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Detecting underground structures in vegetation indices time series using

histograms

Conference Paper · April 2020

DOI: 10.1117/12.2557889

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George Melillos Diofantos G. Hadjimitsis

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 PROCEEDINGS OF SPIE
SPIEDigitalLibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie

Detecting underground structures in

vegetation indices time series using
histograms

Melillos, George, Hadjimitsis, Diofantos

George Melillos, Diofantos G. Hadjimitsis, "Detecting underground structures

in vegetation indices time series using histograms," Proc. SPIE 11418,
Detection and Sensing of Mines, Explosive Objects, and Obscured Targets
XXV, 114180D (24 April 2020); doi: 10.1117/12.2557889

Event: SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing, 2020, Online Only, California,

United States

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 Detecting underground structures in vegetation indices time
series using histograms
George Melillos*ab, Diofantos G. Hadjimitsisab.
a
Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Faculty of Engineering and Technology,
Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus
b
ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, Limassol, Cyprus

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses results obtained from a field spectroscopy campaigns for detecting underground structures. A
number of vegetation indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Simple Ratio (SR),
Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI) were utilized for the development of a
vegetation index-based procedure aiming at the detection of underground military structures by using existing
vegetation indices. The measurements were taken at the following test areas such as: (a) vegetation area covered
with the vegetation (barley), in the presence of an underground military structure (b) vegetation area covered with
the vegetation (barley), in the absence of an underground military structure. For this purpose was using histograms
to obtain useful information about Vegetation Indices spectral behaviours and to compare the two testing areas.

Keywords: Remote Sensing, Field Spectroscopy, Vegetation Indices, NDVI, SR, EVI, RVI, Histograms

1. INTRODUCTION
The detection of underground and ground military underground structures using satellite imagery and remote
sensing could make a significant contribution to defense and security. The launch of the first multispectral and
hyperspectral satellites as well as high-resolution satellites confirms that Earth observation techniques are capable
of delivering the most in these areas1.
Underground structures such as military structures and military deep man-made bunkers can affect their
surrounding landscapes in different ways, including changes in localized soil moisture content, soil composition
and vegetation vigor1.Vegetation vigor is often observed on the ground as a crop mark, a spot which can be used
to denote the presence of underground structures2. Crop marks can be formed both as negative marks above wall
foundations and as positive marks above the damper and more nutritious soil of buried pits and ditches 2.Deep
man-made bunkers are difficult to detect, especially when they are fully covered by natural soil3. It is necessary
to develop a method for the detection of such military underground structures covered by soil using satellite
images and aerial photographs4. A reasonable solution to the problem may be found by combining traditional
geological techniques with remote sensing. Using a concomitant interpretation of satellite and ground data, maps
may be compiled which can reveal areas where ‘buried’ underground structures are located. This is achieved by
documenting and assessing soil anomalies and by interpreting vegetation anomalies which may serve as
indicators; also, this is achieved by a combination of terrestrial and satellite data.
This paper aims to study underground deep man-made bunkers over vegetated areas using both ground and
satellite remote sensing data. Results obtained from a ground spectroradiometric campaign carried out at a specific
area in Cyprus using an SVC-HR1024 field spectroradiometer2. Field spectroradiometric measurements were
collected and analyzed to identify a known underground structure using the spectral profile of the vegetated
surface over the underground target and the surrounding area for in situ observations.

Detection and Sensing of Mines, Explosive Objects, and Obscured Targets XXV, edited by
Steven S. Bishop, Jason C. Isaacs, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 11418, 114180D · © 2020 SPIE
CCC code: 0277-786X/20/$21 · doi: 10.1117/12.2557889

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 Crop marks can reveal the presence and the absence of military underground structures not visible from the
satellite images3.
Furthermore, this research aims to analyse the performance of several vegetation indices that can be used for
detection of underground military structures. Four (4) different Vegetation Indices (Vis) were evaluated and tested
for their performance during the detection of underground structures. The equations of those indices are presented
in a table (Table 1).
For this study, remote sensing data were collected at phenological cycle for two test sites: Area (a) and Area (b),
showing a variety of differences: one is where an underground structure exists and the other, located nearby, where
no underground structure exists2.

