). The study area will be able to stock 134,850 Mg of C under a non-intervention scenario and 157,958 Mg of C under the heavy thinning scenario. High-resolution cartography of the predicted C stock is useful for silvicultural planning and may be used for proper management to increase C sequestration in dry P. halepensis forests. Full article
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20 pages, 4336 KiB  
Article
Prior Season Crop Type Masks for Winter Wheat Yield Forecasting: A US Case Study
by Inbal Becker-Reshef, Belen Franch, Brian Barker, Emilie Murphy, Andres Santamaria-Artigas, Michael Humber, Sergii Skakun and Eric Vermote
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1659; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101659 - 19 Oct 2018
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4495
Abstract
Monitoring and forecasting crop yields is a critical component of understanding and better addressing global food security challenges. Detailed spatial information on crop-type distribution is fundamental for in-season crop condition monitoring and yields forecasting over large agricultural areas, as it enables the extraction [...] Read more.
Monitoring and forecasting crop yields is a critical component of understanding and better addressing global food security challenges. Detailed spatial information on crop-type distribution is fundamental for in-season crop condition monitoring and yields forecasting over large agricultural areas, as it enables the extraction of crop-specific signals. Yet, the availability of such data within the growing season is often limited. Within this context, this study seeks to develop a practical approach to extract a crop-specific signal for yield forecasting in cases where crop rotations are prevalent, and detailed in-season information on crop type distribution is not available. We investigated the possibility of accurately forecasting winter wheat yields by using a counter-intuitive approach, which coarsens the spatial resolution of out-of-date detailed winter wheat masks and uses them in combination with easily accessibly coarse spatial resolution remotely sensed time series data. The main idea is to explore an optimal spatial resolution at which crop type changes will be negligible due to crop rotation (so a previous seasons’ mask, which is more readily available can be used) and an informative signal can be extracted, so it can be correlated to crop yields. The study was carried out in the United States of America (USA) and utilized multiple years of NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) detailed wheat masks, and a regression-based winter wheat yield model. The results indicate that, in places where crop rotations were prevalent, coarsening the spatial scale of a crop type mask from the previous season resulted in a constant per-pixel wheat proportion over multiple seasons. This enables the consistent extraction of a crop-specific vegetation index time series that can be used for in-season monitoring and yield estimation over multiple years using a single mask. In the case of the USA, using a moderate resolution crop type mask from a previous season aggregated to 5 km resolution, resulted in a 0.7% tradeoff in accuracy relative to the control case where annually-updated detailed crop-type masks were available. These findings suggest that when detailed in-season data is not available, winter wheat yield can be accurately forecasted (within 10%) prior to harvest using a single, prior season crop mask and coarse resolution Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing in Agriculture and Vegetation)
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14 pages, 9243 KiB  
Article
Using Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory Method for the Height of F2 Peak Forecasting from Ionosonde Measurements in the Australian Region
by Andong Hu and Kefei Zhang
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1658; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101658 - 19 Oct 2018
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3445 | Correction
Abstract
The height of F2 peak (hmF2) is an essential ionospheric parameter and its variations can reflect both the earth magnetic and solar activities. Therefore, reliable prediction of hmF2 is important for the study of space, such as solar wind and extreme weather events. [...] Read more.
The height of F2 peak (hmF2) is an essential ionospheric parameter and its variations can reflect both the earth magnetic and solar activities. Therefore, reliable prediction of hmF2 is important for the study of space, such as solar wind and extreme weather events. However, most current models are unable to forecast the variation of the ionosphere effectively since real-time measurements are required as model inputs. In this study, a new Australian regional hmF2 forecast model was developed by using ionosonde measurements and the bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (bi-LSTM) method. The hmF2 value in the next hour can be predicted using the data from the past five hours at the same location. The inputs chosen from a location of interest include month of the year, local time (LT), K p , F 10 . 7 and hmF2 as an independent variable vector. The independent variable vectors in the immediate past five hours are considered as an independent variable set, which is used as an input of the new Australian regional hmF2 forecast model developed for the prediction of hmF2 in the hour to come. The performance of the new model developed is evaluated by comparing with those from other popular models, such as the AMTB, Shubin, ANN and LSTM models. Results showed that: (1) the new model can substantially outperform all the other four models. (2) Compared to the LSTM model, the new model is proven to be more robust and rapidly convergent. The mew model also outperforms that of the ANN model by around 30%. (3) the minimum sample number for the bi-LSTM method (i.e., 2000) to converge is about 50% less than that is required for the LSTM method (i.e., 3000). (4) Compared to the Shubin model, the bi-LSTM method can effectively forecast the hmF2 values up to 5 h. This research is a first attempt at using the deep learning-based method for the application of the ionospheric prediction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Atmospheric Remote Sensing)
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22 pages, 3952 KiB  
Article
Mapping Crop Residue and Tillage Intensity Using WorldView-3 Satellite Shortwave Infrared Residue Indices
by W. Dean Hively, Brian T. Lamb, Craig S. T. Daughtry, Jacob Shermeyer, Gregory W. McCarty and Miguel Quemada
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1657; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101657 - 18 Oct 2018
Cited by 62 | Viewed by 10458
Abstract
Crop residues serve many important functions in agricultural conservation including preserving soil moisture, building soil organic carbon, and preventing erosion. Percent crop residue cover on a field surface reflects the outcome of tillage intensity and crop management practices. Previous studies using proximal hyperspectral [...] Read more.
