Visual thematic mapping from Landsat and collateral data in support of mineral development

Over the past ten years, the authors and their associates have used Landsat images and collateral data to prepare visual thematic maps. The data are used in a projection-compositor (Procom) system that enlarges Landsat images and other data to scales as great as 1:15 000. Revisions of existing maps for simple themes (e.g. topographic maps) can be completed quickly, accurately and inexpensively. Complex themes, such as geological formations and structures, can be mapped through the optical merging of collateral data sets (e.g. Landsat, geophysics, geology) at a common scale. Such mapping has led to the recognition of a non-parallactic means of obtaining whole image stereo-models with large vertical exaggerations using Landsat images.     

A strategy for mineral and energy resource independence

Data acquired by Landsats 1, 2, and 3, are beginning to provide the information on which an improved mineral and energy resource exploration strategy can be based. Landsat 4 is expected to augment this capability with its higher resolution (30 m) and additional spectral bands in the Thematic Mapper (TM) designed specifically to discriminate clay minerals associated with mineral alteration. In addition, a new global magnetic anomaly map, derived from the recent Magsat mission, has recently been compiled by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and others. Preliminary, extremely small-scale renditions of this map indicate that global coverage is nearly complete and that the map will improve upon a previous one derived from Polar Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (POGO) data. Digital processing of the Landsat image data and Magsat geophysical data can be used to create three-dimensional stereoscopic models for which Landsat images provide surface reference to deep structural anomalies.Comparative studies of national Landsat lineament maps, Magsat stereoscopic models, and metallogenic information derived from the Computerized Resources Information Bank (CRIB) inventory of U.S. mineral resources, provide a way of identifying and selecting exploration areas that have mineral resource potential. Landsat images and computer-compatible tapes can provide new and better mosaics and also provide the capability for a closer look at promising sites.     

Mapping recent agricultural developments in China from satellite data

Landsat data have been employed to study and map agricultural developments in three regions of China: 1) Pearl River delta; 2) Nen River basin; and 3) Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Manual interpretation procedures used in conjunction with multi-date Landsat images and collateral information permitted rice yields to be estimated for the Pearl River delta in 1978. A combination of manual and computer-assisted analyses of Landsat data of Northeast China revealed that more than 15,000 km² of agricultural land in a 184,500 km² study area had been reclaimed from rangeland and marshland. These analyses also indicated a shift in cropping practices, with the foodcrops wheat and corn replacing cash crops such as soybeans. In the arid west, Landsat image data provided valuable input to a geographic information system (GIS). It appears the GIS approach will prove useful for evaluating agricultural land potential in the remote areas of China.     

Main results and perspectives of some Chilean experiences developed with low cost and accurate spatial remote sensing technology

This paper intends to summarize the main results and perspectives of several Chilean Programs developed by using low cost but accurate remote sensing techniques. Due to paper restrictions, three main applications will be shown : use of satellite data collection systems to measure meteorological data in Ant arctic Peninsula; study of geothermal resources in Los Andes Range by using multispectral and multitemporal Landsat images; and snowmelt runoff forecasting for Andean watersheds by using Landsat data. All these applications have allowed to obtain important and useful results and low cost, reliable and accurate methodologies have been obtained for these studies.     

Utility of landsat data in mineral exploration — a case study from Orissa,India

The utility of Landsat data in geosciences has been established beyond doubt. In this paper utility of Landsat data in mineral exploration has been highlighted.The geologic and geomorphic interpretation of Landsat data brought out two very significant and characteristic features in scene 152-046 in the southern part of Orissa. One was distinct tonal anomaly and other was occurance of flat planated surface devoid of vegetation and drainage on top of hills. This when checked on ground at Gandhmardan was found to be bauxite bearing lateritic plateau. When this known information was extrapolated over other regions in scenes 151-046 and 152-046, all other bauxitic — lateritic plateaus were picked up very easily on Landsat imagery.The information was further extrapolated in the southern scene No.152-047 where without doing much detailed geologic and geomorphic interpretation almost all other bauxitic — lateritic bodies occuring in the region were picked up. This proves the utility of Landsat data in mineral exploration.Moreover delineation of extent of such bodies could be done very accurately on Landsat imagery thus saving considerable time in the exploration programme.     

Evaluation of MSS Landsat imagery over central Spain

Twenty four MSS Landsat I and II images have been selected to determine the most persistent lineaments within a given area in Central Spain. This area comprises four different geotectonic units: the Hercynian basement, an intermediate-type Alpine chain and two undeformed Tertiary basins. Lineaments appear to be well established in the Iberian Peninsula and their general pattern in good accordance with the faults system. Some of them correspond to simple or composite linears that extend over the entire peninsula, and must affect the whole crust. A generalized late-Hercynian fracture event is admitted to be the origin of these linears and their extension into the post-Hercynian areas is related to an Alpine reactivation. The main lineament directions are NS, N20, N70, N120 and N160. These trends seem to correlate well with arches and troughs inferred from gravimetric and aeromagnetic surveys carried out over both Tertiary basins.BPCG, Sn, W mineralizations within the Hercynian basement occur in relation to quartz and baryte dykes trending N20, N70, and N120.     

