A comparative evaluation of simulated SPOT, Thematic Mapper, and simulated Thematic Mapper data in a western ecozoneSpectral information content was quantitatively measured for simulated SPOT, Thematic Mapper, and simulated Thematic Mapper data acquired over Santa Cruz County, California. Two techniques were employed: spectral separability summarized through optimal wave band evaluation, and histogram cluster analysis. Using data from the three sources it is shown that three spectral bands can provide separability nearly as high as six bands provide, if the three bands are optimally chosen for the cover type. Analysis of the Santa Cruz scene emphasizes the importance of TM bands 1 and 5 in particular. The three bands of the SPOT scanner are shown to provide sufficient separability for cover types within the study area. The higher spatial resolution data (20 meters) provided by SPOT contain more distinct distributions than data from the other sources studied. Techniques should be developed to exploit this additional information.
Document ID
19860038102
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Buis, J. S. (NASA Ames Research Center; Technicolor Government Services, Inc. Moffett Field, CA, United States)