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 PROCESSING OF
REMOTE SENSING DATA
Processing of Remote
Sensing Data

MICHEL-CLAUDE GIRARD
Professor of Soil Science at the Paris-Grignon INA

COLETTE GIRARD
Professor emeritus of Geobotany at the Paris-Grignon INA

In collaboration with
Dominique Courault
Jean-Marc Gilliot
Lionel Loubersac
Jean Meyer-Roux
Jean-Marie Monget
Bernard Seguin

Translated by
N. Venkat Rao
Professor of Geophysics
Osmania University
Hyderabad, India

A.A. BALKEMA PUBLISHERS L isse / A b in g d o n / E xto n (PA) / T o k y o

Published by arrangement with Dunod, Paris

Ouvrage publié avec le concours du Ministère français chargé de la Culture—Centre

national du livre
Published with the support of the French Ministry of Culture

Translation of: Traitement des données de télédétection

ISBN 2 10 004185 1 © 1999 Dunod, Paris

Copyright Reserved © 2003

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted In any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other­
wise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by: A.A. Balkema, a member of Swets & Zeitlinger Publishers

www.balkema.nl and www.szp.swets.nl

ISBN 90 5809 232 1

 Preface
‘Who sees from a height, sees well; who sees from far, sees correctly’
Victor Hugo, The art of being a grandfather, satisfied exile, 1877

‘I can make a circle around the Earth in twenty minutes’

William Shakespeare, A midsummer night’s dream, 1595

After the ‘Course on Photo-interpretation’, published by ENSA of Grignon in 1970, and the books
‘Applications of remote sensing in the biosphere (1975) and ‘Applied remote sensing—Temperate and
intertropical zones (1989)’ published by Masson, this book is one of the most important to be released
by Dunod this year. It covers a part of the preceding books, which are out of print; however, its novelty
lies in the fact that it describes all the methods of digital data processing of remote sensing images.
In fact, today, image processing can be carried out on personal computers, which are accessible
to all professionals, researchers and students, and the large number of existing software programs
provides a wide choice. We have opted for one of the commercial softwares. Although it is not the most
widely known, it is mathematically most explicit and gives many details about the quality of classifications.
It also enables analyses of reflectance and digital computations, and is less expensive. Only a part of
the possibilities of the TeraVue program is given in the CD supplied with this book.
Starting with a simplified version of this program, examples of SPOT and LANDSATTM images
are given, showing various phases of the methods, which constitute the justification for a new book.
. For ail the methods described In this book, corresponding images are given in the CD, which can be
analysed on personal computers.
For simplification, the given examples of data processing deal with one SPOT image of the Brienne
region between the humid and chalky zones of Champagne. We have had the occasion to work with
our friend F. Dumas, Director of the Chamber of Agriculture of Aube for studying the erosion-prone
zones, among others.
A number of illustrations related to the various chapters, which can be analysed by the same
program, are also given in the CD. Thus, the conventional colour illustrations of the remote sensing
books are replaced by digital images In this book.
Obviously, it Is assumed that the reader has a PC at his disposal, as it is a common practice to
have one these days. If not, it is expected that all readers will have access to one while studying this
book.
Remote sensing is a multispectral tool; for studying any problem, it is often very useful to have
data In different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, viz., visible, near and middle reflective infrared,
thermal infrared and microwave.
This book is mainly concerned with the processing of data acquired In visible and near- and
middle-infrared bands. In fact, these domains are the most often used, since the corresponding satellite
images can be readily procured. Also, the methods of visual interpretation of Images and aerial
vi Processing of Remote Sensing Data

photographs have been updated, as they are still very useful.They are, perhaps, forgotten now, although
they constituted the basis for any interpretation about twenty years ago. It was good to recollect them
and adapt them to new remote sensing data.
As the data cannot be processed by various models underlying each method without validating
the model, the theoretical and practical bases of estimating the quality of the results obtained have
been reviewed.
In order to safeguard the main objective of image processing, viz., answering a relevant thematic
question, a number of concrete and real examples of data processing of remote sensing are included
at the end of the book.
As we did not wish to make this book a bibliographic collection on remote sensing and listing ail
the references would have required ten pages at the end of every chapter, these are restricted to the
absolute minimum.The references cited constitute only guides to those that can be found In periodicals
whose names are given in the appendix. The fact that a book is not cited does not Indicate lack of
Interest. Such books include those authored by MM. Flouzat, Wllmet and a number of others.
This book is also addressed to teachers of secondary schools who have introduced In the first,
second and final programs multidisciplinary topics on remote sensing. It ought to help them in presenting
specific cases and in preparing the students for applied studies in mathematics, physics, geography
or biology.
The Images given In the CD are due to kind courtesy as acknowledged below:
— ^The two Thematic Mapper scenes of LANDSAT-5 acquired on 1 April 1990 (scene 197/26) and
15 May 1992 (scene 198/26), by ESA: @ ESA (1990 and 1992), acquired by Fuclno Station,
Distributed by Eurimage-Geosys, by courtesy of Eurimage);
— ^The image of Aube taken on 16 September 1996, by SPOT-lmage:©CNES 1996, Distribution
SPOT-lmage.
 Acknowledgements
We sincerely thank various colleagues with whom we worked and who have provided information on
different aspects of remote sensing:
M.J.-M. Gilliot (INA PG) for studies on filters and geometric corrections (Chapters 12 and 13);
M J. Meyer-Roux (CCR of ISPRA, European Union) for estimation of yields (Chapter 22);
Mrs. D. Courault, Ch. King, E. Vaudour, MM. R. Escadafal, B. Mougenot, C.Yongchalermchai, for
the numerous studies on soils conducted in our laboratory of INA PG, most of which were borrowed
for this book (Chapter 23);
M.J.-M. Monget (National Higher School of Mines, Paris) for applications in mineral prospecting
Chapter 24);
M .L Loubersac (IFREMER) for coastal-zone applications (Chapter 25);
Mrs. D Courault (INRA) and M. B. Seguin (INRA) for thermal-imagery applications (Chapter 26)
and Mrs. Ch. King for her data on microwave remote sensing.
We thank P. Bertrand, F. Burlot, T. Francoual and S. Mollet who, during the preparation of their
theses, have contributed to experimentations on various methods developed in our laboratory as part
of their Master’s program in ‘Localised Information Systems for land-use management’.
Several parts of this book have been taken from our own investigations, published or not, as well
as those of our research unit on ‘Dynamics of Environment and Spatial Organisation’ (Department of
Agronomy-Environment) of the Paris-Grignon National Institute of Agronomy: Mmes. Ch. King, D.
Courault and D. Orth, E. Vaudour and MM. J.-R Rogala, D. King, R Escadafal, B. Mougenot, J.-M.
Gilliot, C.Yongchalermchai, G. Belluzo who, although working in various organisations (INA PG, BRGM,
ORSTOM, INRA, APIC-System), have constituted a scientific team for the last twenty years studying
applications of remote sensing to soil and vegetation. We also thank P. Boissard, M. Bornand, J.-P.
Lagouarde, B. Seguin (INRA) who since long have been associated with our studies on remote sensing.
We have taken several figures from MM. D’Allemand, Becker, Guyot, Lliboutry, Perrin de
Brichambaut, Vossen and others, which we have modified to our requirement. Thanks are also due to
P. Guillore (t) and J.-C. Carle for a significant number of drawings used in the book. We are thankful to
D. Lepoutre and GeoSYS who have permitted us to use a digital elevation model for Brienne region.
We cannot forget that remote sensing studies were initiated by M.R. Chevalller, M. Guy and M.
Jean Boulaine, who have provided the results of their research on the use of aerial photos in the
Agricultural Academy of France. Our acknowledgements are also due to M. G. Brachet for his
encouragement to continue our studies; to M.B. Cabrieres, the incharge of SPOT-4 system at CNES,
for providing data on SPOT systems (a major part of which is given in the CD-ROM) and for carefully
reading the material on this subject; to Mme. Lecochennec of SPOT-lmage for reading the part
concerning SPOT; M. Egels of IGN who has read Chapter 14 on fundamentals of photogrammetry; M.
P. Fasquel for extending wise counsel on geometric quality of data (Chapter 17).
Practice of remote sensing techniques in administrative and consultancy agencies and various
professional sectors has enabled us to apply our methods in real situations. We thank all those who
have shared this challenge with us: M. V. Le Dolley who, as the district director of agriculture, encouraged
viii Processing of Remote Sensing Data