An ensemble deep learning based shoreline segmentation approach (WaterNet) from Landsat 8 OLI images

Shorelines constantly vary due to natural, urbanization and anthropogenic effects such as global warming, population growth, and environmental pollution. Sustainable monitoring of coastal changes is vital in terms of coastal resource management, environmental preservation and planning. Publicly available Landsat 8 OLI (Operational Land Manager) images provide accurate, reliable, temporal and up-to-date information about coastal areas. Recently, the use of machine learning and deep learning algorithms have become widespread. In this study, we used our public Landsat 8 OLI satellite image dataset to create a majority voting method which is an ensemble automatic shoreline segmentation system (WaterNet) to obtain shorelines automatically. For this purpose, different deep learning architectures have been utilized namely as Standard U-Net, Dilated U-Net, Fractal U-Net, FC-DenseNet, and Pix2Pix. Also, we have suggested a novel framework to create labeling data from OpenStreetMap service to create a unique dataset called YTU-WaterNet. According to the results, IoU and F1 scores have been calculated as 99.59% and 99.79% for the WaterNet. The results indicate that the WaterNet method outperforms other methods in terms of shoreline extraction from Landsat 8 OLI satellite images.     

Application potential of SPOT imagery for topographic mapping

The high resolution and good geometric configuration possible with SPOT gives a high potential for the production of 1:100 000 topographic maps. Studies at University College London have investigated this potential with the aid of a simple instrument which will introduce the necessary corrections to level 1b photographic images and orthophotographs and allow stereoscopic viewing of SPOT images and the ability to compile a line map. Accuracy has been investigated by computing ground co-ordinates from image co-ordinates and pixel positions. The methods used and results obtained in this work are described.Work is now going on to investigate the use of digital image processors in the mapping procedures and the use of analytical plotting instruments, and comments on this work and on future developments are made.     

On the information contents and regularisation of lunar gravity field solutions

Till the present day the recovery of the lunar gravity field from satellite tracking data depends in a crucial way on the level and method of regularisation. With Earth-based tracking only, the spatial data coverage is limited to only slightly more than 50% and the inverse problem remains severely ill-posed. The development of global gravity models suitable for precise orbit modeling as well as geophysical studies therefore requires a significant level of regularisation, limiting the solution power over the far-side where no gravity information is available. Unconstrained solutions, within the framework of global harmonic base functions, are only possible for very low degrees (< 10). Any significant change to this situation is only to be expected when global satellite-to-satellite tracking data of high quality becomes available early in the next decade. Yet, a rigorous analysis of the impact of the chosen method and level of regularisation is lacking. Most gravity models employ a Kaula-type signal smoothness constraint of 15 × 10⁻⁵ /l², which allows a good overall data fit as well as a smooth field over the far-side. Furthermore, a geographical type of constraint has been suggested, where surface accelerations have been introduced in areas of no data coverage. Modern numerical methods, on the other hand, offer direct tools and search mechanisms for the optimal level of regularisation. This paper presents a study of Tikhonov-type regularisation of lunar gravity solutions, with emphasis on the so-called L-curve and quasi-optimality methods for regularisation parameter estimation. Furthermore, new quality measures of lunar gravity solutions are presented, which account for the bias introduced by the regularisation.     

Enhanced Landsat and HCMM imagery for mineral exploration in contrasting areas of subtropical humid and semi-arid terrain

The role of multispectral and thermal imagery in mineral exploration is evaluated for two areas with favourable geological conditions within contrasting physical environments — one in the semi-arid low tree and shrub savannas of western Queensland and northern South Australia, the other in the humid subtropical forest zone of western Yunnan, China.For both areas Landsat imagery was used to identify structures and lithologies favourable for mineralization and locate ironstones/gossans indicative of mineralized bedrock. HCMM imagery was used alongside Landsat imagery to identify former and ephemeral drainage patterns important for the interpretation of geochemical data over covered ground in Australia. Interpretations were made of enhanced colour composites, outputs of MSS band ratios and colour rotated images generated from both NASA film products and CCTs. These were checked by field studies during which plant, soil and rock chip samples for subsequent metals analyses were collected from areas of anomalous vegetation and from barren ironstones. Some rock chip samples from Australia contained concentrations of copper or lead or small amounts of other metals. In China geobotanical anomalies over ironstones from which soil and rock samples yielded copper, lead, zinc, tin and silver suggest the presence of a major belt of potential multi-metal mineralization.     