Crop residues serve many important functions in agricultural conservation including preserving soil moisture, building soil organic carbon, and preventing erosion. Percent crop residue cover on a field surface reflects the outcome of tillage intensity and crop management practices. Previous studies using proximal hyperspectral remote sensing have demonstrated accurate measurement of percent residue cover using residue indices that characterize cellulose and lignin absorption features found between 2100 nm and 2300 nm in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The 2014 launch of the WorldView-3 (WV3) satellite has now provided a space-borne platform for the collection of narrow band SWIR reflectance imagery capable of measuring these cellulose and lignin absorption features. In this study, WorldView-3 SWIR imagery (14 May 2015) was acquired over farmland on the Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, USA), was converted to surface reflectance, and eight different SWIR reflectance indices were calculated. On-farm photographic sampling was used to measure percent residue cover at a total of 174 locations in 10 agricultural fields, ranging from plow-till to continuous no-till management, and these in situ measurements were used to develop percent residue cover prediction models from the SWIR indices using both polynomial and linear least squares regressions. Analysis was limited to agricultural fields with minimal green vegetation (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index < 0.3) due to expected interference of vegetation with the SWIR indices. In the resulting residue prediction models, spectrally narrow residue indices including the Shortwave Infrared Normalized Difference Residue Index (SINDRI) and the Lignin Cellulose Absorption Index (LCA) were determined to be more accurate than spectrally broad Landsat-compatible indices such as the Normalized Difference Tillage Index (NDTI), as determined by respective R2 values of 0.94, 0.92, and 0.84 and respective residual mean squared errors (RMSE) of 7.15, 8.40, and 12.00. Additionally, SINDRI and LCA were more resistant to interference from low levels of green vegetation. The model with the highest correlation (2nd order polynomial SINDRI, R2 = 0.94) was used to convert the SWIR imagery into a map of crop residue cover for non-vegetated agricultural fields throughout the imagery extent, describing the distribution of tillage intensity within the farm landscape. WorldView-3 satellite imagery provides spectrally narrow SWIR reflectance measurements that show utility for a robust mapping of crop residue cover. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantitative Remote Sensing of Land Surface Variables)
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19 pages, 2117 KiB  
Article
Mapping and Forecasting Onsets of Harmful Algal Blooms Using MODIS Data over Coastal Waters Surrounding Charlotte County, Florida
by Sita Karki, Mohamed Sultan, Racha Elkadiri and Tamer Elbayoumi
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1656; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101656 - 18 Oct 2018
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 7538
Abstract
Over the past two decades, persistent occurrences of harmful algal blooms (HAB; Karenia brevis) have been reported in Charlotte County, southwestern Florida. We developed data-driven models that rely on spatiotemporal remote sensing and field data to identify factors controlling HAB propagation, provide [...] Read more.
Over the past two decades, persistent occurrences of harmful algal blooms (HAB; Karenia brevis) have been reported in Charlotte County, southwestern Florida. We developed data-driven models that rely on spatiotemporal remote sensing and field data to identify factors controlling HAB propagation, provide a same-day distribution (nowcasting), and forecast their occurrences up to three days in advance. We constructed multivariate regression models using historical HAB occurrences (213 events reported from January 2010 to October 2017) compiled by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and validated the models against a subset (20%) of the historical events. The models were designed to capture the onset of the HABs instead of those that developed days earlier and continued thereafter. A prototype of an early warning system was developed through a threefold exercise. The first step involved the automatic downloading and processing of daily Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua products using SeaDAS ocean color processing software to extract temporal and spatial variations of remote sensing-based variables over the study area. The second step involved the development of a multivariate regression model for same-day mapping of HABs and similar subsequent models for forecasting HAB occurrences one, two, and three days in advance. Eleven remote sensing variables and two non-remote sensing variables were used as inputs for the generated models. In the third and final step, model outputs (same-day and forecasted distribution of HABs) were posted automatically on a web map. Our findings include: (1) the variables most indicative of the timing of bloom propagation are bathymetry, euphotic depth, wind direction, sea surface temperature (SST), ocean chlorophyll three-band algorithm for MODIS [chlorophyll-a OC3M] and distance from the river mouth, and (2) the model predictions were 90% successful for same-day mapping and 65%, 72% and 71% for the one-, two- and three-day advance predictions, respectively. The adopted methodologies are reliable at a local scale, dependent on readily available remote sensing data, and cost-effective and thus could potentially be used to map and forecast algal bloom occurrences in data-scarce regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantitative Remote Sensing of Land Surface Variables)
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22 pages, 4633 KiB  
Article
Glint Removal Assessment to Estimate the Remote Sensing Reflectance in Inland Waters with Widely Differing Optical Properties
by Nariane Bernardo, Enner Alcântara, Fernanda Watanabe, Thanan Rodrigues, Alisson Carmo, Ana Gomes and Caroline Andrade
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1655; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101655 - 18 Oct 2018
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4139
Abstract
The quality control of remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) is a challenging task in remote sensing applications, mainly in the retrieval of accurate in situ measurements carried out in optically complex aquatic systems. One of the main challenges is related to [...] Read more.
