NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Amazon Rain Forest Classification Using J-ERS-1 SAR DataThe Amazon rain forest is a region of the earth that is undergoing rapid change. Man-made disturbance, such as clear cutting for agriculture or mining, is altering the rain forest ecosystem. For many parts of the rain forest, seasonal changes from the wet to the dry season are also significant. Changes in the seasonal cycle of flooding and draining can cause significant alterations in the forest ecosystem.Because much of the Amazon basin is regularly covered by thick clouds, optical and infrared coverage from the LANDSAT and SPOT satellites is sporadic. Imaging radar offers a much better potential for regular monitoring of changes in this region. In particular, the J-ERS-1 satellite carries an L-band HH SAR system, which via an on-board tape recorder, can collect data from almost anywhere on the globe at any time of year.In this paper, we show how J-ERS-1 radar images can be used to accurately classify different forest types (i.e., forest, hill forest, flooded forest), disturbed areas such as clear cuts and urban areas, and river courses in the Amazon basin. J-ERS-1 data has also shown significant differences between the dry and wet season, indicating a strong potential for monitoring seasonal change. The algorithm used to classify J-ERS-1 data is a standard maximum-likelihood classifier, using the radar image local mean and standard deviation of texture as input. Rivers and clear cuts are detected using edge detection and region-growing algorithms. Since this classifier is intended to operate successfully on data taken over the entire Amazon, several options are available to enable the user to modify the algorithm to suit a particular image.
Document ID
20060041823
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Freeman, A.
Kramer, C.
Alves, M.
Chapman, B.
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
December 1, 1994
Subject Category
Communications And Radar
Meeting Information
Meeting: Amazon Rain Forest Classification Using J-ERS-1 SAR Data, MITI-NASDA, Results Reporting Meeting for J-ERS-1
Location: Tokyo
Country: Japan
Start Date: December 1, 1994
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
J-ERS-1
Synthetic Aperture Radar

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available