An empirical study of scanner system parameters

Parametric values (instantaneous field of view, number and location of spectral bands, signal-to-noise ratio, etc.) of a multispectral scanner (thematic mapper) are assigned empirically. An empirical simulation approach was used with candidate parameter values selected by heuristic means. Results obtained using a conventional maximum likelihood pixel classifier suggest that although the classification accuracy declines slightly as the instantaneous field of view (IFOV) is decreased this is more than made up by an improved mensuration accuracy. Use of a classifier involving both spatial and spectral features helps resist degradation as the signal-to-noise ratio is decreased. The importance of having at least one spectral band in each of the major available portions of the optical spectrum is demonstrated.