The quality control of remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) is a challenging task in remote sensing applications, mainly in the retrieval of accurate in situ measurements carried out in optically complex aquatic systems. One of the main challenges is related to glint effect into the in situ measurements. Our study evaluates four different methods to reduce the glint effect from the Rrs spectra collected in cascade reservoirs with widely differing optical properties. The first (i) method adopts a constant coefficient for skylight correction (ρ) for any geometry viewing of in situ measurements and wind speed lower than 5 m·s−1; (ii) the second uses a look-up-table with variable ρ values accordingly to viewing geometry acquisition and wind speed; (iii) the third method is based on hyperspectral optimization to produce a spectral glint correction, and (iv) computes ρ as a function of wind speed. The glint effect corrected Rrs spectra were assessed using HydroLight simulations. The results showed that using the glint correction with spectral ρ achieved the lowest errors, however, in a Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) dominated environment with no remarkable chlorophyll-a concentrations, the best method was the second. Besides, the results with spectral glint correction reduced almost 30% of errors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Inland Waters and Their Catchments)
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15 pages, 3437 KiB  
Article
Near Real-Time Extracting Wildfire Spread Rate from Himawari-8 Satellite Data
by Xiangzhuo Liu, Binbin He, Xingwen Quan, Marta Yebra, Shi Qiu, Changming Yin, Zhanmang Liao and Hongguo Zhang
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1654; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101654 - 17 Oct 2018
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 8208
Abstract
Fire Spread Rate (FSR) can indicate how fast a fire is spreading, which is especially helpful for wildfire rescue and management. Historically, images obtained from sun-orbiting satellites such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) were used to detect active fire and burned area [...] Read more.
Fire Spread Rate (FSR) can indicate how fast a fire is spreading, which is especially helpful for wildfire rescue and management. Historically, images obtained from sun-orbiting satellites such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) were used to detect active fire and burned area at the large spatial scale. However, the daily revisit cycles make them inherently unable to extract FSR in near real­-time (hourly or less). We argue that the Himawari-8, a next generation geostationary satellite with a 10-min temporal resolution and 0.5–2 km spatial resolution, may have the potential for near real-time FSR extraction. To that end, we propose a novel method (named H8-FSR) for near real-time FSR extraction based on the Himawari-8 data. The method first defines the centroid of the burned area as the fire center and then the near real-time FSR is extracted by timely computing the movement rate of the fire center. As a case study, the method was applied to the Esperance bushfire that broke out on 17 November, 2015, in Western Australia. Compared with the estimated FSR using the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Grassland Fire Spread (GFS) model, H8-FSR achieved favorable performance with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.54, mean bias error of –0.75 m/s, mean absolute percent error of 33.20% and root mean square error of 1.17 m/s, respectively. These results demonstrated that the Himawari-8 data are valuable for near real-time FSR extraction, and also suggested that the proposed method could be potentially applicable to other next generation geostationary satellite data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Wildfire)
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16 pages, 5916 KiB  
Article
Wavelet-Based Correlation Identification of Scales and Locations between Landscape Patterns and Topography in Urban-Rural Profiles: Case of the Jilin City, China
by Qiong Wu, Fengxiang Guo and Hongqing Li
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1653; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101653 - 17 Oct 2018
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3573
Abstract
Landscapes display overlapping sets of correlations in different regions at different spatial scales, and these correlations can be delineated by pattern analysis. This study identified the correlations between landscape pattern and topography at various scales and locations in urban-rural profiles from Jilin City, [...] Read more.