processing of images of Yonne district; MM. F. Dumas and V. Ellisseeff of the Aube Chamber of
Agriculture, M. F. Limaux of Lorraine Regional Chamber of Agriculture, M.J.-M. Vinatier and Mrs I.
Boutefoy of the Soil Info Rhone Alps (SIRA), M. P. Juillet de Saint-Lager, Regional Director of
Environment of Champagne-Ardenne, M. L. Lurton of the Inter-professional Committee on Vineyards
of Cotes-du-Rhone and Rhone Valley.
In this book, we also address the secondary school teachers who have introduced multidisciplinary
courses on remote sensing in their primary, secondary and final school programs. We had the occasion
to work In this experiment due to some teachers, viz., Ch. Guisti, M. Dupuis and A. Herpe of La Queue
les-yvelines high school and professors Monchamp and VIgneron of Plalsir high school. We have
often thought of them and their students while preparing this book: it should provide concrete base for
preparing to applied studies In mathematics, physics, geography or biology. We also wish that this
book forms a useful tool for all other secondary teachers who want to engage themselves in this
marvellous multidisciplinary adventure extending across processing and interpretation of images.
We are especially grateful to Lucien Bugeat who nominated one of us to the Remote Sensing
Committee of the Agricultural Ministry and to Jean Dunglass and Maurice Dehegere who subsequently
presided over it. We were thus informed of the several attempts in the agricultural domain and the
numerous applications of remote sensing that were already operational.
Our thanks are also due to Mrs. S. Meriaux, secretary of section VII, our colleagues of section VII
and the permanent secretary A. Cauderon of Agricultural Academy of France for organising meetings
on remote sensing. Wish several other such meetings followed.
We are thankful to the national program of spatial remote sensing and CNES (stimulated action
specific to use of SPOT Images, headed by F. Blasco), Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (directorate
of rural areas and forest, bureau of soils, crop inventory program, management and conservation of
soils), IBM and INRA, who enabled progress of these studies through their scientific and financial
support.
Lastly, we wish to acknowledge the person associated with the pedagogic aspect of this book,
i.e., introduction of a CD-ROM as the heart of book. M. J.-M. Monget, our colleague at the National
Higher School of Mines, developed the concepts and wrote the TeraVue programs. We can thank him
only by assuring that our joint endeavour will continue through the proposed exciting program of
establishing information exchange between the European Union and the United States.
Our thanks to J.-M. Monget cannot be complete without simultaneously mentioning Mrs. Druel,
the incharge of La Boyere publications, who was responsible for the publication of the TeraVue image
processing software and the production of CD-ROM.
 Contents

Data S ources

1. Physical Basis 3
1.1 Radiation 3
1.2 Source and Sensor Parameters 5
1.3 Reflectance Factor 8
1.4 Solar Radiation and Atmospheric Perturbations 9
1.4.1 Atmospheric absorption 9
1.4.2 Atmospheric scattering 11
1.4.3 Atmospheric radiation 11
1.5 Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing 12
1.5.1 Physical basis 12
1.5.2 Correction for atmospheric radiation 13
1.5.3 Relationship between radiant temperature and aerodynamic temperature 16
1.5.4 Relationship between surface temperature and évapotranspiration 18
1.6 Principles of Microwave Remote Sensing 19
1.6.1 Special laws at microwave frequencies 20
1.6.2 Frequency bands 21
1.6.3 Polarisation 21
1.6.4 Doppler effect 21
1.6.5 Backscatter signal 22
1.6.6 Radar equation 22
1.6.7 Logistic parameters 22
1.6.8 Analysis of physical processes of backscatter 25
1.7 General Conclusion 31
References 31

2. Sensors and Platforms 33

2.1 Sensors 33
2.1.1 General scheme 34
2.1.2 Radiation receiving systems 35
2.1.3 Spectral bands 37
2.1.4 Airborne systems 37
2.2 Platforms 38
2.2.1 General principles of orbital motion 38
2.2.2 Orbits 40
 Processing of Remote Sensing Data

2.2.3 SPOT system 42

2.3 Other Systems 45
2.3.1 Meteosat 45
2.3.2 NOAA 45
2.3.3 Thermal sensor systems 47
2.3.4 LANDSAT 48
2.3.5 ERS-1 and 2 50
2.3.6 RADARSAT 50
2.3.7 JERS 50
2.3.8 Evolution of sensors 50
2.3.9 Satellite photography 53
2.4 Conclusion 53
References 54

B
Physical interpretation of Data

C om position o f Coiours 57
3.1 The Human Eye and Colour 57
3.1.1 Vision 57
3.1.2 Sensitivity 58
3.1.3 Contrasts 58
3.2 Red-Green-Blue System 58
3.3 Cubic Representation 60
3.3.1 Additive system 60
3.3.2 Subtractive system 60
3.4 Triangle of the International Commission on Illumination 61
3.5 Munsell System 62
3.6 Metamerism 63
3.7 Colour In Photography 65
3.7.1 Principle of emulsions 65
3.7.2 Panchromatic and infrared 65
3.7.3 Colour 66
3.7.4 Colour infrared 67
3.8 Treatment of Colours on Colour Screen 68
3.8.1 Colours on screen 68
3.8.2 Colour display 68
3.9 Use of Colours in Image Processing 69
3.9.1 Colour code of an Image (8 bits) 69
3.9.2 Interpretation of a 3-by-8 bits code 69
3.9.3 Choice of colours 70
3.9.4 Colour printing of documents 71
3.10 Conclusion 71
References 71

4. Spectral C haracteristics 72
4.1 Vegetation 72
4.1.1 Laboratory measurements 73
 Contents xi

4.1.2 Field measurements 79

4.2 Soils 82
4.3 Vegetation Indices 84
4.3.1 Identification of vegetation cover 84
4.3.2 Estimation of vegetation parameters 85
4.3.3 Use of ‘soil clusters’ 86
4.3.4 Various vegetation indices 86
4.4 Water 88
4.4.1 Response in visible and near- and middle-infrared bands 88
4.4.2 Approximate method of bathymetry in clear water 88
4.4.3 Measurement of water colour 90
4.5 Snow and Ice 91
References 91

Processing and Interpretation

Visual Interpretation o f Photographs and Images 95

5.1 Visual Interpretation 95
5.1.1 The eye 95
5.1.2 The brain 95
5.1.3 Interpretation procedure 97
5.2 Photo-Interpretation 97
5.2.1 Lines and points 97
5.2.2 Closed areas 103
5.2.3 Identification of thematic objects 105
5.2.4 Vinicultural “terroirs” 106
5.2.5 Conclusion 107
5.3 Visual Interpretation of Satellite Images 109
5.3.1 Interpretation of photographic prints 109
5.3.2 Interpretation on computer monitor 109
5.3.3 Stereoscopic vision with satellite images 110
5.4 Conclusion 111
References 112

6. Image Processing— General Features 113

6.1 Introduction 113
6.2 Image processing methods 114
6.2.1 Texture 114
6.2.2 Structure 115
6.3 Classification 115
6.3.1 Multiple languages 115
6.3.2 Segmentation and classification 115
6.3.3 Classification and grading 116
6.3.4 Ascendant and descendant methods 116
6.3.5 Concept of mathematical distance 117
6.3.6 Utilisation of distances for classification 118
xii Processing of Remote Sensing Data

6.4 Conclusion 120

7. Preliminary Processing 121

7.1 Processing of Single-band Data 121
7.1.1 Histogram analysis 121
7.1.2 Transformations of digital numbers 123
7.2 Processing of Multispectral Data 127
7.2.1 Comparison between colours and spectral characteristics of objects 127
7.2.2 Choice of band combinations 128
7.2.3 Two-dimensional or three-dimensional histograms 130
7.2.4 Segmentation of an histogram 133
7.2.5 Arithmetic combination of bands 133
7.2.6 Statistical analysis of bands 136
7.2.7 Principal component analysis 137
7.3 Masks 141
7.3.1 Radiometric masking 141
7.3.2 Geographic masking 142
7.3.3 Logical masking 142
7.4 Conclusion 143

8. Unsupervised Classification 144

8.1 Ascendant Hierarchic Classification 144
8.1.1 Principles 144
8.1.2 Groups and legend 145
8.2 Example: Image of Brienne Region 148
8.2.1 Statistical interpretation 148
8.2.2 Digital interpretation 150
8.2.3 Spatial interpretation 153
8.2.4 General Interpretation 156
8.2.5 Classification quality assessment 159
8.2.6 Response to identified objectives 159
8.2.7 Conclusion 161
8.3 Classification by Mobile Centres (or “K-means”) 162
8.3.1 Principle 162
8.3.2 Method of interpretation 163
8.3.3 Comparison with ascendant hierarchic classification 165
8.3.4 Conclusion 166

