V. I. Kravtsova

SPACE IMAGERY IN THE STUDY OF INDUSTRIAL IMPACTS ON NORTHERN VEGETATION: DIFFICULTIES AND UNRESOLVED PROBLEMS

A comparative analysis is made of materials from four groups of researchers—Russian, British, Norwegian, and Finnish—who have used space imagery to study industrial impacts on northern vegetation in the vicinity of Monchegorsk. The problems encountered by the groups included variable survey weather conditions, the strong influence of seasonal changes, differences in the physiognomy of the vegetation, and the inapplicability of impact indicators used in one region to another.

HEURISTIC PROCEDURES FOR INTERPRETING MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY OF VEGETATION DAMAGE IN THE MONCHEGORSK AREA

Methods for visual interpretation of multispectral space images are described. The interpreters work is divided into stages, the most important of which are: analysis of images in different spectral bands; detection of uncategorized sets of features on the images in different bands; and comparison of band-specific images for the purpose of discriminating these sets and identifying individual features. The research was carried out using imagery of the Monchegorsk region, where the northern vegetation is sustaining significant damage from industrial pollution.

MONITORING BASED ON HIGH- AND INTERMEDIATE-RESOLUTION SCANNER IMAGERY OF FOREIGN AREAS WITHOUT GROUND TRUTH

Visual interpretation and computer classification of space imagery of the Korean Peninsula, obtained from intermediate (MSU-SK)- and high (MSU-E)-resolution Russian scanners on board the Resurs-01 satellite, makes it possible to identify a broad range of environmental and other monitoring problems that can be solved using space imagery of this type. The special problems confronted in the monitoring of distant regions for which no ground truth is available are discussed.

INDUSTRIAL IMPACTS ON VEGETATION IN THE MONCHEGORSK REGION FROM MULTISPECTRAL SPACE IMAGERY

Results are presented of analysis of Landsat MSS imagery for the purpose of assessing damage to northern taiga and tundra vegetation caused by emissions generated by nonferrous metallurgy on northwest Russias Kola Peninsula. Unlike earlier studies, the present project attempts to provide spatially comprehensive coverage of vegetation impacts, according to a standardized methodology for their assessment. A reduction in the number of feature classes identifiable upon a change from visual interpretation to automated classification based on spectral brightness values made it necessary to test alternative classification procedures (based on brightness ratios and the normalized vegetation index).

MAPPING THE AVALANCHE HAZARD FOR MOUNTAINOUS AREAS OF AFGHANISTAN

The authors describe a procedure for the compilation of maps of the avalanche hazard in high-mountain regions of Afghanistan. The basic sources of information include space imagery (photographs and scanner imagery), weather station data, and other geographic information on relief, elevation, location of moisture sources, etc. The methodology features the compilation of series of increasingly more specific and informative maps and graphs regarding the avalanche hazard: terrain types, snow cover depth and seasonal extent, duration of snow cover and its elevational zonation, snow as a factor in avalanche formation, and summary map of avalanche hazard. Translated by Elliott B. Urdang, Providence, RI 02906 from: Materialy glyatsiologicheskikh issledovaniy, 1991, No. 71, pp. 86–93.

THE MULTIPLICITY PRINCIPLE IN MODERN REMOTE SENSING METHODS AND ITS APPLICATION TO AGRICULTURAL IMAGE INTERPRETATION

The authors elaborate upon the “multiplicity principle” in remote sensing, i.e., the need for repeated imaging at a variety of scales, spatial resolutions, spectral bands, and times of imaging in o...

GEOGRAPHICAL RESOLUTION: A NEW INDICATOR FOR GEOGRAPHIC-CARTOGRAPHIC IMAGE ANALYSIS

The author argues for a new, qualitative concept of “geographical” resolution, i.e., for certain changes in thinking about the extent to which spatial resolution per se can be accepted as an indicator of the suitability of various types of imagery for geographic analysis. She argues that more attention must be paid to other factors affecting the photographic reproducibility and perceptibility of geographical features on imagery: figure-ground contrast; configuration, size, and boundaries; etc. Examples of differences in the perceptibility of the same features (fields, erosional forms, populated places) at the same spatial resolution are presented for different parts of the country. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: G. V. Dobrovolskiy and V. L. Andronikov, eds., Aerokosmicheskiye metody v pochvovedenii i ikh ispolzovaniye v selskom khozyaystve: sbornik nauchnykh trudov [Remote Sensing Methods in Soil Science and Their Utilization in Agriculture: A Collection of Scientific Works]. M...

SNOW COVER MAPPING OF AFGHANISTAN'S MOUNTAINS WITH SPACE IMAGERY

Medium-resolution scanner images from the “Meteor” satellite for different seasons were used in tracing the seasonal position of the snow cover boundary in Afghanistan. Supplemented by data from field measurements, these images were used to compile 13 snow cover maps at 1:5,000,000 showing seasonal snow distribution and depth, dynamics of the snow boundary, and dates of formation, melting, and duration of the snow cover. The influence of the Indian monsoon on snow cover distribution is discussed. These materials are important for evaluating the avalanche hazard. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Materialy glyatsiologicheskikh issledovaniy, 1989, No. 67, pp. 44–49.

THE CONCEPT OF AN INTEGRATED REPOSITORY OF SPACE IMAGERY AND NEW CRITERIA FOR ITS GEOGRAPHIC AND CARTOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

This paper outlines some principles believed necessary for the establishment of integrated collections of remote sensing imagery, including, at the national level, a unified state image repository for the USSR. A multi-criterion classification of imagery is introduced, which provides a framework for structuring such a repository, and a number of measures for evaluating the utility of imagery within it are described. One of the latter is “geographic” resolution (levels of image detail), which provides a relatively straightforward indication of the type of geographic information embedded within particular types of remote sensing imagery. Translated by Jay K. Mitchell, PlanEcon, Inc., Washington, DC 20005 from: Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta, geografiya, 1988, No. 6, pp. 53-62.

THE POTENTIAL FOR VISUAL AND AUTOMATED INTERPRETATION OF FOREST VEGETATION WITH SCANNER IMAGERY

Feature classification maps derived from visual and automated methods of interpreting band-specific and composite imagery from the “Fragment” multispectral scanning system are compared in the study of vegetation and related features along the Gulf of Riga. The automated method, featuring a two-stage unsupervised/supervised classification algorithm developed at Moscow University (see MSRS, 1984, No. 3, pp. 255-261) provided for enhanced discrimination of wetland areas, farm land, and settlements, as well as for the elimination of extraneous components (especially the above) visually classified as deciduous forest. Translated from: Vestnilk Moskovskogo Universiteta, geografiya, 1988, No. 3, pp. 49-57 by Jay K. Mitchell, PlanEcon, Inc., Washington, DC 20005.