Chapter Two

Introduction of preprocessing
 In today's world of advanced technology where most remote
sensing data are recorded in digital format, virtually all image
interpretation and analysis involves some element of digital
processing.

 Digital image processing may involve numerous procedures

including formatting and correcting of the data, digital
enhancement to facilitate better visual interpretation, or even
automated classification of targets and features entirely by
computer. In order to process remote sensing imagery digitally, the
data must be recorded and available in a digital form suitable for
storage on a computer tape or disk.

 Several commercially available software systems have been

developed specifically for remote sensing image processing and
analysis.
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Every “raw” remotely sensed image contains a number
of artifacts and errors.
Correcting such errors and artifacts is termed
preprocessing.
The term comes from the fact that PRE-processing is
required for a correct PROCESSING to take place.
The boundary line between pre-processing and
processing is often fuzzy.
Operations that are normally required prior to the
main data analysis and extraction of information
sometimes referred to as image restoration and
rectification
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Pre-processing is intended to correct for sensor
and platform-specific radiometric and geometric
distortions of data.
Every “image” (dataset) requires a number of
operations before it becomes effectively usable.
The most relevant are:
1. Radiometric Corrections
2. Geometric Corrections

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 Image Preprocessing
 Preprocessing functions involve those operations
that are normally required prior to the main data
analysis and extraction of information.
 Concerned with removal of errors in Data – sensor
and platform related
 Correction for velocity, altitude and earth curvature
(carried out at ground receiving stations)
 Radiometric pre-processing (for missing scan lines,
de-striping), Geometric corrections (for geo-
referencing), and radiometric corrections (for using
multi-temporal images), atmospheric corrections (for
haze removal)
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Fundamental Steps in Image Processing:
1. Image acquisition: to acquire a digital image
2. Image preprocessing: to improve the image in ways
that increase the chances for success of the other
processes.
3. Image segmentation: to partitions an input image
into its constituent parts or objects.
4. Image representation: to convert the input data to a
form suitable for computer processing.

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5. Image description: to extract features that
result in some quantitative information of interest
or features that are basic for differentiating one
class of objects from another.
6. Image recognition: to assign a label to an
object based on the information provided by its
descriptors.
7. Image interpretation: to assign meaning to a
band of recognized objects.

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 Image Preprocessing: Correcting Data Anomalies
 Some image anomalies are inherent to:
 Certain sensors;
 Atmospheric Turbulences and;
 the curvature and rotation of the Earth
produces geometric distortions in the image data.
….these distortions can be corrected by applying
mathematical formulas under preprocessing stage.

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Pre-processing
• Every “raw” remotely sensed image contains errors.
Systematic errors and
Random errors
1. Systematic Errors (predictable in nature)
These errors are typically introduced by imperfections in
the instruments.
 They are mostly resulted:
 Mirror-Scan Velocity Variance
 Panoramic Distortion
 Platform Velocity
 Earth Rotation
 Perspective of the sensor
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2. Random Errors (Unsystematic)
Random Errors can be introduced by:
 the measuring instrument,
 the observing procedures or
 the environment in which the measurement
sensors operated.
 Errors can be compensated by careful calibration
and rectification procedures during image
preprocessing phase.
 Correcting such errors is termed pre-processing.

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 Satellite Image Processing Hierarchy: Preprocessed Images Tasks

1. Radiometric Calibration: Convert digital levels to

radiance values or brightness temperature values.
2. Atmospheric correction: Take into account the
contribution of atmospheric radiation reaching the
sensor.
3. Geometric correction: Correct distortions in the images
received related to curvature and rotation of the Earth,
sensor exploration and variations of the platform.
4. Detection of clouds: Mask correctly cloudy pixels to
ensure that the geophysical parameters obtained are
representative of the Earth surface.
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there are two types of data correction:
Radiometric corrections
Geometric corrections
Radiometric Correction (calibration)
 Radiometric Modeling: Convert DN to radiance
values: it is necessary to obtain geophysical parameters
or to compare images from different sensors.
 It is the removal of sensor or atmospheric 'noise', to
more accurately represent ground conditions.
 It can improve image ‘dependability’ by correcting
pixels