9. Supervised Classification 167

9.1 Parallelepiped Classification 167
9.1.1 Segmentation of radiometric scatter diagram 167
9.1.2 Single-band segmentation 168
9.1.3 Multispectral segmentation 170
9.1.4 Chorological segmentation 172
9.1.5 Spectral characteristics of various groups 172
9.1.6 Statistics of various groups 174
9.1.7 Visual interpretation 174
9.1.8 Quality of parallelepiped classification 175
9.1.9 Conclusion 175
 Contents xiii

9.2 Maximum-likelihood Classification 176

9.2.1 Probabilistic spectral behaviour 176
9.2.2 Principles of classification 176
9.2.3 Rejection threshold 177
9.2.4 Classification operations 177
9.2.5 Iterations: a heuristic approach 185
9.2.6 Classification quality assessment 185
9.2.7 Conclusion 186

Image Processing M ethodology 187

10.1 Objectives 187

10.2 Method 187
10.2.1 Input 187
10.2.2 Processing 188
10.2.3 Output 188
10.3 Procedure 189
10.3.1 Initialisation 189
10.3.2 Correlation 191
10.3.3 Verification 191
10.3.4 Modelling 191
10.4 Interpretation of Processing 191
10.4.1 Radiometric approach 191
10.4.2 Chorological approach 191
References 192

Structural Processing o f Sateiiite Images 193

11.1 Introduction 193
11.1.1 Boundaries and mixels 193
11.1.2 Classification and mapping 193
11.1.3 Complex map units 194
11.2 VOISIN 194
11.2.1 Neighbourhood in window: composition vector 194
11.2.2 Method 195
11.2.3 Example 196
11.3 OASIS 198
11.3.1 Method 198
11.3.2 Example 199
References 206

12. Digital Filtering o f Images 208

12.1 Linear Filtering 208

12.1.1 Image as a two-dimensional signal 208
12.1.2 Signal-processing systems: convolution product 212
12.1.3 Spatial filtering 214
12.2 Non-linear Filtering 216
12.2.1 Order Filtering: median 216
12.2.2 Morphological filtering 217
12.2.3 Homomorphic filtering 219
12.2.4 Adaptive filtering 220
xiv Processing of Remote Sensing Data

12.3 Noise Reduction in Image Preprocessing 221

12.3.1 Noise in images 221
12.3.2 Linear and non-linear filters for noise reduction 221
12.4 Edge Detection 222
12.4.1 Model of an edge 223
12.4.2 Edge detection by differential filters 224
12.4.3 Edge detection by other filters 226
12.4.4 Closure of edges 228
12.4.5 Other edge detection methods 228
12.4.6 Evaluation of edge detection operators 231
12.5 Conclusion 233
References 233

Geometric Transformation of Remote-sensing Images 234

13.1 Methods of Geometric Correction 234

13.1.1 Causes of geometric deformation 234
13.1.2 Parametric and interpolation methods 234
13.1.3 Global or local modelling of Interpolation methods 235
13.1.4 Direct and inverse transformations 235
13.1.5 Interpolation In geometric transformation 235
13.2 Interpolation Methods 236
13.2.1 Radiometric Interpolation 236
13.2.2 Geometric interpolation 237
13.2.3 Conclusion 245
13.3 Image Rectification 245
13.3.1 General problem 245
13.3.2 Systems and data for rectification 246
13.3.3 Formulation of rectification model 249
13.3.4 Conclusion 253
References 253

Fundamentals of Aerial Photography 255

14.1 Photo-acquisition 255

14.1.1 Photographic sensors 255
14.1.2 Types of aerial photos 258
14.1.3 Regular missions 261
14.1.4 Organisation and overlap of aerial photos 262
14.1.5 Flight plan (example) 264
14.2 Stereoscopy 264
14.2.1 General 264
14.2.2 Stereoscopic vision 266
14.2.3 Stereoscopes 268
14.2.4 Anaglyphs and vertographs 269
14.3 Photogrammetry 269
14.3.1 Orientation of photographs 270
14.3.2 Use of a stereo pair 270
14.3.3 Scale of a photograph 271
14.3.4 Aerial photo mosaics 273
14.3.5 Radial distortions 274
 Contents xv

14.3.6 Parallax and altitude determination 275

14.3.7 Stereo restitution— orthophotos 276
14.3.8 Historical background of aerial photography 277
14.4 Conclusion 278
References 279

Quality Assessment

15. Scale Changes 283

15.1 Introduction 283
15.2 Scale and Organisational Level of Media 283
15.3 Specific Aspects of Remote Sensing 285
15.3.1 Resolution 285
15.3.2 Adequacy between level of observation and level of organisation:
Image segmentation 286
15.4 Resolution of Pixel into Constituents or Descendant Approach 287
15.5 Aggregation of Pixels or Ascendant Approach 291
References 292

16. Criteria of Choice for the User 293

16.1 What Data to Choose? 293
16.1.1 What Is the question posed and the problem to be solved? 293
16.1.2 Are remote-sensing data apt to answer the problem? 293
16.1.3 What are the data acquisition conditions most likely to provide
an answer? 293
16.1.4 Are remote-sensing data responding to the conditions defined and
problem posed available? 294
16.2 Criteria for Choice of Remote-sensing data 294
16.2.1 Choice of spectral and geometric resolutions 294
16.2.2 Choice of date of acquisition 294
16.2.3 Choice of bands 295
16.3 Choice of Type of Processing 297
16.3.1 Visual or computer interpretation of data 297
16.3.2 Supervision of digital classification methods 297
16.4 Conclusion 299

17. Quality of Interpretation 300

17.1 Introduction 300
17.2 Geometric Accuracy 301
17.2.1 Precision of position 301
17.2.2 Precision of shape 302
17.2.3 Reliability 302
17.3 Semantic Accuracy 302
17.3.1 Definition 302
17.3.2 Establishment of typology 303
17.3.3 Establishment of error matrix 304
xvi Processing of Remote Sensing Data

17.3.4 Discussion of error matrix 306

17.3.5 Limitations of conventional methods of accuracy assessment 308
17.4 Conclusion 309
References 309

Applications

18. Agrolandscapes 313

18.1 Landscape Interpretation 313
18.1.1 Concept of landscape 313
18.1.2 Landscape: synthetic descriptor in remote sensing 313
18.1.3 Agrolandscape 314
18.2 Landscape Analysis 314
18.2.1 Different points of vision 315
18.2.2 Principal components of landscape 316
18.2.3 Descriptive format and statistics 320
18.3 Example: Agrolandscape of Yonne District 321
18.3.1 Method of description 321
18.3.2 Interpretation procedure: delineationand description of map zones 325
18.3.3 Assessment of visual Interpretation 326
18.3.4 Classification of map zones: agrolandscape units 327
18.3.5 Verification 327
18.4 Other Examples 328
18.4.1 Auge region 328
18.4.2 Rhone district 328
18.4.3 Aube district 328
18.4.4 Champagne-Ardenne region 329
18.4.5 Agrolandscapes and “small agricultural zones” or “agricultural
reference units” 329
18.5 Conclusion 329
References 330

19. CORINE Land Cover 331

19.1 Introduction 331
19.1.1 CORINE Land-Cover mapping 331
19.1.2 Automatic mapping 333
19.2 Data Processing and Discussion of Results 334
19.2.1 Supervised classification of land cover 334
19.2.2 Spatial integration 336
19.2.3 Assessment of results 336
19.3 Conclusion 343
References 343

20. Herbaceous Formations and Permanent Grasslands 345

20.1 Terrestrial Herbaceous Formations 345

20.2 Problems 346
20.3 Applications 348
 Contents xvìi

20.3.1 Distribution of herbaceous formations and permanent grasslands 348

20.3.2 Identification of vegetation species and groups 349
20.3.3 Mapping of units and estimation of areas 351
20.3.4 Aerial phytomass quantity estimation 353
20.3.5 Phytomass quality assessment 355
20.3.6 Monitoring and forecasting of changes In vegetation groups 356
20.4 Conclusion 357
References 358