Landscapes display overlapping sets of correlations in different regions at different spatial scales, and these correlations can be delineated by pattern analysis. This study identified the correlations between landscape pattern and topography at various scales and locations in urban-rural profiles from Jilin City, China, using Pearson correlation analysis and wavelet method. Two profiles, 30 km (A) and 35 km (B) in length with 0.1-km sampling intervals, were selected. The results indicated that profile A was more sensitive to the characterization of the land use pattern as influenced by topography due to its more varied terrain, and three scales (small, medium, and large) could be defined based on the variation in the standard deviation of the wavelet coherency in profile A. Correlations between landscape metrics and elevation were similar at large scales (over 8 km), while complex correlations were discovered at other scale intervals. The medium scale of cohesion and Shannon’s diversity index was 1–8 km, while those of perimeter-area fractal dimension and edge density index were 1.5–8 km and 2–8 km, respectively. At small scales, the correlations were weak as a whole and scattered due to the micro-topography and landform elements, such as valleys and hillsides. At medium scales, the correlations were most affected by local topography, and the land use pattern was significantly correlated with topography at several locations. At large spatial scales, significant correlation existed throughout the study area due to alternating mountains and plains. In general, the strength of correlation between landscape metrics and topography increased gradually with increasing spatial scale, although this tendency had some fluctuations in several locations. Despite a complex calculating process and ecological interpretation, the wavelet method is still an effective tool to identify multi-scale characteristics in landscape ecology. Full article
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27 pages, 5935 KiB  
Article
Guidelines for Underwater Image Enhancement Based on Benchmarking of Different Methods
by Marino Mangeruga, Fabio Bruno, Marco Cozza, Panagiotis Agrafiotis and Dimitrios Skarlatos
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1652; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101652 - 17 Oct 2018
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 5671
Abstract
Images obtained in an underwater environment are often affected by colour casting and suffer from poor visibility and lack of contrast. In the literature, there are many enhancement algorithms that improve different aspects of the underwater imagery. Each paper, when presenting a new [...] Read more.
Images obtained in an underwater environment are often affected by colour casting and suffer from poor visibility and lack of contrast. In the literature, there are many enhancement algorithms that improve different aspects of the underwater imagery. Each paper, when presenting a new algorithm or method, usually compares the proposed technique with some alternatives present in the current state of the art. There are no studies on the reliability of benchmarking methods, as the comparisons are based on various subjective and objective metrics. This paper would pave the way towards the definition of an effective methodology for the performance evaluation of the underwater image enhancement techniques. Moreover, this work could orientate the underwater community towards choosing which method can lead to the best results for a given task in different underwater conditions. In particular, we selected five well-known methods from the state of the art and used them to enhance a dataset of images produced in various underwater sites with different conditions of depth, turbidity, and lighting. These enhanced images were evaluated by means of three different approaches: objective metrics often adopted in the related literature, a panel of experts in the underwater field, and an evaluation based on the results of 3D reconstructions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing Image Processing)
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22 pages, 7605 KiB  
Article
Validation of Hourly Global Horizontal Irradiance for Two Satellite-Derived Datasets in Northeast Iraq
by Bikhtiyar Ameen, Heiko Balzter, Claire Jarvis, Etienne Wey, Claire Thomas and Mathilde Marchand
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1651; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101651 - 17 Oct 2018
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4348
Abstract
Several sectors need global horizontal irradiance (GHI) data for various purposes. However, the availability of a long-term time series of high quality in situ GHI measurements is limited. Therefore, several studies have tried to estimate GHI by re-analysing climate data or satellite images. [...] Read more.
Several sectors need global horizontal irradiance (GHI) data for various purposes. However, the availability of a long-term time series of high quality in situ GHI measurements is limited. Therefore, several studies have tried to estimate GHI by re-analysing climate data or satellite images. Validation is essential for the later use of GHI data in the regions with a scarcity of ground-recorded data. This study contributes to previous studies that have been carried out in the past to validate HelioClim-3 version 5 (HC3v5) and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, using radiation service version 3 (CRSv3) data of hourly GHI from satellite-derived datasets (SDD) with nine ground stations in northeast Iraq, which have not been used previously. The validation is carried out with station data at the pixel locations and two other data points in the vicinity of each station, which is something that is rarely seen in the literature. The temporal and spatial trends of the ground data are well captured by the two SDDs. Correlation ranges from 0.94 to 0.97 in all-sky and clear-sky conditions in most cases, while for cloudy-sky conditions, it is between 0.51–0.72 and 0.82–0.89 for the clearness index. The bias is negative for most of the cases, except for three positive cases. It ranges from −7% to 4%, and −8% to 3% for the all-sky and clear-sky conditions, respectively. For cloudy-sky conditions, the bias is positive, and differs from one station to another, from 16% to 85%. The root mean square error (RMSE) ranges between 12–20% and 8–12% for all-sky and clear-sky conditions, respectively. In contrast, the RMSE range is significantly higher in cloudy-sky conditions: above 56%. The bias and RMSE for the clearness index are nearly the same as those for the GHI for all-sky conditions. The spatial variability of hourly GHI SDD differs only by 2%, depending on the station location compared to the data points around each station. The variability of two SDDs is quite similar to the ground data, based on the mean and standard deviation of hourly GHI in a month. Having station data at different timescales and the small number of stations with GHI records in the region are the main limitations of this analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solar Radiation, Modelling and Remote Sensing)
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19 pages, 13688 KiB  
Article
The Random Forest-Based Method of Fine-Resolution Population Spatialization by Using the International Space Station Nighttime Photography and Social Sensing Data
by Kangning Li, Yunhao Chen and Ying Li
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1650; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101650 - 17 Oct 2018
Cited by 45 | Viewed by 5801
Abstract
Despite the importance of high-resolution population distribution in urban planning, disaster prevention and response, region economic development, and improvement of urban habitant environment, traditional urban investigations mainly focused on large-scale population spatialization by using coarse-resolution nighttime light (NTL) while few efforts were made [...] Read more.