Canadian Landsat studies for monitoring resource development: A summary

This report summarizes a major paper reviewing Canadian work using Landsat imagery for monitoring the environmental effects of the development of both renewable and non-renewable resources. Landsat has definite advantages for studying resources. In particular, the data are able to show changes in surface cover indicating in many cases development or the exploitation of resources. Monitoring of areas and rates of change over time is possible. Outlined in the paper are examples related to three aspects of resource development. First is the use of Landsat for updating topographic maps for areas where recent developments have taken place. The second aspect is forestry, and examples related to the detection and measurement of clear cuts and recording of areas affected by spruce budworm are reported. Finally, studies of landscape changes produced by mining activities are presented.     

Hypothesis-test-based landcover change detection using multi-temporal satellite images – A comparative study

Remote sensing images and technologies have been widely applied to environmental monitoring, in particular landuse/landcover classification and change detection. However, the uncertainties involved in such applications have not been fully addressed. In this paper two hypothesis-test-based change detection methods, namely the bivariate joint distribution method and the conditional distribution method, are proposed to tackle the uncertainties in change detection by making decisions based on the desired level of significance. Both methods require a data set of class-dependent no-change pixels to form the basis for class-dependent hypothesis test. Using an exemplar study area in central Taiwan, performance of the proposed methods are shown to be significantly superior to two other commonly applied methods (the post-classification comparison and the image differencing methods) in terms of the overall change detection accuracies. The conditional distribution method takes into consideration the correlation between digital numbers of the pre- and post-images and the effect of the known pre-image digital number on the range of the post-image digital number, and therefore yields the highest change detection accuracy. It is also demonstrated that the class-dependent change detection is crucial for accurate landuse/landcover change detection.     

面向高分辨率遥感影像的地形辐射校正方法

地形辐射校正对获取准确的地表定量遥感精度意义重大。针对传统地形辐射校正模型不适用于高分辨率遥感影像的问题,提出了一种基于辐射传输模型,同时严控误差源的地形辐射校正方法,以资源三号01星高分辨率全色及多光谱遥感影像为例进行相关实验,实现对高分辨率遥感影像的地形辐射校正,并进行了主客观分析与评价。分析结果表明:本文提出的地形辐射校正模型和方法,能有效解决全色遥感影像在绝对辐射定标系数缺失情况下校正效果差以及如何保持高分辨率遥感影像细节等难点,较传统方法更适用于高分辨率遥感影像。      

Spectral transformation of ASTER and Landsat TM bands for lithological mapping of Soghan ophiolite complex,south Iran

Spectral transformation methods, including correlation coefficient (CC) and Optimum Index Factor (OIF), band ratio (BR) and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to ASTER and Landsat TM bands for lithological mapping of Soghan ophiolitic complex in south of Iran. The results indicated that the methods used evidently showed superior outputs for detecting lithological units in ophiolitic complexes. CC and OIF methods were used to establish enhanced Red–Green–Blue (RGB) color combination bands for discriminating lithological units. A specialized band ratio (4/1, 4/5, 4/7 in RGB) was developed using ASTER bands to differentiate lithological units in ophiolitic complexes. The band ratio effectively detected serpentinite dunite as host rock of chromite ore deposits from surrounding lithological units in the study area. Principal component images derived from first three bands of ASTER and Landsat TM produced well results for lithological mapping applications. ASTER bands contain improved spectral characteristics and higher spatial resolution for detecting serpentinite dunite in ophiolitic complexes. The developed approach used in this study offers great potential for lithological mapping using ASTER and Landsat TM bands, which contributes in economic geology for prospecting chromite ore deposits associated with ophiolitic complexes.     

Lunar gravity field modeling critical analysis and challenges

This paper summarizes and provides a critical analysis of the historical developments of lunar gravitational models from the earliest use of ground based tracking systems of the Lunar Orbiter to the Lunar Prospector mission. This encompasses a comprehensive and critical analysis of the various methods used in the estimation of the gravity coefficients and the processing of large batches of diverse measurements and data types. It has been shown that weakness exists in the current models of the lunar gravity field, which is primarily due to the lack of far side lunar tracking data information, which makes the lunar potential modeling difficult but expected to be overcome as data from SELENE satellite-to-satellite tracking becomes available. Comparisons of various lunar models reveal an agreement in the low order coefficients of the spherical harmonics. However, substantial differences in the models exist in the higher-order harmonics. A numerical comparison has been presented showing the performance of all the contemporary lunar gravitational models used within the astrodynamics community and available in public domain. Improvements to the current models are part of a continuing process and the recent model improvements and future possibilities in lunar gravity modeling are discussed. A brief review of the recent missions has been presented. It is hoped that this critical review will benefit the researchers by presenting the historical as well as state of the art in this field.     

