Practical exercise - Remote Sensing Image interpretation

Minakshi Kumar
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Department
Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics Group
Indian Institute of Remote Sensing
ISRO,DOS , GOI

Exercise 1 . Interpretation of Cultural Features from High Resolution Satellite Imagery

Objective : To develop an understanding for visual interpretation of cultural details (man made
features) from the given imageries in order to get an idea of resolution various types of features ,
element of interpretation and the type of cultural features which can be interpreted.

Material : High Resolution Image from GEOEYE satellite (Picture1.jpg)

Q.1 Interpret and answer the following (Picture1)

1. Identify the use of land marked in A , B,C,D

2. Identify the Road and railway line.
3. Identify the Flyover, Bridge and Rail over road crossing
4. What is the prominent horizontal linear feature in A
5. Observe the sloping Roofs in A and D. Comment on the difference in building material of the two
roof types.
6. In the Object Marked in E , Comment on the probable use of the campus as compared to smaller
buildings in the vicinity

Q.2 Answer the following based on Picture 2

1. How are the three playing ground marked in 1,2,3 different .

2. In object 3 Identify the covered spectator seats and the open spectator seat
3. Identify the direction of Sun ( Hint : Shadows).

1
Exercise 2 : Preparation of Interpretation Key

Objective : To develop an understanding for visual interpretation of surface features on False colour
composite satellite image.
Material : False Colour Composite Imagery , True Colour Imagery

Identify the objects from False colour composite and True colour composite and make an
interpretation key in a tabular form

Sl.No Object True Colour Colour on FCC Element of

Interpretation in

addition to colour

1 Race Course

2 Golf Course

3 Indoor Stadium

4 Outdoor Games

Stadium

5 Lake

6 Dry Soil

7 Trees /Dense

vegetation

8 Urban Area

9 Grass / Thin

Vegetation

2
 E

A C B

(Picture1.jpg)

3
Picture 2

4
(True Colour Composite)
5
( False Colour Composite)

6
Exercise 3 : UNDERSTANDING OF SPECTRAL RESPONSE PATTERN OF DIFFERENT
LANDCOVER OBJECTS

Objective
The aim of this exercise is to gain awareness about fundamental aspects of reflected radiation and
spectral response patterns for different features eg. Vegetation , soil and water.

The aim is to familiarize with bands that maximize class separability visually.

Material
Imagery in different bands of Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI)

Procedure:
Given here is the wavelengths corresponding to different bands of OLI.

Band Wavelength Useful for mapping

Band 1 – coastal aerosol
Band 2 – blue
Band 3 - green
Band 4 - red
Band 5 - Near Infrared
(NIR)
Band 6 - Short-wave
Infrared (SWIR) 1
Band 7 - Short-wave
Infrared (SWIR) 2
Band 8 - Panchromatic
Band 9 – Cirrus
Band 10 – TIRS 1
Band 11 – TIRS 2
0.43-0.45 coastal and aerosol studies
Bathymetric mapping, distinguishing soil from vegetation and
0.45-0.51
deciduous from coniferous vegetation
Emphasizes peak vegetation, which is useful for assessing
0.53-0.59
plant vigor
0.64-0.67 Discriminates vegetation slopes
085.-0.88 Emphasizes biomass content and shorelines
Discriminates moisture content of soil and vegetation;
1.57-1.65
penetrates thin clouds
Improved moisture content of soil and vegetation and thin
2.11-2.29
cloud penetration
.50-.68 15 meter resolution, sharper image definition
1.36 -1.38 Improved detection of cirrus cloud contamination
10.60 – 100 meter resolution, thermal mapping and estimated soil
11.19 moisture
100 meter resolution, Improved thermal mapping and
11.5-12.51
estimated soil moisture

In Principle the higher reflectance contrast between two objects, the easier it is to distinguish between
them.
Study the imagery and note the following features in different bands and perform the following steps

7
1. Identify the following features like water ,sand / dry rivers, settlements , agriculture, forest in all the
bands and mention the tone
(VL - Very light tone ,L - Light tone , M - Medium tone, D - Dark tone , and VD - Very dark tone)

No. Feature Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4 Band 5 Band 6 Band 7 Colour
on FCC

1. Water

2. Soil ( Wet)

3. Forests

4. Urban areas

5. Agriculture

6. Fallow land

7. Dry River /
Drainage /
Dry Soil

8. Orchard

8
 Imagery : Dehradun and Surroundings 29 May 2013 Landsat 8 OLI

Band 1

9
Band 2

10
Band 3

11
Band 4

12
Band 5

13
Band 6

14
Band 7

15
False Colour Composite (FCC) – 5,4,3

16
True Colour Composite ( 3,2,1)

17