Despite the importance of high-resolution population distribution in urban planning, disaster prevention and response, region economic development, and improvement of urban habitant environment, traditional urban investigations mainly focused on large-scale population spatialization by using coarse-resolution nighttime light (NTL) while few efforts were made to fine-resolution population mapping. To address problems of generating small-scale population distribution, this paper proposed a method based on the Random Forest Regression model to spatialize a 25 m population from the International Space Station (ISS) photography and urban function zones generated from social sensing data—point-of-interest (POI). There were three main steps, namely HSL (hue saturation lightness) transformation and saturation calibration of ISS, generating functional-zone maps based on point-of-interest, and spatializing population based on the Random Forest model. After accuracy assessments by comparing with WorldPop, the proposed method was validated as a qualified method to generate fine-resolution population spatial maps. In the discussion, this paper suggested that without help of auxiliary data, NTL cannot be directly employed as a population indicator at small scale. The Variable Importance Measure of the RF model confirmed the correlation between features and population and further demonstrated that urban functions performed better than LULC (Land Use and Land Cover) in small-scale population mapping. Urban height was also shown to improve the performance of population disaggregation due to its compensation of building volume. To sum up, this proposed method showed great potential to disaggregate fine-resolution population and other urban socio-economic attributes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Collection Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometers and Applications)
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20 pages, 22826 KiB  
Article
Hyperspectral and LiDAR Fusion Using Deep Three-Stream Convolutional Neural Networks
by Hao Li, Pedram Ghamisi, Uwe Soergel and Xiao Xiang Zhu
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1649; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101649 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 60 | Viewed by 7480
Abstract
Recently, convolutional neural networks (CNN) have been intensively investigated for the classification of remote sensing data by extracting invariant and abstract features suitable for classification. In this paper, a novel framework is proposed for the fusion of hyperspectral images and LiDAR-derived elevation data [...] Read more.
Recently, convolutional neural networks (CNN) have been intensively investigated for the classification of remote sensing data by extracting invariant and abstract features suitable for classification. In this paper, a novel framework is proposed for the fusion of hyperspectral images and LiDAR-derived elevation data based on CNN and composite kernels. First, extinction profiles are applied to both data sources in order to extract spatial and elevation features from hyperspectral and LiDAR-derived data, respectively. Second, a three-stream CNN is designed to extract informative spectral, spatial, and elevation features individually from both available sources. The combination of extinction profiles and CNN features enables us to jointly benefit from low-level and high-level features to improve classification performance. To fuse the heterogeneous spectral, spatial, and elevation features extracted by CNN, instead of a simple stacking strategy, a multi-sensor composite kernels (MCK) scheme is designed. This scheme helps us to achieve higher spectral, spatial, and elevation separability of the extracted features and effectively perform multi-sensor data fusion in kernel space. In this context, a support vector machine and extreme learning machine with their composite kernels version are employed to produce the final classification result. The proposed framework is carried out on two widely used data sets with different characteristics: an urban data set captured over Houston, USA, and a rural data set captured over Trento, Italy. The proposed framework yields the highest OA of 92 . 57 % and 97 . 91 % for Houston and Trento data sets. Experimental results confirm that the proposed fusion framework can produce competitive results in both urban and rural areas in terms of classification accuracy, and significantly mitigate the salt and pepper noise in classification maps. Full article
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19 pages, 5480 KiB  
Article
Global Fractional Vegetation Cover Estimation Algorithm for VIIRS Reflectance Data Based on Machine Learning Methods
by Duanyang Liu, Linqing Yang, Kun Jia, Shunlin Liang, Zhiqiang Xiao, Xiangqin Wei, Yunjun Yao, Mu Xia and Yuwei Li
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1648; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101648 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3719
Abstract
Fractional vegetation cover (FVC) is an essential input parameter for many environmental and ecological models. Recently, several global FVC products have been generated using remote sensing data. The Global LAnd Surface Satellite (GLASS) FVC product, which is generated from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [...] Read more.