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 It is a procedure used to correctly estimate the
target reflectance from the measured incoming
radiation.
 Radiometric correction addresses variations in the
pixel intensities (DNs).
 These variations include:
 Malfunctioning of the detectors differing sensitivities ;
 Topographic effects;
 Atmospheric effects;

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Data Anomalies in line with Radiometric cases
i. Striping Image Noise:
 Striping/banding occurs if a detector goes out of adjustment
 it provides readings consistently greater than or less than the
other detectors for the same band over the same ground
cover.
Various algorithms have been advanced to fix this problem:
 simple along-line convolution,
 high-pass filtering, and
 forward and reverse principal component
transformations

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ii. Line Dropout Anomalies
 It occurs when a detector either completely fails to
function, or becomes temporarily saturated during a
scan.
 The result is a line or partial line of data with higher data
file values, creating a horizontal streak
until the detector recovers.
Solution:
 Line dropout is usually corrected by replacing the
bad line with a line of estimated data file values,
which is based on the lines above and below it.

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iii. Atmospheric Effects
 It is often important to remove atmospheric effects,
especially for:
 scene matching and change detection analysis.
 A number of algorithms have been developed to
correct for variations in atmospheric transmission.
 Four Approaches:
 Dark pixel subtraction
 Radiance to reflectance conversion
 Linear regressions
 Atmospheric modeling
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 The radiometric calibration includes the
following steps to eliminate atmospheric effects :
 DN to at-sensor radiance conversion;
At-sensor radiance to at-surface radiance;
Solar and topographic correction;
Reflectance estimation
 Each step requires additional information values

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 Geometric correction
Geometric corrections are made to correct the inaccuracy
between:
the location coordinates of the image data, and
the actual location coordinates on the ground.
 It is essential to have the exact location of any pixel, in order to
compare images-multi-temporal or multisensor analysis- or to
validate satellite data with in-situ measurements
 Organizing the spatial placement of measurements correcting
locations.
 Geometric correction is applied to raw sensor data to correct
these errors.

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 Imageries are inherently subject to Geometric
distortion.
 Reasons for these geometric imperfections in the
sensor image, including:
 the perspective of the sensor optics;
 the motion of the scanning system;
 the motion of the platform;
 the platform altitude, attitude, and velocity;
 the terrain relief; and,
 the curvature and rotation of the Earth.
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Why we need Geometric correction?
To provide georeferenced imageries
To compare/overlay multiple images;
To merge with map layers;
To mosaic images (to merge adjacent acquisitions)
To locate relevant points;
To overlap temporal sequences of images on the same
area taken by different sensors, from different vantage
points.
To overlay an image with a GIS vector data for joint use;
creating accurate scaled photomaps;

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 comparing images that are originally at different
scales;
 extracting accurate distance and area measurements;
and
 performing any other analyses requiring precise
geographic locations.
Geo-correction Approaches
Rectification: Rectification is the process of
transforming the data from one grid system into
another grid system using a geometric
transformation.
 A particular map projection is used for this process
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Reasons for rectifying image data:
Rectification is necessary in cases where the
pixel grid of the image must be changed to
fit a map projection system;
Comparing pixels scene to scene
applications (change detection);
Identifying training samples according to
map coordinates prior to classification;

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Rectification Steps
 Rectifying or registering image data on disk
involves the following general steps, regardless
of the application:
1. Locate GCPs.
2. Compute and test a transformation.
3. Create an output image file with the new
coordinate information in the header.

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Registration:
 Registration is the process of making an image
conform to another image.
 Images of one area that are collected from
different sources must be used together.
 the pixel grids of each image must conform to
the other images in the database.

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Image Georeferencing:
 It refers to the process of assigning map coordinates to
image data.
 Georeferencing, by itself, involves changing only the
map coordinate information in the image file.
 Rectification involves georeferencing, since all map
projection systems are associated with map coordinates.
 Image-to-image registration involves georeferencing
only if the reference image is already georeferenced.