2. RESOURCES AND METHODS

2.1 Study Area
Due to security and confidentiality issues, the specific area cannot be reported herein. The proposed methodology
has been applied in Cyprus over a specific geographical area3. The area is situated on a hill which provides clear
viewing from airborne and space-borne platforms, making the area ideal for remote sensing applications 3. Also,
it is located within a fenced, abandoned military area3. The soil type of the area is leptosol which contains small
amounts of gravel and with a very shallow depth3.
Figure 1 shows a military storage bunker similar to the one that is in the focus of this research 3. The horizontal
dimensions of the underground structure are 13m × 5m; it is a concrete storage bunker, located approximately 2m
below the ground surface3.

Figure 1: A military storage bunker.

2.2 Resources
An SVC-1024 spectroradiometer from the Spectra Vista Corporation (SVC) with a spectral range of 350–2500
nm was used to measure reflectance values3. The spectral resolution of the Spectroradiometric 1.0 nm. The
measurements were taken between 11:00 am and 13:00 pm (Local Time), under clear and overcast skies for diffuse
light to minimize any variation of the incoming solar electromagnetic radiance 3. In addition, a calibrated
spectralon panel (with reflectance ≈99.996%) measurement was used as a reference, while the measurement over
the crops were used as a target3.

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 2.3 Methods
The area of interest was determined first by identifying plots with a high probability of buried targets. Such areas
can be determined from various sources, such as on-site irregular activities, personal communication, surveys and
crop marks. The measurements were obtained from Area (a) Vegetation Area covered with the vegetation (barley),
in the presence of an underground military structure (see Figure 2) and Area (b) Vegetation Area covered with the
vegetation (barley) in the absence of an underground military structure (see Figure 3), in order to study possible
differences of the spectral signature of vegetation, as a result of the existence of underground structures3 (see
Figure 4).

Figure 2: Area (a) Vegetation Area covered with the vegetation (barley), in the presence of an
underground military structure.

Figure 3: Area (b) Vegetation Area covered with the vegetation (barley), in the absence of an underground
military structure.

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 Figure 4: Area (a) and Area (b) Vegetation Areas covered with the vegetation (barley)

The in-situ measurements were resampled to the Landsat 8 data using the appropriate Relative Spectral Response
filters3. Vegetation Indices are based on simple combinations of visible and infrared spectrum. Generally, the
vegetation indices are based on the low reflection of plant in the visible spectrum and the high reflectivity in the
infrared.
The overall methodology adopted in this study consists of five steps briefly described below (see Figure 5):
Step 1: An Area of interest with underground structures was selected as the study area.
Step 2: Obtain ground reflectance values on the selected targets using a field spectroradiometer.
Step 3: In-band analysis using Landsat 8 after scaling up the narrow band reflectance measurements based on
Landsat 8 relative spectral response (RSR) filters.
Step 4: Evaluation of spectral signatures/vegetation indices between the different sensors.
Step 5: Comparison of results/histograms were performed.

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 Figure 5: The steps of the methodology adopted.

As mentioned above, the area was subsequently cultivated with barley crops for the purpose of studying possible
differences of the spectral signature of healthy and stressed vegetation as a result of the existence of underground
structures.
It is also necessary to have the reflectance value of barley during different phenological phases, after the data was
filtered through the Relative Spectral Response filters5. Also, the phenological cycle of vegetation is significantly
affected by weather conditions, especially rainfall, which affects the vegetative stages of crop development.
After the spectral signatures were acquired, the visible and NIR bands from satellite sensor Landsat 8 were
calculated using the relative spectral response (RSR). Then, the waveband reflectance values were used to
calculate the vegetation indices (VIs) like the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced
Vegetation Index (EVI), Simple Ratio (SR) and Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI) as shown in Table 1. The vegetation
indices were plotted and statistically cross compared between the two areas of interest namely the “buried military
structure” and the “non-military structure”.