Fractional vegetation cover (FVC) is an essential input parameter for many environmental and ecological models. Recently, several global FVC products have been generated using remote sensing data. The Global LAnd Surface Satellite (GLASS) FVC product, which is generated from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, has attained acceptable performance. However, the original MODIS operation design lifespan has been exceeded. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite was designed to be the MODIS successor. Therefore, developing an FVC estimation algorithm for VIIRS data is important for maintaining continuous FVC estimates in case of MODIS failure. In this study, a global FVC estimation algorithm for VIIRS surface reflectance data was proposed based on machine learning methods, which investigated the performances of back propagating neural networks (BPNNs), general regression networks (GRNNs), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), and Gaussian process regression (GPR). The training samples were extracted from the GLASS FVC product and corresponding reconstructed VIIRS surface reflectance in 2013 over the global sampling locations. The VIIRS reflectances of red and near infrared (NIR) bands were the input variables for these machine learning methods. The theoretical performances and independent validation results indicated that the four machine learning methods could achieve similar and reliable FVC estimates. Regarding the FVC estimation accuracy, the GPR method achieved the best performance (R2 = 0.9019, RMSE = 0.0887). The MARS method had the obvious advantage of computational efficiency. Furthermore, the FVC estimates achieved good spatial and temporal continuities. Therefore, the proposed FVC estimation algorithm for VIIRS data can potentially generate reliable global FVC data for related applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing in Agriculture and Vegetation)
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17 pages, 2206 KiB  
Article
Vegetation Characterization through the Use of Precipitation-Affected SAR Signals
by Ramses A. Molijn, Lorenzo Iannini, Paco López Dekker, Paulo S.G. Magalhães and Ramon F. Hanssen
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1647; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101647 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4011
Abstract
Current space-based SAR offers unique opportunities to classify vegetation types and to monitor vegetation growth due to its frequent acquisitions and its sensitivity to vegetation geometry. However, SAR signals also experience frequent temporal fluctuations caused by precipitation events, complicating the mapping and monitoring [...] Read more.
Current space-based SAR offers unique opportunities to classify vegetation types and to monitor vegetation growth due to its frequent acquisitions and its sensitivity to vegetation geometry. However, SAR signals also experience frequent temporal fluctuations caused by precipitation events, complicating the mapping and monitoring of vegetation. In this paper, we show that the influence of a priori known precipitation events on the signals can be used advantageously for the classification of vegetation conditions. For this, we exploit the change in Sentinel-1 backscatter response between consecutive acquisitions under varying wetness conditions, which we show is dependent on the state of vegetation. The performance further improves when a priori information on the soil type is taken into account. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing in Agriculture and Vegetation)
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18 pages, 6452 KiB  
Article
Sparsity-Based Spatiotemporal Fusion via Adaptive Multi-Band Constraints
by Hanchi Ying, Yee Leung, Feilong Cao, Tung Fung and Jie Xue
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1646; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101646 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2689
Abstract
Remote sensing is an important means to monitor the dynamics of the earth surface. It is still challenging for single-sensor systems to provide spatially high resolution images with high revisit frequency because of the technological limitations. Spatiotemporal fusion is an effective approach to [...] Read more.
Remote sensing is an important means to monitor the dynamics of the earth surface. It is still challenging for single-sensor systems to provide spatially high resolution images with high revisit frequency because of the technological limitations. Spatiotemporal fusion is an effective approach to obtain remote sensing images high in both spatial and temporal resolutions. Though dictionary learning fusion methods appear to be promising for spatiotemporal fusion, they do not consider the structure similarity between spectral bands in the fusion task. To capitalize on the significance of this feature, a novel fusion model, named the adaptive multi-band constraints fusion model (AMCFM), is formulated to produce better fusion images in this paper. This model considers structure similarity between spectral bands and uses the edge information to improve the fusion results by adopting adaptive multi-band constraints. Moreover, to address the shortcomings of the 1 norm which only considers the sparsity structure of dictionaries, our model uses the nuclear norm which balances sparsity and correlation by producing an appropriate coefficient in the reconstruction step. We perform experiments on real-life images to substantiate our conceptual augments. In the empirical study, the near-infrared (NIR), red and green bands of Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are fused and the prediction accuracy is assessed by both metrics and visual effects. The experiments show that our proposed method performs better than state-of-the-art methods. It also sheds light on future research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing Image Processing)
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23 pages, 1417 KiB  
Article
Potential of Sentinel-2A Data to Model Surface and Canopy Fuel Characteristics in Relation to Crown Fire Hazard
by Stéfano Arellano-Pérez, Fernando Castedo-Dorado, Carlos Antonio López-Sánchez, Eduardo González-Ferreiro, Zhiqiang Yang, Ramón Alberto Díaz-Varela, Juan Gabriel Álvarez-González, José Antonio Vega and Ana Daría Ruiz-González
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1645; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101645 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 5585
Abstract
Background: Crown fires are often intense and fast spreading and hence can have serious impacts on soil, vegetation, and wildlife habitats. Fire managers try to prevent the initiation and spread of crown fires in forested landscapes through fuel management. The minimum fuel conditions [...] Read more.