21. Wetlands 359

21.1 Nature and Importance of Wetlands 359

21.2 Delineation of Wetlands by Remote Sensing 360
21.2.1 Marshes 360
21.2.2 Flooded and wet grasslands 361
21.3 Classification and Mapping of Wetlands 364
21.3.1 Mapping at national or regional level 365
21.3.2 Mapping at local level 366
21.4 Study of Plant Community Dynamics 368
21.5 Conclusion 369
References 370

22. Crop Inventory 371

22.1 Economic Aspects 371
22.2 Operational Use of Spatial Remote Sensing 372
22.3 Areal Estimation In Europe by Remote Sensing 372
22.4 Agrometeorological Models of Yield Estimation 374
22.4.1 Yield estimation methods 374
22.4.2 MARS method or CGMS model 375
22.4.3 Remote sensing as a complement to models 375
22.4.4 Perspectives 376
22.5 Conclusion 377
References 377

23. Soil Mapping 378

23.1 Remote Sensing and Soils 378
23.2 Directly Sensed parameters 378
23.2.1 Spectral characteristics of soils in visible and near infrared bands 378
23.2.2 Surface states of soil cover 379
23.2.3 Colour 379
23.2.4 Roughness 379
23.2.5 Carbonate 383
23.2.6 Organic matter 384
23.2.7 Iron 385
23.2.8 Moisture 386
23.2.9 Grain size 388
23.2.10 Salts 389
23.2.11 Multifactorial analysis 390
23.2.12 Linear clusters of soils 391
23.3 Model of Image Interpretation 392
xviii Processing of Remote Sensing Data

23.4 Remote Sensing and Soil Mapping 394

23.4.1 Soil landscape and remote sensing 394
23.4.2 Method of soil landscape elaboration 395
23.4.3 Example 396
23.5 Conclusions 399
References 399

24. Mining Geoiogy 401

24.1 Metallogeny and Types of Deposits 401
24.1.1 Models of mineral deposits 401
24.1.2 An example: uranium deposits in France 402
24.1.3 Regional metallogeny and metalliferous provinces 402
24.1.4 Metallotect: an operational concept 403
24.2 Multiscale Approach in Mineral Prospecting 404
24.2.1 Multlscale structural model in remote sensing of vein deposits 404
24.2.2 Example of regional application of structural interpretation 405
24.3 Remote Sensing: an indirect method 405
24.3.1 Reflectance properties 405
24.3.2 Use of thermal band 409
24.4 Conclusion 412
References 413

25. Remote Sensing and Coastal-zone Management 414

25.1 Introduction: General Problem 414
25.2 Spatial Observation of Coastal Environments 415
25.2.1 Littoral and coastal-zone objects 415
25.2.2 Littoral objects and specifications of aerospatial observation systems 415
25.3 Spectral Characteristics of Littoral Objects 418
25.3.1 Intertidal and subtidal littoral environments 418
25.3.2 Mineral targets of intertidal zone (optical domain) 418
25.3.3 Vegetal targets of intertidal zone (optical domain) 418
25.3.4 Subtidal zone: hydrocarbon pollution 421
25.4 Examples of Application to Littoral Management 422
25.4.1 Mapping of coral environments 423
25.4.2 Aquaculture management (raising tropical shrimps) 423
25.4.3 Thematic mapping of seaweeds 424
25.4.4 Detection of hydrocarbon pollution in sea 424
25.4.5 Monitoring surface state of sea by radar Imaging 424
25.4.6 Detection and monitoring of sea-surface temperature variations in
littoral environment 426
25.5 Conclusions 427
References 427

26. Applications of Thermal-infrared and Microwave Data 430

26.1 Thermal-infrared Data 430
26.1.1 Detection of drought in France 430
26.1.2 Estimation of exchanges between soil, vegetation and atmosphere 432
26.1.3 Mapping rainfall distribution in Sahel 432
26.1.4 Characterisation of frost zones 433
 Contents xix

26.1.5 Analysis of topoclimates from surface temperatures 433

26.1.6 Use of surface temperature and vegetation index 435
26.1.7 Conclusion 435
26.2 Microwave Data: Use of Radar images 436
26.2.1 Characteristics of radars 437
26.2.2 Image quality 440
26.2.3 Applications of radar data 442
26.2.4 Conclusion 447

References 449
Glossary 451
General References 457
Useful Internet Sites 461
Alphabetical Index 465
CD Rom Images Index 487
 A
DATA SOURCES
 ________ 1
Physical Basis
The subject presented in this chapter provides the fundamentals necessary for understanding the
techniques and applications of remote sensing. For more detailed information, the reader may refer to
specialised books, in particular the one by Guyot (1997), from which some of the concepts presented
here have been taken.

1.1 RADIATION
Remote sensing is based on the utilisation of emission and reflection properties of electromagnetic
radiation, which carries energy and propagates without attenuation in vacuum but is more or less
absorbed in different media. The solar radiation constitutes the external source of energy for the Earth.
This energy is fixed by chlorophyll vegetation for producing living matter (primary producer). It will be
seen later how this characteristic is used in remote sensing to study vegetation (Chap. 4).
Any object at a temperature higher than 0° K acts as a source of electromagnetic radiation by
converting a part of the thermal energy into radiative energy. In addition, the object also receives
energy from its environment, partly absorbing it and transforming it into thermal energy. The fraction of
energy absorbed modifies internal energy of the object, which is represented by emission in a different
wavelength. The blackbody is an ideal source. Its radiant exitance M q = dOg / dS (radiant energy flux
Og emitted by an extended source per unit area in a hemisphere) is independent of the angle of
emission (a) and depends only on its temperature according to Planck’s radiation law:

dM/(A-T) / dX = 2nhc / [expihc / XkT) - 1] in W • • ijm-'' (1)

where T is the absolute temperature In Kelvin, X the wavelength in pm, h Planck’s constant:
6.63 X J-s, cthe velocity of light: 3 x 10^ m-s“ ^ and/cthe Boltzmann constant: 1.38 x
The exitance of a blackbody Is related to the radiance by the equation:

M q — 71 X Lg

Integration of equation (1) over the entire spectral region gives the total exitance emitted by a
blackbody (Stefan-Boltzmann law):

M = aT 4

where a is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant: 5.67 x 10“ ®W m '^ ’ K” "^.

According to Planck’s law, radiance decreases with temperature (7).The maximum wavelength of
emission of a body is given by Wien’s displacement law:

= 2 8 9 7 /7
4 Processing of Remote Sensing Data

For the Sun, whose temperature is approximately 6000° K, Xmax = energy

flux occurs in the wavelength range of 0.15 to 4 pm (CD 1.1; see the CD enclosed with the book). For
the Earth, whose temperature is about 300° K, = 9.6 pm and the energy flux lies in the wavelength
region of 3 to 100 pm.
A comparison of the flux reflected by the Earth (assuming its reflectivity as 1) and the flux directly
emitted by the Earth (assuming its emissivity as 1) is shown in Fig. 1.1 .The atmospheric windows are
shaded (Table 1.1 and section 1.4).

Infrared
I , ■ 1 Atmospheric windows p = Reflectivity

Fig. 1.1: Comparison between the fluxes reflected and emitted by the Earth (after Becker, 1978).

The Earth’s surface behaves like a grey body. Spectral emissivity of a natural surface (e) In the
direction 0 is defined as the ratio of the radiance of the surface LxiQ) to that of the blackbody Bx:

Sy^{Q) = L^{T,Q)/B^{T)

For the entire spectrum, we get;

R — 80 Tg + (1 £)^atm

is the atmospheric radiation, which will be discussed In connection with thermal infrared remote
sensing (Chap. 26 and Table 1.3).
Any radiation comprises a wide range of wavelengths;

X = cN

where c is the velocity of light; 3x10® m-s""* and v the frequency in s“ ^

Energy carried by a photon Is; e = h v , where v = clx and h Planck’s constant. The total energy of
a radiation is;

E = he Z{nx / X)6X
 Data Sources 5

where is the photon density: a;^) A/the number of photons per unit time and AX the
spectral window or band.
The various domains of the electromagnetic spectrum and the main types of sensors used in
remote sensing are shown in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1: Electromagnetic spectrum and remote sensing systems

SPECTRAL Remote sensing systems

DOMAIN

290 nm UV scanner
ULTRAVIOLET
380 nm
Photography

400 nm
VISIBLE Colour
700 nm panchromatic
500 mn
Colour
infrared
700 nm
800 nm 900 mn
Black and
white infrared
1500 nm 900 nm

1.6 pm

2.2 pm

3 pm

5 pm

Infrared radiometers
8 pm

14 pm

MICROWAVE Radar, backscatter sensors,

1.6 pm
radiometers
136 cm

1.2 SOURCE AND SENSOR PARAMETERS

The radiant intensity {1^) is the energy flux emitted by a point source per unit solid angle in a given
direction:
6 Processing of Remote Sensing Data

9 ) = clOg(0, (p) / dQ in W •sr"^

where 0 is the angle of zenith, cp the azimuth and Q the solid angle. If dZ is the surface situated at a
distance rfrom the source and corresponding to the solid angle di2, then dQ = dZ !r^ (Fig. 1.2).

