Engineering topics

Bly, B. G.

Publications and source records attributed to Bly, B. G..

6 records

NASA NTRS1983

Monitoring strip mining and reclamation with LANDSAT data in Belmont County, Ohio

The utility of LANDSAT digital data for mapping and monitoring surface mines in Belmont County, Ohio was investigated. Two data sets from 1976 and 1979 were processed to classify level 1 land covers and three strip mine categories in order to examine change over time and assess reclamation efforts. The two classifications were compared with aerial photographs. Results of the accuracy assessment show that both classifications are approximately 86 per cent correct, and that surface mine change detection (date-to-date comparison) is facilitated by the digital format of LANDSAT data.

Witt, R. G.↗

NASA NTRS1982

A Study of Feature Extraction Using Divergence Analysis of Texture Features

An empirical study of texture analysis for feature extraction and classification of high spatial resolution remotely sensed imagery (10 meters) is presented in terms of specific land cover types. The principal method examined is the use of spatial gray tone dependence (SGTD). The SGTD method reduces the gray levels within a moving window into a two-dimensional spatial gray tone dependence matrix which can be interpreted as a probability matrix of gray tone pairs. Haralick et al (1973) used a number of information theory measures to extract texture features from these matrices, including angular second moment (inertia), correlation, entropy, homogeneity, and energy. The derivation of the SGTD matrix is a function of: (1) the number of gray tones in an image; (2) the angle along which the frequency of SGTD is calculated; (3) the size of the moving window; and (4) the distance between gray tone pairs. The first three parameters were varied and tested on a 10 meter resolution panchromatic image of Maryville, Tennessee using the five SGTD measures. A transformed divergence measure was used to determine the statistical separability between four land cover categories forest, new residential, old residential, and industrial for each variation in texture parameters.

Hallada, W. A.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Comparing digital data processing techniques for surface mine and reclamation monitoring

The results of three techniques used for processing Landsat digital data are compared for their utility in delineating areas of surface mining and subsequent reclamation. An unsupervised clustering algorithm (ISOCLS), a maximum-likelihood classifier (CLASFY), and a hybrid approach utilizing canonical analysis (ISOCLS/KLTRANS/ISOCLS) were compared by means of a detailed accuracy assessment with aerial photography at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Results show that the hybrid approach was superior to the traditional techniques in distinguishing strip mined and reclaimed areas.

Witt, R. G.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Application of LANDSAT data to monitor land reclamation progress in Belmont County, Ohio

Strip and contour mining techniques are reviewed as well as some studies conducted to determine the applicability of LANDSAT and associated digital image processing techniques to the surficial problems associated with mining operations. A nontraditional unsupervised classification approach to multispectral data is considered which renders increased classification separability in land cover analysis of surface mined areas. The approach also reduces the dimensionality of the data and requires only minimal analytical skills in digital data processing.

Bloemer, H. H. L.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Land cover analysis of James City County, Virginia

The approach used to obtain reliable countywide forest resource data, including statistics and a forest cover distribution map from LANDSAT data is described. Comparison of results of the LANDSAT anlysis and U.S. Forestry Survey data is presented in a table. Pine, oak/pine, and oak/hickory accounted for 22.3%, 32.6% and 45.2% respectively of the total forest area in the LANDSAT analysis, compared to 22.8%, 30.1%. and 47.1% in the Forest Survey. The corresponding figures for each forest type differ at most 2.5% for the mixed forest. The total county area in forest land measured using LANDSAT was underestimated by 1,409 acres, a 2.2% error based on the Forest Survey statistics. However, the estimate of 61,242 acres fell well within the known 4% uncertainty of the estimate for the Forest Survey figures (62,651 acres + or - 2,544 acres).

Copony, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Landsat observations of Mount St. Helens

The eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, and subsequent destruction of approximately 593 square kilometers (229 square miles) of vegetation, clearly provided a unique opportunity for earth-oriented satellite remote sensing systems. Landsat, a relatively high resolution Multispectral Scanner (MSS) system, imaged Mount St. Helens both before and after its major eruption. Digital data have been used to create a damage assessment map and a change detection image. Several classes of timber damage and land cover modification have been developed. Acreages for each class have been tabulated.

Bohn, C. G.↗