Background: Crown fires are often intense and fast spreading and hence can have serious impacts on soil, vegetation, and wildlife habitats. Fire managers try to prevent the initiation and spread of crown fires in forested landscapes through fuel management. The minimum fuel conditions necessary to initiate and propagate crown fires are known to be strongly influenced by four stand structural variables: surface fuel load (SFL), fuel strata gap (FSG), canopy base height (CBH), and canopy bulk density (CBD). However, there is often a lack of quantitative data about these variables, especially at the landscape scale. Methods: In this study, data from 123 sample plots established in pure, even-aged, Pinus radiata and Pinus pinaster stands in northwest Spain were analyzed. In each plot, an intensive field inventory was used to characterize surface and canopy fuels load and structure, and to estimate SFL, FSG, CBH, and CBD. Equations relating these variables to Sentinel-2A (S-2A) bands and vegetation indices were obtained using two non-parametric techniques: Random Forest (RF) and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS). Results: According to the goodness-of-fit statistics, RF models provided the most accurate estimates, explaining more than 12%, 37%, 47%, and 31% of the observed variability in SFL, FSG, CBH, and CBD, respectively. To evaluate the performance of the four equations considered, the observed and estimated values of the four fuel variables were used separately to predict the potential type of wildfire (surface fire, passive crown fire, or active crown fire) for each plot, considering three different burning conditions (low, moderate, and extreme). The results of the confusion matrix indicated that 79.8% of the surface fires and 93.1% of the active crown fires were correctly classified; meanwhile, the highest rate of misclassification was observed for passive crown fire, with 75.6% of the samples correctly classified. Conclusions: The results highlight that the combination of medium resolution imagery and machine learning techniques may add valuable information about surface and canopy fuel variables at large scales, whereby crown fire potential and the potential type of wildfire can be classified. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Wildfire)
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21 pages, 8516 KiB  
Article
Robust Correlation Tracking for UAV Videos via Feature Fusion and Saliency Proposals
by Xizhe Xue, Ying Li, Hao Dong and Qiang Shen
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1644; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101644 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3317
Abstract
Following the growing availability of low-cost, commercially available unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), more and more research efforts have been focusing on object tracking using videos recorded from UAVs. However, tracking from UAV videos poses many challenges due to platform motion, including background clutter, [...] Read more.
Following the growing availability of low-cost, commercially available unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), more and more research efforts have been focusing on object tracking using videos recorded from UAVs. However, tracking from UAV videos poses many challenges due to platform motion, including background clutter, occlusion, and illumination variation. This paper tackles these challenges by proposing a correlation filter-based tracker with feature fusion and saliency proposals. First, we integrate multiple feature types such as dimensionality-reduced color name (CN) and histograms of oriented gradient (HOG) features to improve the performance of correlation filters for UAV videos. Yet, a fused feature acting as a multivector descriptor cannot be directly used in prior correlation filters. Therefore, a fused feature correlation filter is proposed that can directly convolve with a multivector descriptor, in order to obtain a single-channel response that indicates the location of an object. Furthermore, we introduce saliency proposals as re-detector to reduce background interference caused by occlusion or any distracter. Finally, an adaptive template-update strategy according to saliency information is utilized to alleviate possible model drifts. Systematic comparative evaluations performed on two popular UAV datasets show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing Image Processing)
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21 pages, 12603 KiB  
Article
Multi-Spectral Water Index (MuWI): A Native 10-m Multi-Spectral Water Index for Accurate Water Mapping on Sentinel-2
by Zifeng Wang, Junguo Liu, Jinbao Li and David D. Zhang
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1643; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101643 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 66 | Viewed by 9762
Abstract
Accurate water mapping depends largely on the water index. However, most previously widely-adopted water index methods are developed from 30-m resolution Landsat imagery, with low-albedo commission error (e.g., shadow misclassified as water) and threshold instability being identified as the primary issues. Besides, since [...] Read more.
Accurate water mapping depends largely on the water index. However, most previously widely-adopted water index methods are developed from 30-m resolution Landsat imagery, with low-albedo commission error (e.g., shadow misclassified as water) and threshold instability being identified as the primary issues. Besides, since the shortwave-infrared (SWIR) spectral band (band 11) on Sentinel-2 is 20 m spatial resolution, current SWIR-included water index methods usually produce water maps at 20 m resolution instead of the highest 10 m resolution of Sentinel-2 bands, which limits the ability of Sentinel-2 to detect surface water at finer scales. This study aims to develop a water index from Sentinel-2 that improves native resolution and accuracy of water mapping at the same time. Support Vector Machine (SVM) is used to exploit the 10-m spectral bands among Sentinel-2 bands of three resolutions (10-m; 20-m; 60-m). The new Multi-Spectral Water Index (MuWI), consisting of the complete version and the revised version (MuWI-C and MuWI-R), is designed as the combination of normalized differences for threshold stability. The proposed method is assessed on coincident Sentinel-2 and sub-meter images covering a variety of water types. When compared to previous water indexes, results show that both versions of MuWI enable to produce native 10-m resolution water maps with higher classification accuracies (p-value < 0.01). Commission and omission errors are also significantly reduced particularly in terms of shadow and sunglint. Consistent accuracy over complex water mapping scenarios is obtained by MuWI due to high threshold stability. Overall, the proposed MuWI method is applicable to accurate water mapping with improved spatial resolution and accuracy, which possibly facilitates water mapping and its related studies and applications on growing Sentinel-2 images. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing in Geology, Geomorphology and Hydrology)
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22 pages, 8017 KiB  
Article
Synergistic Use of Radar Sentinel-1 and Optical Sentinel-2 Imagery for Crop Mapping: A Case Study for Belgium
by Kristof Van Tricht, Anne Gobin, Sven Gilliams and Isabelle Piccard
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1642; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101642 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 220 | Viewed by 16618
Abstract
A timely inventory of agricultural areas and crop types is an essential requirement for ensuring global food security and allowing early crop monitoring practices. Satellite remote sensing has proven to be an increasingly more reliable tool to identify crop types. With the Copernicus [...] Read more.