Fig. 1.2: Representation of the characteristics of a source.

If a point source is isotropic, it emits a radiant flux whose intensity is independent of the
orientation under consideration:

/e = / 4 ti in W -sr
The concept of radiant intensity is valid only for a point source. In the case where the dimension
of the source is small relative to the distance at which measurement is carried out (Sun for
measurements on the Earth), the source can be considered a point.
Radiance (L^) of a source corresponds to the total energy radiated by it In a given direction per
solid angle per unit area of its apparent surface:

L^(0,cp) =: d^Og(0, (p)/dQ x dS X COS0 in W m ^ -sr I

Radiance can also be defined, with reference to a point on the surface in a given direction, as the
ratio of the radiant intensity of an infinitely small surface element dS around the point and the area of
orthogonal projection of this element on a plane perpendicular to this direction:

9) = (p)/dSX COS0 in W -m •sr

The radiant exitance (M^) is the energy radiated by an extended source per unit area and in a
hemisphere. At a given point, It is equal to the ratio of the flux emitted by an Infinitely small element of
the surface surrounding the point to the area dS of this element: Mq = dOg / dS in W •m“ ^ •sr~^ •
For a radiation sensor, irradlance (Eg) is defined as the total energy received by a unit surface
area of the sensor. At a point, this irradlance corresponds to the ratio of the radiant flux received d<D er
by an infinitely small element centred on the point to the area dS of this element: Eq = d<l>e/.

dS in W-m"^-sr"^.
The Bouguer law represents the relationship between a source element and a receiver element.
Let us assume two elementary surfaces, of areas dS and dS ', separated by a distance r, whose
normals make angles 0 and 0' respectively, with the axis joining their centres. The radiant flux d^ e
that reaches dS' from the source dS of radiance Lg, is equal to:

d^Og = [(/-g xd S x co s 0 )/r^] (d S 'x c o s 0 ).

If dQ Is the solid angle under which dS is seen from dS' and dQ' the solid angle under which dS'
is seen from dS,

dQ = (d S x c o s 0 )/r^

dQ' = ( d S 'x c o s 0 ')/r^

 Data Sources 7

It follows from the above that:

= Z_g X dS X COS0 X dQ' = L^x dS' x cos0 x dQ.

In remote sensing the fluxdOg,., reaching a receiver from a source, is measured and the radiance
is determined from it. This enables understanding the properties of surfaces.
Albedo corresponds to the fraction of solar radiation (direct and scattered radiations) reflected by
a unit surface area into a hemisphere. It represents the mean hemispherical spectral reflectance in the
range 0.3 to 3.0 pm.
The blackbody emits radiation In all directions and as seen earlier, radiance Is Independent of the
angle of emission. Contrarily, other bodies radiate in preferred directions and their radiance depends
on the angle of emission. According to Lamberfs law:
/ = / g / d S = Lg X cos 0
where / is the radiant intensity emitted, the radiant intensity emitted in a given direction and the
radiance.

Radiant intensity of a Radiance Characteristics of Lambertian,

Lambertian Surface specular and real surfaces

Fig. 1.3: Characteristics of radiant intensity and radiance of different surfaces.

Near-perfect specular reflector

Perfect diffuse Lambertian surface

Fig. 1.4: Examples of various radiant-intensity characteristics

8 Processing of Remote Sensing Data

The characteristic representation of angular variation of radiance (or radiant intensity) at a point
on a surface is shown in Fig. 1.3. In polar co-ordinates, the geometric characteristic of radiant intensity
of a Lambertian surface is a sphere tangential to the surface, of a diameter equal to /^, while the
characteristic of radiance is a hemisphere centred on the surface and of radius L^. Natural surfaces
generally do not follow Lambert’s law and their radiance or radiant intensity varies with the angle of
view. In the case of a perfect reflector, the angle of incidence (0^) and the angle of reflection (0;.) are
equal and situated in a plane perpendicular to the surface. Such a reflection is known as specular
reflection (Fig. 1.4).

1.3 REFLECTANCE FACTOR

Spectral reflectance factor {R^) Is the ratio of the radiant flux reflected by a surface element into a
cone, with its apex on the surface element, to the radiant flux reflected into the same solid angle by a
perfect diffuse reflector (white Lambertian surface) receiving the same irradiance (Fig. 1.5).

R ^ = JL^(0^, cp^)xcos0;. x d Q ;./L n , \cosQfx6Clf . = Lr(Q.r)^L^

Qr Qr

where is the solid angle in which the radiant flux is measured and the radiance of a white
Lambertian reflector.
Another random document with
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 Julia Redmond shook her head. She did not want compliments. The
eyes of the two women met and read each other.

"Couldn't you be frank with me, Madame? It is so easy to be frank."

It was, indeed, impossible for Julia Redmond to be anything else. The

comtesse, who was only a trifle older than the young girl, felt like her
mother just then. She laughed.

"But be frank—about what?"

"You see," said Julia Redmond swiftly, "I care absolutely nothing for the
Duc de Tremont, nothing."

"You don't love him?" returned Madame de la Maine, with deep

accentuation. "Is it possible?"

The girl smiled.

"Yes, quite possible. I think he is a perfect dear. He is a splendid friend

and I am devoted to him, but I don't love him at all, not at all."

"Ah!" breathed Madame de la Maine, and she looked at the American

girl guardedly.

For a moment it was like a passage of arms between a frank young

Indian chief and a Jesuit. Julia, as it were, shook her feathers and her beads.

"And I don't care in the least about being a duchess! My father made his
money in oil. I am not an aristocrat like my aunt," she said.

"Then," said the Comtesse de la Maine, forgetting that she was a Jesuit,
"you will marry Robert de Tremont simply to please your aunt?"

"But nothing on earth would induce me to marry him!" cried Julia

Redmond. "That's what I'm telling you, Madame. I don't love him!"

The Comtesse de la Maine looked at her companion and bit her lip. She
blushed more warmly than is permitted in the Faubourg St.-Germain, but
she was young and the western influence is pernicious.

"I saw at once that you loved him," said Julia Redmond frankly. "That's
why I speak as I do."

The Comtesse de la Maine drew back and exclaimed.

"Oh," said Julia Redmond, "don't deny it. I shan't like you half so well if
you do. There is no shame in being in love, is there?—especially when the
man you love, loves you."

The Comtesse de la Maine broke down, or, rather, she rose high. She
rose above all the smallness of convention and the rules of her French
formal education.

"You are wonderful," she said, laughing softly, her eyes full of tears.
"Will you tell me what makes you think that he is fond of me?"

"But you know it so well," said Julia. "Hasn't he cared for you for a long
time?"

Madame de la Maine wondered just how much Julia Redmond had

heard, and as there was no way of finding out, she said graciously:

"He has seemed to love me very dearly for many years; but I am poor; I
have a child. He is ambitious and he is the Duc de Tremont."

"Nonsense," said Julia. "He loves you. That's all that counts. You will be
awfully happy. You will marry the Duc de Tremont, won't you? There's a
dear."

"Happy," murmured the other woman, "happy, my dear friend, I never

dreamed of such a thing!"

"Dream of it now," said Julia Redmond swiftly, "for it will come true."
 CHAPTER XIX

THE MAN IN RAGS

The Marquise d'Esclignac, under the stars, interviewed the native

soldier, the beggar, the man in rags, at the foot of the veranda. There was a
moon as well as stars, and the man was distinctly visible in all his squalor.

"What on earth is he talking about, Robert?"

"About Sabron, marraine," said her godson laconically.

The Marquise d'Esclignac raised her lorgnon and said:

"Speak, man! What do you know about Monsieur de Sabron? See, he is

covered with dirt—has leprosy, probably." But she did not withdraw. She
was a great lady and stood her ground. She did not know what the word
"squeamish" meant.