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 Table 1: Vegetation indices used in this study, where pNIR, pRED, pBLUE and pGREEN represent the
atmospherically or partially atmospherically corrected surface reflectance values of the near-infrared (NIR),
red (RED), blue (BLUE) and green (GREEN) wavelengths, respectively7.

No. Vegetation Index Equation

NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation
1. (pNIR–pRED)/(pNIR+ pRED)
Index)8
2.5 (pNIR–pRED)/(pNIR +6pRED– 7.5
2. EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index)9
pBLUE +1)
3. SR (Simple Ratio)10 pNIR / pRED
6. RVI (Ratio Vegetation Index)13 pRED / pNIR

3. RESULTS
3.2 Vegetation Indices Results
Figures 6 – 9 show the average values of the VIs, as these are mathematically shown in Table 1, during the crop’s
phenological cycle. In these figures, the VIs of the barley crop over the Area (a) covered with the vegetation
(barley), in the presence of an underground military structure are shown by blue column bars and over the Area
(b) covered with the vegetation (barley) in the absence of an underground military structure by the orange column
bars.
Summarising the findings that can be deduced from Figs. 6-9 regarding the contrasting differences between the
two sites at different phenological stages:
 This result is presented in bar chart (Fig. 6) for NDVI Vegetation Index. The Frequency axis is the scale
that shows the number of times that the values occurred within the intervals set corresponds to the X-
axis which is the grouped intervals for Area (a) and Area (b), which shows the scale of values in which
the measurements lie. It can be seen that the number of times for Area (a) were higher than Area (b) for
the 0.1 till 0.9 values except for the 0 till 0.1, 0.6 till 0.7 and 0.9 till 1 value group where Area (b) were
higher than Area (a). Moreover, is remarkable the upward trend of Area (b) and high difference from the
Area (a) throughout at 0.9 till 1 values.
 The bar chart in Figure 7 shows the result for SR Vegetation Index. It can be seen that the number of
times for Area (a) were higher than Area (b) for the 1 till 21 values. There is a clear upward trend of Area
(a) compared Area (b) which there is a downward trend. Differently the number of times for Area (b)
were higher than Area (a) for values greater than 21.
 The bar chart in Figure 8 shows the result for EVI Vegetation Index. It can be seen that the number of
times for Area (a) were higher than Area (b) for the 0.5 till 2 values. On the other hand the number of
times for Area (b) were higher than Area (a) for values greater than 2 values. In addition the number of
times for Area (a) were equal with Area (b) for the 0 till 0.5 values group.
 The bar chart in Figure 9 shows the result for RVI Vegetation Index. It can be seen that the number of
times for Area (b) were higher than Area (a) for the 0 till 0.1 values group and for the 0.2 till 0.3 values
group. On the other hand the number of times for Area (a) were higher than Area (b) for the 0.1 till 0.2
values group and for values greater than 0.3.
 The variations between the two areas, namely in the presence and in the absence of military underground
structures.

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 Figure 6. NDVI Histogram.

Figure 7: SR Histogram.

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 Figure 8: EVI Histogram.

Figure 9: RVI Histogram.

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 4. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, it was demonstrated how remote sensing can be exploited as a monitoring and decision-making tool
for the detection of those structures. The detection of military underground structures using traditional techniques,
such as in-situ spectroradiometric measurements, can be difficult, as such areas are restricted and it is unlawful to
enter those military areas without permission from the authorities. Thus, modern remote sensing techniques can
be used as a systematic tool for monitoring and surveying such structures25.
The results of this study delineate the spectral behaviour of two different targets. Areas covered by natural soil or
by a crop such as barley, can easily be differentiated between areas where underground structures are present or
absent4, as a consequence of the change in the spectral signature of the natural soil or barley; in this respect,
vegetation indices, shown in Table 1, may be used for this purpose.

Overall testing and field spectroradiometric measurements are planned in the near future to study other types of
military underground structures1 in order to evaluate the above results and the satellites’ sensitivity.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Acknowledgments are given to the Remote Sensing Laboratory of the Department of Civil Engineering and
Geomatics, at the Cyprus University of Technology for its continuous support
(http://www.cyprusremotesensing.com).

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