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Orthorectification
 Orthorectification is a form of rectification that corrects
for terrain displacement and can be used if there is a
DEM of the study area.
 Ortho-rectification process enables the use of DEM to
also take into account the topography.
 Orthorectification is recommended:
in mountainous areas (or on aerial photographs of
buildings), where a high degree of accuracy is required.
In relatively flat areas, orthorectification is not mostly
necessary

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During Geometric Correction
 Since the pixels of the new grid may not align
with the pixels of the original grid, the pixels
must be resampled.
 The pixels must be resampled to conform to the
new grid.
 Resampling is the process of extrapolating data
values for the pixels on the new grid from the
values of the source pixels.

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Resampling process :
1. This Grid shows the input image containing
source GCPs.

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 2. This Grid shows the output grid containing
reference GCPs.

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3. To compare the two grids, the input image is
laid over the output grid so that the GCPs of the
two grids fit together.

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4. Using a resampling method, the input image
pixel values are assigned to pixels in the output
grid.

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Re-sampling Approach
1. Nearest Neighbor: uses the value of the
closest pixel to assign to the output pixel value.

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Strengths:
 Transfers original data values without averaging
them; therefore, the extremes and subtleties of the data values are
not lost.
 Suitable for use before classification.
 The easiest of the three methods to compute and
the fastest to use.
Weaknesses
 there is usually a stair stepped effect around diagonal lines and
curves.
 Some values may be dropped, while other values
may be duplicated.
 Using on linear thematic data may result in breaks or gaps in a
network of linear data.

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2. Bilinear Interpolation
 It uses the arithmetic mean of the four pixels nearest the
focal cell to calculate a new pixel value.
 the new value is based on the average of four neighboring
cells in a 2x2 kernel

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Strengths:
 This method tends to produce a “smoother” image;
 Retains better positional accuracy than nearest
neighbor resampling,
Weaknesses
 May introduce new values never found in the
original image
 Some blurred edges introduced as well.
 Some extremes of the data file values are lost.

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3. Cubic Convolution
 uses the data file values of sixteen pixels in a 4×
4 window to calculate an output value with a
cubic function.
 This resampling method uses a weighted
average of the 16 pixels nearest to the focal cell
and produces the smoothest image compared to
using the other two methods.

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Strengths
 This method is recommended when you are
dramatically changing the cell size of the data.
Weaknesses
 Data values would be altered
 This method is extremely slow, resampling takes
approximately 10 to 12 times longer to process
the computation than nearest neighbor

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 Atmospheric correction methods
The effect of scattering is inversely
proportional to the wavelength of energy.

Further scattering effect increases the signal

value (bias). In reality, because of the
presence of haze, fog, or atmospheric
scattering, there always exists some kind of
unwanted signal value called bias.
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Image Mosaicing
 The study area in which you are interested may span
several image files.
 It is necessary to combine the images to create one
large file.
 This is called mosaicking.
 The mosaic process offers the capability to stitch images together
so one large image will created.
 During mosaicing process we can:
Smooth Images;
Make Image Color Balanceing ; or
adjust the histograms of each image in order to present a better
large picture.
 The input images must have the same number of layers.
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Image Subseting
Subsetting refers to breaking out a portion of a large file
into one or more smaller files.
Image files contain areas much larger than a particular
study area.
Reduce the size of the image file to include only the area of
interest (AOI) is called subseting.
Purpose:
 Eliminates the extraneous data in the file,
 It speeds up processing due to the smaller amount of data
to process.
 This can be important when dealing with multiband data.

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Multi-Image
 Fusion Image fusion, also called pan-sharpening, is a
technique used to integrate the geometric detail of:
 a high-resolution panchromatic (Pan) image &
 the color information of a low-resolution multispectral
(MS) image to produce a highresolution MS image.
Importance of Image Fusion
Most earth resource satellites, such as:
 SPOT, IRS, Landsat, IKONOS, QuickBird, OrbView,
provide both
Pan images at a higher spatial resolution &
MS images at a lower spatial resolution.
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