A timely inventory of agricultural areas and crop types is an essential requirement for ensuring global food security and allowing early crop monitoring practices. Satellite remote sensing has proven to be an increasingly more reliable tool to identify crop types. With the Copernicus program and its Sentinel satellites, a growing source of satellite remote sensing data is publicly available at no charge. Here, we used joint Sentinel-1 radar and Sentinel-2 optical imagery to create a crop map for Belgium. To ensure homogenous radar and optical inputs across the country, Sentinel-1 12-day backscatter mosaics were created after incidence angle normalization, and Sentinel-2 normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) images were smoothed to yield 10-daily cloud-free mosaics. An optimized random forest classifier predicted the eight crop types with a maximum accuracy of 82% and a kappa coefficient of 0.77. We found that a combination of radar and optical imagery always outperformed a classification based on single-sensor inputs, and that classification performance increased throughout the season until July, when differences between crop types were largest. Furthermore, we showed that the concept of classification confidence derived from the random forest classifier provided insight into the reliability of the predicted class for each pixel, clearly showing that parcel borders have a lower classification confidence. We concluded that the synergistic use of radar and optical data for crop classification led to richer information increasing classification accuracies compared to optical-only classification. Further work should focus on object-level classification and crop monitoring to exploit the rich potential of combined radar and optical observations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High Resolution Image Time Series for Novel Agricultural Applications)
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26 pages, 15593 KiB  
Article
Evaluating RADARSAT-2 for the Monitoring of Lake Ice Phenology Events in Mid-Latitudes
by Justin Murfitt, Laura C. Brown and Stephen E.L. Howell
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1641; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101641 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4851
Abstract
Lake ice is an important component in understanding the local climate as changes in temperature have an impact on the timing of key ice phenology events. In recent years, there has been a decline in the in-situ monitoring of lake ice events in [...] Read more.
Lake ice is an important component in understanding the local climate as changes in temperature have an impact on the timing of key ice phenology events. In recent years, there has been a decline in the in-situ monitoring of lake ice events in Canada and microwave remote sensing imagery from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is more widely used due to the high spatial resolution and response of backscatter to the freezing and melting of the ice surface. RADARSAT-2 imagery was used to develop a threshold-based method for determining lake ice events for mid-latitude lakes in Central Ontario from 2008 to 2017. Estimated lake ice phenology events are validated with ground-based observations and are compared against the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS band 2). The threshold-based method was found to accurately identify 12 out of 17 freeze events and 13 out of 17 melt events from 2015–2017 when compared to ground-based observations. Mean absolute errors for freeze events ranged from 2.5 to 10.0 days when compared to MODIS imagery while the mean absolute error for water clear of ice (WCI) ranged from 1.5 to 7.1 days. The method is important for the study of mid-latitude lake ice due to its unique success in detecting multiple freeze and melting events throughout the ice season. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing in Geology, Geomorphology and Hydrology)
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18 pages, 4678 KiB  
Article
The AMSU-Based Hydrological Bundle Climate Data Record—Description and Comparison with Other Data Sets
by Ralph R. Ferraro, Brian R. Nelson, Tom Smith and Olivier P. Prat
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1640; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101640 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4549
Abstract
Passive microwave measurements have been available on satellites back to the 1970s, first flown on research satellites developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Since then, several other sensors have been flown to retrieve hydrological products for both operational weather applications [...] Read more.
Passive microwave measurements have been available on satellites back to the 1970s, first flown on research satellites developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Since then, several other sensors have been flown to retrieve hydrological products for both operational weather applications (e.g., the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager—SSM/I; the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit—AMSU) and climate applications (e.g., the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer—AMSR; the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission Microwave Imager—TMI; the Global Precipitation Mission Microwave Imager—GMI). Here, the focus is on measurements from the AMSU-A, AMSU-B, and Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS). These sensors have been in operation since 1998, with the launch of NOAA-15, and are also on board NOAA-16, -17, -18, -19, and the MetOp-A and -B satellites. A data set called the “Hydrological Bundle” is a climate data record (CDR) that utilizes brightness temperatures from fundamental CDRs (FCDRs) to generate thematic CDRs (TCDRs). The TCDRs include total precipitable water (TPW), cloud liquid water (CLW), sea-ice concentration (SIC), land surface temperature (LST), land surface emissivity (LSE) for 23, 31, 50 GHz, rain rate (RR), snow cover (SC), ice water path (IWP), and snow water equivalent (SWE). The TCDRs are shown to be in general good agreement with similar products from other sources, such as the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) and the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2). Due to the careful intercalibration of the FCDRs, little bias is found among the different TCDRs produced from individual NOAA and MetOp satellites, except for normal diurnal cycle differences. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Essential Climate Variables and Their Applications)
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