Remote-sensing technology applied to forest assessment in California

Remote-sensing technology has been thoroughly evaluated for the analysis of California forest policy. A statewide, 1.6-acre-resolution, digital land-cover data base of Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) classification has been produced. Three major resource regions have been analyzed in detail and one of them geographically integrated with 12 other physical and socioeconomic data layers to model fire and reforestation problems, using a geographic information system (GIS). A study of GIS design criteria has been conducted and the California Department of Forestry, the cooperator in all of these studies, is presently evaluating the alternatives and implementing certain aspects of them.     

GRACE gravity field modeling with an investigation on correlation between nuisance parameters and gravity field coefficients

The GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment) monthly gravity models have been independently produced and published by several research institutions, such as Center for Space Research (CSR), GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and Delft Institute of Earth Observation and Space Systems (DEOS). According to their processing standards, above institutions use the traditional variational approach except that the DEOS exploits the acceleration approach. The background force models employed are rather similar. The produced gravity field models generally agree with one another in the spatial pattern. However, there are some discrepancies in the gravity signal amplitude between solutions produced by different institutions. In particular, 10%–30% signal amplitude differences in some river basins can be observed. In this paper, we implemented a variant of the traditional variational approach and computed two sets of monthly gravity field solutions using the data from January 2005 to December 2006. The input data are K-band range-rates (KBRR) and kinematic orbits of GRACE satellites. The main difference in the production of our two types of models is how to deal with nuisance parameters. This type of parameters is necessary to absorb low-frequency errors in the data, which are mainly the aliasing and instrument errors. One way is to remove the nuisance parameters before estimating the geopotential coefficients, called NPARB approach in the paper. The other way is to estimate the nuisance parameters and geopotential coefficients simultaneously, called NPESS approach. These two types of solutions mainly differ in geopotential coefficients from degree 2 to 5. This can be explained by the fact that the nuisance parameters and the gravity field coefficients are highly correlated, particularly at low degrees. We compare these solutions with the official and published ones by means of spectral analysis. It is found that our solutions are, in general, consistent with others in the spatial pattern. The water storage variations of the Amazon, Chari and Ganges river basins have also been computed. The variations computed with the NPARB approach are closer to those produced by JPL and DEOS solutions, while the variations produced with the NPESS approach are in good agreement with those produced by the CSR and GFZ solutions. A simulation study is implemented with considering realistic noise and low-frequency error. The two approaches are used to recover the true model. The NPESS solution appears closer to the true one. Therefore we are inclined to estimate the nuisance parameters simultaneously with the geopential coefficients.     

Merging Landsat and spaceborne radar data over Tunisia

Synthetic Aperture Radar data were acquired over Tunisia by Seasat in Aug. 1978 and by SIR-A in Nov. 1981. The radar images are contrasted to the Landsat scenes overlapping the same area. The Landsat images were taken in Aug. 1978 and in Sept. 1981. In this study, subareas of the SIR-A and MSS images are registered to the corresponding Seasat data (1313 lines by 1970 samples). The test site is located East of Kairouan, Tunisia. It is a low relief area with subdesertic climatic conditions. This region was selected for it has been surveyed by both Seasat and SIR-A providing perpendicular radar illumination directions. The multispectral and multitemporal coregistered data set enables comparisons between the systems (radar versus MSS, and Seasat versus SIR-A), and change detection in the desertification processes and on the surface of the playas.     

从射电天文观测数据反演电离层行扰的相速

本文结合ＴＩＤｓ的形成机制及其测量技术，对它的传播特性作了有益于测量的讨论，指出：（１）ＴＩＤｓ是由两个正交波组成；（２）测量电子总含量所表征的ＴＩＤｓ与测量电子浓度所表征者同样有效，据此导出了从测量数据反演其相速的公式，并对波幅的抑制效应作了讨论。     

Comparison analyses on the 150 × 150 lunar gravity field models by gravity/topography admittance,correlation and precision orbit determination

We analyzed the 150 × 150 lunar gravity field models, LP150Q, GLGM-3 and SGM150, using the power spectrum on the lunar nearside and farside, the lunar global and localized gravity/topography admittance and correlation, and Chang’E-2 precision orbit determination to investigate which model is a more effective tool to estimate geophysical parameters and determine the lunar satellite precision orbit. Results indicate that all gravity field models can be used to estimate the lunar geophysical parameters of the nearside of the Moon. However, SGM150 is better in such computation of the farside. Additionally, SGM150 is shown to be the most useful model for determining the lunar satellite orbit.