Listening to the man's jargon and putting many things together, Tremont
at last turned to the Marquise d'Esclignac who was sternly fixing the beggar
with her haughty condescension:

"Marraine, he says that Sabron is alive, in the hands of natives in a

certain district where there is no travel, in the heart of the seditious tribes.
He says that he has friends in a caravan of merchants who once a year pass
the spot where this native village is."

"The man's a lunatic," said the Marquise d'Esclignac calmly. "Get

Abimelec and put him out of the garden, Robert. You must not let Julia hear
of this."

"Marraine," said Tremont quietly, "Mademoiselle Redmond has already

seen this man. He has come to see her to-night."

"How perfectly horrible!" said the Marquise d'Esclignac. Then she

asked rather weakly of Tremont: "Don't you think so?"
 "Well, I think," said Tremont, "that the only interesting thing is the truth
there may be in what this man says. If Sabron is a captive, and he knows
anything about it, we must use his information for all it is worth."

"Of course," said the Marquise d'Esclignac, "of course. The war
department must be informed at once. Why hasn't he gone there?"

"He has explained," said Tremont, "that the only way Sabron can be
saved is that he shall be found by outsiders. One hint to his captors would
end his life."

"Oh!" said the Marquise d'Esclignac. "I don't know what to do, Bob!
What part can we take in this?"

Tremont pulled his mustache. Mimi had circled round the beggar,
snuffing at his slippers and his robe. The man made no objection to the little
creature, to the fluffy ball surrounded by a huge bow, and Mimi sat
peacefully down in the moonlight, at the beggar's feet.

"Mimi seems to like him," said the Marquise d'Esclignac helplessly,

"she is very particular."

"She finds that he has a serious and convincing manner," said Tremont.

Now the man, who had been a silent listener to the conversation, said in
fairly comprehensible English to the Marquise d'Esclignac:

"If the beautiful grandmother could have seen the Capitaine de Sabron
on the night before the battle—"

"Grandmother, indeed!" exclaimed the marquise indignantly. "Come,

Mimi! Robert, finish with this creature and get what satisfaction you can
from him. I believe him to be an impostor; at any rate, he does not expect
me to mount a camel or to lead a caravan to the rescue."

Tremont put Mimi in her arms; she folded her lorgnon and sailed
majestically away, like a highly decorated pinnace with silk sails, and
Tremont, in the moonlight, continued to talk with the sincere and
convincing Hammet Abou.

CHAPTER XX

JULIA DECIDES

Now the young girl had his letters and her own to read. They were
sweet and sad companions and she laid them side by side. She did not
weep, because she was not of the weeping type; she had hope.

Her spirits remained singularly even. Madame de la Maine had given

her a great deal to live on.

"Julia, what have you done to Robert?"

"Nothing, ma tante"

"He has quite changed. This excursion to Africa has entirely altered
him. He is naturally so gay," said the Marquise d'Esclignac. "Have you
refused him, Julia?"

"Ma tante, he has not asked me to be the Duchess de Tremont."

Her aunt's voice was earnest.

"Julia, do you wish to spoil your life and your chances of happiness? Do
you wish to mourn for a dead soldier who has never been more than an
acquaintance? I won't even say a friend."

What she said sounded logical.

"Ma tante, I do not think of Monsieur de Sabron as dead, you know."

 "Well, in the event that he may be, my dear Julia."

"Sometimes," said the girl, drawing near to her aunt and taking the older
lady's hand quietly and looking in her eyes, "sometimes, ma tante, you are
cruel."

The marquise kissed her and sighed:

"Robert's mother will be so unhappy!"

"But she has never seen me, ma tante."

"She trusts my taste, Julia."

"There should be more than 'taste' in a matter of husband and wife, ma

tante."

After a moment, in which the Marquise d'Esclignac gazed at the

bougainvillea and wondered how any one could admire its crude and vulgar
color, Miss Redmond asked:

"Did you ever think that the Duc de Tremont was in love?"

Turning shortly about to her niece, her aunt stared at her.

"In love, my dear!"

"With Madame de la Maine."

The arrival of Madame de la Maine had been a bitter blow to the

Marquise d'Esclignac. The young woman was, however, much loved in
Paris and quite in the eye of the world. There was no possible reason why
the Marquise d'Esclignac should avoid her.

"You have been hearing gossip, Julia."

"I have been watching a lovely woman," said the girl simply, "and a
man. That's all. You wouldn't want me to marry a man who loves another
woman, ma tante, when the woman loves him and when I love another
man?"

She laughed and kissed her aunt's cheek.

"Let us think of the soldier," she murmured, "let us think just of him, ma
tante, will you not?"

The Marquise d'Esclignac struck her colors.

In the hallway of the villa, in a snowy gibbeh, (and his clean-washed

appearance was much in his favor) Hammet Abou waited to talk with the
"grandmother" and the excellency.

He pressed both his hands to his forehead and his breast as the ladies
entered the vestibule. There was a stagnant odor of myrrh and sandalwood
in the air. The marble vestibule was cool and dark, the walls hung with
high-colored stuffs, the windows drawn to keep out the heat.

The Duc de Tremont and Madame de la Maine came out of the salon
together. Tremont nodded to the Arab.

"I hope you are a little less—" and he touched his forehead smiling, "to-
day, my friend."

"I am as God made me, Monsieur."

"What have you got to-day?" asked Julia Redmond anxiously, fixing her
eager eyes upon Hammet.

It seemed terrible to her that this man should stand there with a vital
secret and that they should not all be at his feet. He glanced boldly around
at them.

"There are no soldiers here?"

"No, no, you may speak freely."

 The man went forward to Tremont and put a paper in his hands,
unfolding it like a chart.

"This is what monsieur asked me for—a plan of the battle-field. This is

the battle-field, and this is the desert."

Tremont took the chart. On the page was simply a round circle, drawn
in red ink, with a few Arabian characters and nothing else. Hammet Abou
traced the circle with his fingers tipped with henna.

"That was the battle, Monsieur."

"But this is no chart, Hammet Abou."

The other continued, unmoved:

"And all the rest is a desert, like this."

Tremont, over the man's snowy turban, glanced at the others and
shrugged. Every one but Julia Redmond thought he was insane. She came
up to him where he stood close to Tremont. She said very slowly in French,
compelling the man's dark eyes to meet hers:

"You don't wish to tell us, Hammet Abou, anything more. Am I not
right? You don't wish us to know the truth."

Now it was the American pitted against the Oriental. The Arab, with
deference, touched his forehead before her.

"If I made a true plan," he said coolly, "your excellency could give it to-
morrow to the government."

"Just what should be done, Julia," said the Marquise d'Esclignac, in

English. "This man should be arrested at once."

"Ma tante," pleaded Julia Redmond.

She felt as though a slender thread was between her fingers, a thread
which led her to the door of a labyrinth and which a rude touch might cause
her to lose forever.

"If you had money would you start out to find Monsieur de Sabron at
once?"

"It would cost a great deal, Excellency."

"You shall have all the money you need. Do you think you would be
able to find your way?"

"Yes, Excellency."

The Duc de Tremont watched the American girl. She was bartering with
an Arabian for the salvation of a poor officer. What an enthusiast! He had
no idea she had ever seen Sabron more than once or twice in her life. He
came forward.

"Let me talk to this man," he said with authority, and Julia Redmond did
not dispute him.

In a tone different from the light and mocking one that he had hitherto
used to the Arab, Tremont began to ask a dozen questions severely, and in
his answers to the young Frenchman, Hammet Abou began to make a
favorable impression on every one save the Marquise d'Esclignac, who did
not understand him. There was a huge bamboo chair on a dais under a
Chinese pagoda, and the Marquise d'Esclignac took the chair and sat
upright as on a throne. Mimi, who had just been fed, came in tinkling her
little bells and fawned at the sandals on Hammet Abou's bare feet. After
talking with the native, Tremont said to his friends:

"This man says that if he joins a Jewish caravan, which leaves here to-
morrow at sundown, he will be taken with these men and leave the city
without suspicion, but he must share the expenses of the whole caravan.
The expedition will not be without danger; it must be entered into with
great subtlety. He is either," said Tremont, "an impostor or a remarkable
man."
 "He is an impostor, of course," murmured the Marquise d'Esclignac.
"Come here, Mimi."

Tremont went on:

"Further he will not disclose to us. He has evidently some carefully laid
plan for rescuing Sabron."

There was a pause. Hammet Abou, his hands folded peacefully across
his breast, waited. Julia Redmond waited. The Comtesse de la Maine, in her
pretty voice, asked quickly:

"But, mes amis, there is a man's life at stake! Why do we stand here
talking in the antechamber? Evidently the war office has done all it can for
the Capitaine de Sabron. But they have not found him. Whether this fellow
is crazy or not, he has a wonderful hypothesis."

A brilliant look of gratitude crossed Julia Redmond's face. She glanced

at the Comtesse de la Maine.

"Ah, she's got the heart!" she said to herself. "I knew it." She crossed
the hall to the Comtesse de la Maine and slipped her arm in hers.

"Has Monsieur de Sabron no near family?"

"No," said the Marquise d'Esclignac from her throne. "He is one of
those unfamilied beings who, when they are once taken into other hearts are
all the dearer because of their orphaned state."

Her tone was not unkind. It was affectionate.

"Now, my good man," she said to Hammet Abou, in a language totally

incomprehensible to him, "money is no object in this question, but what
will you do with Monsieur de Sabron if you find him? He may be an
invalid, and the ransom will be fabulous."

The Comtesse de la Maine felt the girl's arm in hers tremble. Hammet
Abou answered none of these questions, for he did not understand them. He
said quietly to Tremont:
 "The caravan starts to-morrow at sundown and there is much to do."

Tremont stood pulling his mustache. He looked boyish and charming,

withal serious beyond his usual habit. His eyes wandered over to the corner
where the two women stood together.

"I intend to go with you, Hammet Abou," said he slowly, "if it can be
arranged. Otherwise this expedition does not interest me."

Two women said:

"Oh, heavens!" at once.

Robert de Tremont heard the note of anxiety in the younger voice alone.
He glanced at the Comtesse de la Maine.

"You are quite right, Madame," he said, "a man's life is at stake and we
stand chaffing here. I know something of what the desert is and what the
natives are. Sabron would be the first to go if it were a question of a brother
officer."

The Marquise d'Esclignac got down from her throne, trembling. Her
eyes were fixed upon her niece.

"Julia," she began, and stopped.

Madame de la Maine said nothing.

"Robert, you are my godson, and I forbid it. Your mother—"

"—is one of the bravest women I ever knew," said her godson. "My
father was a soldier."

Julia withdrew her arm from the Comtesse de la Maine as though to

leave her free.

"Then you two girls," said the Marquise d'Esclignac, thoroughly

American for a moment, "must forbid him to go." She fixed her eyes sternly
upon her niece, with a glance of entreaty and reproach. Miss Redmond said
in a firm voice:

"In Monsieur de Tremont's case I should do exactly what he proposes."

"But he is risking his life," said the Marquise d'Esclignac. "He is not
even an intimate friend of Monsieur de Sabron!"

Tremont said, smiling:

"You tell us that he has no brother, marraine. Eh bien, I will pass as his
brother."

A thrill touched Julia Redmond's heart. She almost loved him. If, as her
aunt had said, Sabron had been out of the question...

"Madame de la Maine," said the Marquise d'Esclignac, her hands

shaking, "I appeal to you to divert this headstrong young man from his
purpose."

The Comtesse de la Maine was the palest of the three women. She had
been quietly looking at Tremont and now a smile crossed her lips that had
tears back of it—one of those beautiful smiles that mean so much on a
woman's face. She was the only one of the three who had not yet spoken.
Tremont was waiting for her. Hammet Abou, with whom he had been in
earnest conversation, was answering his further questions. The Marquise
d'Esclignac shrugged, threw up her hands as though she gave up all
questions of romance, rescue and disappointed love and foolish girls, and
walked out thoroughly wretched, Mimi tinkling at her heels. The Comtesse
de la Maine said to Julia:

"Ma chère, what were the words of the English song you sang last night
—the song you told me was a sort of prayer. Tell me the words slowly, will
you?"

They walked out of the vestibule together, leaving Hammet Abou and
Tremont alone.
 CHAPTER XXI

MASTER AND FRIEND

Pitchouné, who might have been considered as one of the infinitesimal

atoms in the economy of the universe, ran over the sands away from his
master. He was an infinitesimal dot on the desert's face. He was only a
small Irish terrier in the heart of the Sahara. His little wiry body and his
color seemed to blend with the dust. His eyes were dimmed by hunger and
thirst and exhaustion, but there was the blood of a fighter in him and he was
a thoroughbred. Nevertheless, he was running away. It looked very much
like it. There was no one to comment on his treachery; had there been,
Pitchouné would not have run far.

It was not an ordinary sight to see on the Sahara—a small Irish terrier
going as fast as he could.

Pitchouné ran with his nose to the ground. There were several trails for
a dog to follow on that apparently untrodden page of desert history. Which
one would he choose? Without a scent a dog does nothing. His nostrils are
his instinct. His devotion, his faithfulness, his intelligence, his heart—all
come through his nose. A man's heart, they say, is in his stomach—or in his
pocket. A dog's is in his nostrils. If Pitchouné had chosen the wrong
direction, this story would never have been written. Michette did not give
birth to the sixth puppy, in the stables of the garrison, for nothing. Nor had
Sabron saved him on the night of the memorable dinner for nothing.

With his nose flat to the sands Pitchouné smelt to east and to west, to
north and south, took a scent to the east, decided on it—for what reason will
never be told—and followed it. Fatigue and hunger were forgotten as hour
after hour Pitchouné ran across the Sahara. Mercifully, the sun had been
clouded by the precursor of a wind-storm. The air was almost cool.
Mercifully, the wind did not arise until the little terrier had pursued his
course to the end.

There are occasions when an animal's intelligence surpasses the human.

When, toward evening of the twelve hours that it had taken him to reach a
certain point, he came to a settlement of mud huts on the borders of an
oasis, he was pretty nearly at the end of his strength. The oasis was the only
sign of life in five hundred miles. There was very little left in his small
body. He lay down, panting, but his bright spirit was unwilling just then to
leave his form and hovered near him. In the religion of Tatman dogs alone
have souls.

Pitchouné panted and dragged himself to a pool of water around which

the green palms grew, and he drank and drank. Then the little desert
wayfarer hid himself in the bushes and slept till morning. All night he was
racked with convulsive twitches, but he slept and in his dreams, he killed a
young chicken and ate it. In the morning he took a bath in the pool, and the
sun rose while he swam in the water.

If Sabron or Miss Redmond could have seen him he would have seemed
the epitome of heartless egoism. He was the epitome of wisdom. Instinct
and wisdom sometimes go closely together. Solomon was only instinctive
when he asked for wisdom. The epicurean Lucullus, when dying, asked for
a certain Nile fish cooked in wine.

Pitchouné shook out his short hairy body and came out of the oasis pool
into the sunlight and trotted into the Arabian village.

* * * * * *
*

Fatou Anni parched corn in a brazier before her house. Her house was a
mud hut with yellow walls. It had no roof and was open to the sky. Fatou
Anni was ninety years old, straight as a lance—straight as one of the lances
the men of the village carried when they went to dispute with white people.
These lances with which the young men had fought, had won them the last
battle. They had been victorious on the field.
 Fatou Anni was the grandmother of many men. She had been the
mother of many men. Now she parched corn tranquilly, prayerfully.

"Allah! that the corn should not burn; Allah! that it should be sweet;
Allah! that her men should be always successful."

She was the fetish of the settlement. In a single blue garment, her black
scrawny breast uncovered, the thin veil that the Fellaheen wear pushed back
from her face, her fine eyes were revealed and she might have been a
priestess as she bent over her corn!

"Allah! Allah Akbar!"

Rather than anything should happen to Fatou Anni, the settlement

would have roasted its enemies alive, torn them in shreds. Some of them
said that she was two hundred years old. There was a charmed ring drawn
around her house. People supposed that if any creature crossed it uninvited,
it would fall dead.

The sun had risen for an hour and the air was still cool. Overhead, the
sky, unstained by a single cloud, was blue as a turquoise floor, and against
it, black and portentous, flew the vultures. Here and there the sun-touched
pools gave life and reason to the oasis.

Fatou Anni parched her corn. Her barbaric chant was interrupted by a
sharp bark and a low pleading whine.

She had never heard sounds just like that. The dogs of the village were
great wolf-like creatures. Pitchouné's bark was angelic compared with
theirs. He crossed the charmed circle drawn around her house, and did not
fall dead, and stood before her, whining. Fatou Anni left her corn, stood
upright and looked at Pitchouné. To her the Irish terrier was an apparition.
The fact that he had not fallen dead proved that he was beloved of Allah. He
was, perhaps, a genie, an afrit.

Pitchouné fawned at her feet. She murmured a line of the Koran. It did
not seem to affect his demonstrative affection. The woman bent down to
him after making a pass against the Evil Eye, and touched him, and
Pitchouné licked her hand.

Fatou Anni screamed, dropped him, went into the house and made her
ablutions. When she came out Pitchouné sat patiently before the parched
corn, and he again came crawling to her.

The Arabian woman lived in the last hut of the village. She could satisfy
her curiosity without shocking her neighbors. She bent down to scrutinize
Pitchouné's collar. There was a sacred medal on it with sacred inscriptions
which she could not read. But as soon as she had freed him this time,
Pitchouné tore himself away from her, flew out of the sacred ring and
disappeared. Then he ran back, barking appealingly; he took the hem of her
dress in his mouth and pulled her. He repeatedly did this and the
superstitious Arabian believed herself to be called divinely. She cautiously
left the door-step, her veil falling before her face, came out of the sacred
ring, followed to the edge of the berry field. From there Pitchouné sped
over the desert; then he stopped and looked back at her. Fatou Anni did not
follow, and he returned to renew his entreaties. When she tried to touch him
he escaped, keeping at a safe distance. The village began to stir. Blue and
yellow garments fluttered in the streets.

"Allah Akbar," Fatou Anni murmured, "these are days of victory, of

recompense."

She gathered her robe around her and, stately and impressively, started
toward the huts of her grandsons. When she returned, eight young warriors,
fully armed, accompanied her. Pitchouné sat beside the parched corn,
watching the brazier and her meal. Fatou Anni pointed to the desert.

She said to the young men, "Go with this genie. There is something he
wishes to show us. Allah is great. Go."

* * * * * *
*

When the Capitaine de Sabron opened his eyes in consciousness, they

encountered a square of blazing blue heaven. He weakly put up his hand to
shade his sight, and a cotton awning, supported by four bamboo poles, was
swiftly raised over his head. He saw objects and took cognizance of them.
On the floor in the low doorway of a mud hut sat three little naked children
covered with flies and dirt. He was the guest of Fatou Anni. These were
three of her hundred great-great-grandchildren. The babies were playing
with a little dog. Sabron knew the dog but could not articulate his name. By
his side sat the woman to whom he owed his life. Her veil fell over her face.
She was braiding straw. He looked at her intelligently. She brought him a
drink of cool water in an earthen vessel, with the drops oozing from its
porous sides. The hut reeked with odors which met his nostrils at every
breath he drew. He asked in Arabic:

"Where am I?"

"In the hut of victory," said Fatou Anni.

Pitchouné overheard the voice and came to Sabron's side. His master
murmured:

"Where are we, my friend?"

The dog leaped on his bed and licked his face. Fatou Anni, with a whisk
of straw, swept the flies from him. A great weakness spread its wings above
him and he fell asleep.

Days are all alike to those who lie in mortal sickness. The hours are
intensely colorless and they slip and slip and slip into painful wakefulness,
into fever, into drowsiness finally, and then into weakness.

The Capitaine de Sabron, although he had no family to speak of, did

possess, unknown to the Marquise d'Esclignac, an old aunt in the provinces,
and a handful of heartless cousins who were indifferent to him.
Nevertheless he clung to life and in the hut of Fatou Anni fought for
existence. Every time that he was conscious he struggled anew to hold to
the thread of life. Whenever he grasped the thread he vanquished, and
whenever he lost it, he went down, down.
 Fatou Anni cherished him. He was a soldier who had fallen in the battle
against her sons and grandsons. He was a man and a strong one, and she
despised women. He was her prey and he was her reward and she cared for
him; as she did so, she became maternal.

His eyes which, when he was conscious, thanked her; his thin hands that
moved on the rough blue robe thrown over him, the devotion of the dog—
found a responsive chord in the great-grandmother's heart. Once he smiled
at one of the naked, big-bellied great-great-grandchildren. Beni Hassan,
three years old, came up to Sabron with his finger in his mouth and
chattered like a bird. This proved to Fatou Anni that Sabron had not the Evil
Eye. No one but the children were admitted to the hut, but the sun and the
flies and the cries of the village came in without permission, and now and
then, when the winds arose, he could hear the stirring of the palm trees.

Sabron was reduced to skin and bone. His nourishment was insufficient,
and the absence of all decent care was slowly taking him to death. It will
never be known why he did not die.

Pitchouné took to making long excursions. He would be absent for days,

and in his clouded mind Sabron thought the dog was reconnoitering for him
over the vast pink sea without there—which, if one could sail across as in a
ship, one would sail to France, through the walls of mellow old Tarascon, to
the château of good King René; one would sail as the moon sails, and
through an open window one might hear the sound of a woman's voice
singing. The song, ever illusive and irritating in its persistency, tantalized
his sick ears.

Sabron did not know that he would have found the château shut had he
sailed there in the moon. It was as well that he did not know, for his
wandering thought would not have known where to follow, and there was
repose in thinking of the Château d'Esclignac.

It grew terribly hot. Fatou Anni, by his side, fanned him with a fan she
had woven. The great-great-grandchildren on the floor in the mud fought
together. They quarreled over bits of colored glass. Sabron's breath came
panting. Without, he heard the cries of the warriors, the lance-bearers—he
heard the cries of Fatou Anni's sons who were going out to battle. The
French soldiers were in a distant part of the Sahara and Fatou Anni's
grandchildren were going out to pillage and destroy. The old woman by his
side cried out and beat her breast. Now and then she looked at him
curiously, as if she saw death on his pale face. Now that all her sons and
grandsons had gone, he was the only man left in the village, as even boys of
sixteen had joined the raid. She wiped his forehead and gave him a potion
that had healed her husband after his body had been pierced with arrows. It
was all she could do for a captive.

Toward sundown, for the first time Sabron felt a little better, and after
twenty-four hours' absence, Pitchouné whined at the hut door, but would
not come in. Fatou Anni called on Allah, left her patient and went out to see
what was the matter with the dog. At the door, in the shade of a palm, stood
two Bedouins.

It was rare for the caravan to pass by Beni Medinet. The old woman's
superstition foresaw danger in this visit. Her veil before her face, her
gnarled old fingers held the fan with which she had been fanning Sabron.
She went out to the strangers. Down by the well a group of girls in
garments of blue and yellow, with earthen bottles on their heads, stood
staring at Beni Medinet's unusual visitors.

"Peace be with you, Fatou Anni," said the older of the Bedouins.

"Are you a cousin or a brother that you know my name?" asked the
ancient woman.

"Every one knows the name of the oldest woman in the Sahara," said
Hammet Abou, "and the victorious are always brothers."

"What do you want with me?" she asked, thinking of the helplessness of
the village.

Hammet Abou pointed to the hut

"You have a white captive in there. Is he alive?"

"What is that to you, son of a dog?"

 "The mother of many sons is wise," said Hammet Abou portentously,
"but she does not know that this man carries the Evil Eye. His dog carries
the Evil Eye for his enemies. Your people have gone to battle. Unless this
man is cast out from your village, your young men, your grandsons and
your sons will be destroyed."

The old woman regarded him calmly.

"I do not fear it," she said tranquilly. "We have had corn and oil in
plenty. He is sacred."

For the first time she looked at his companion, tall and slender and
evidently younger.

"You favor the coward Franks," she said in a high voice. "You have
come to fall upon us in our desolation."

She was about to raise the peculiar wail which would have summoned
to her all the women of the village. The dogs of the place had already begun
to show their noses, and the villagers were drawing near the people under
the palms. Now the young man began to speak swiftly in a language that
she did not understand, addressing his comrade. The language was so
curious that the woman, with the cry arrested on her lips, stared at him.
Pointing to his companion, Hammet Abou said:

"Fatou Anni, this great lord kisses your hand. He says that he wishes he
could speak your beautiful language. He does not come from the enemy; he
does not come from the French. He comes from two women of his people
by whom the captive is beloved. He says that you are the Mother of sons
and grandsons, and that you will deliver this man up into our hands in
peace."

The narrow fetid streets were beginning to fill with the figures of
women, their beautifully colored robes fluttering in the light, and there were
curious eager children who came running, naked save for the bangles upon
their arms and ankles.

Pointing to them, Hammet Abou said to the old sage: