A remote sensing application for image classification

using unsupervised methods

A Class Project

By

Mayuri Bhattacharyya

Advisor

Dr. Xin Maio

Department of Geography, Geology, and Planning
Missouri State University
Location:

The region is in the central east part of the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. This is a watershed
region bounded by two highlands of Mexico namely Sierra Bonce in the north and Sierra la
Gloria in the south. The name of the river is Sierra del Soldado which is one of the major streams
in Mexico.

This river is important in respect to the water distribution system with in Chihuahua in Mexico.
This river is the perennial, and meandering in its course. The above three maps are of Mexico,
Chihuahua State, and the study area, respectively. My current research is on this region’s images
which include a remote sensing application for image classification of the study area using
unsupervised methods.

The above images are the satellite imagery of the study area using TM (Thematic Map) bands.
The first image is a combination of three part of the same image. The first bigger part (Image
window) shows the main study area. The left side image with the black boundary (Scroll
window) shows the surrounding area in a broad way, and the right side small image (Zoom
window) shows the particular part of the image in a zooming layer. These images are the product
of the remote sensing software ESRI ENVI 4.2. The left side broad image is from the Google
earth software.
Hypothesis:

I have attempted to make a remote sensing application for image classification for the study area.
Why this effort is required because this region is neglected for the study of scientific research
due to its inaccessibility for the steep surface with the existence of
some dense forest. Therefore remote sensing applications should
be applied to study this region, to extract the thematic information
from the images, and to recognize the pattern of the bands in the
images. My research is going to prove if we follow the remote
sensing techniques we must be careful about the selection of the
classification methods because there might be some
misinterpretations, too. I am going to show use of unsupervised
approaches to classify the images of the study area. I have used TM images with three bands,
namely: Red (R) band 4, Green (G) band 3, and Blue (B) band 2.

Methods:

Classification of the images-

Now a day people generally rely on the multispectral classifications, algorithms based on
parametric and nonparametric statistics using either supervised or unsupervised logic. Parametric
methods such as maximum likelihood classification and unsupervised clustering assume
normally distributed remoter sensor data and knowledge about the forms of the underlying class
density functions. I have used here unsupervised classification methods to explore the spectral
characteristics.

Unsupervised Classification-

In an unsupervised classification, the identities of land-cover types to be specified as classes

within a scene are not generally known a priori because ground reference information is lacking
or surface features within the scene are not well defined. The computer is required to group
pixels with similar spectral characteristics into unique clusters according to some statistically
determined criteria. The analyst then re-labels and combines the spectral clusters into
information classes. This method is commonly referred to as clustering. This is an effective
method of partitioning remote sensor image data in multispectral feature space and extracting
land-cover information. Compared to supervised classification normally requires only a minimal
amount of initial input from the analyst. This is because clustering does not normally require
training data. This is the process where numerical operations are performed that search for
natural groupings of the spectral properties of pixels, as examined in multispectral feature space.

The clustering process results in a classification map consisting of m spectral classes. The analyst
then attempts a posteriori (after the fact) to assign or transform the spectral classes into thematic
information classes of interest like forest, agriculture, etc. This may be difficult. Some spectral
clusters may be meaningless because they represent mixed classes of Earth surface materials.
The analyst must understand the spectral characteristics of the terrain well enough to be able to
label certain clusters as specific information classes. Unsupervised classification can be used to
cluster pixels in a data set based on statistics only, generally two techniques are in common use:

K- Means and
ISODATA

Applications:

Examining Spectral Plots of Spectrum (Z profile):

The remote sensing software ENVI has integrated spectral profiling capability to examine the
spectral characteristics of the data which is very important for
analyzing the association of the cluster of the pixels in the
image. For this understanding I have used the Z profile tool
(Spectrum) to extract the spectral profile of the image. The
graph is known as Spectral Plot which shows the spectral
profile (Z profile) of the image.

Different areas have been selected in respect to understand

the spectrum of the image.

Among the following images the first one is highlighting the

areas of Sierra Bonce, the nearby highland form the north
where association of blue color is more prominent. The
profile shows the relation of wavelength and the data value on the graph.

The second one is showing the spectrum of the Luis L. Leon Lake where the association of blue
color is darkest and maximum, and the other bands are almost absent.

The third plot is on the river meander of Sierra del Soldado where maximum red band is
accumulated.

The fourth plot is near the region of lake where maximum white color is viewed this is because
the mixture of RGB forms white. So in that part of the region shows a combination of all three
bands. Following are the images and the Spectral plots-
(a) Sierra Bonce – The Highland:
(b) Luis L. Leon (El Granero) – The Lake:
(c) Sierra del Soldado – The River Meander:

(d) The region near the lake

The K-Means Classification Algorithm:

The K-Means unsupervised classification calculates initial class means evenly distributed in the
data space then iteratively clusters the pixels into the nearest class using a minimum distance
technique. Each iteration recalculates class means and reclassifies pixels with respect to the new
means. All pixels are classified to the nearest class unless a standard deviation or distance
threshold is specified, in which case some pixels may be unclassified if they do not meet the
selected criteria. This process continues until the number of pixels in each class changes by less
than the selected pixel change threshold or the maximum number of iterations is reached.

Following is the image of the study area classified by the K-Means.

The results come out in the following way-

“File: D:\mb\TM
images\TM2003\LE7032040000311550.H1
Dims: 7477 x 7075 x 6 [BSQ]
Size: [Byte] 317,398,650 bytes.
File Type: NLAPS CD
Sensor Type: Landsat TM
Byte Order: Host (Intel)
Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Pixel : 30 Meters
Datum : WGS-84
Wavelength: 0.485 to 2.215
Upper Left Corner: 1, 1
Description: Landsat TM NLAPS File
Imported into ENVI [Thu Dec 14
07:28:25 2006]
Total Cache Size: 25,165,824 bytes
In-memory Use: 0 bytes
Available : 25,165,824 bytes
Output Size : 52,899,775 bytes

This result outputted to memory will EXCEED the total cache size. Are you sure you want to
output this item to memory?”

ISODATA Classification Algorithm:

The ISODATA (Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis Technique represents a comprehensive

set of rule of thumb procedures that have been incorporated into the iterative classification
algorithm. Many of the steps incorporated into the algorithm are a result of experience gained
through experimentation. This process is a modification of the K-Means clustering algorithm.
This method calculates class means evenly distributed in the data space then iteratively clusters
the remaining pixels using minimum distance techniques. Each iteration recalculates means and
reclassifies pixels with respect to the new means. This process continues until the number of
pixels in each class changes by less than the selected pixel change threshold or the maximum
number of iterations is reached.

Following is the image of the study area classified by the ISODATA Technique.

The results come out in the following way-

File: D:\mb\TM images

TM2003\
LE7032040000311550.H1
Dims: 7477 x 7075 x 6 [BSQ]
Size: [Byte] 317,398,650 bytes
File Type: NLAPS CD
Sensor Type: Landsat TM
Byte Order: Host (Intel)
Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Pixel: 30 Meters
Datum: WGS-84
Wavelength: 0.485 to 2.215
Upper Left Corner: 1, 1
Description: Landsat TM NLAPS File
Imported into ENVI [Thu Dec 14
07:28:25 2006]
Analysis:

The original image-

Original Image
Screen Data
Location Display ID R G B R G B
28°53'8.03"N,
105°18'13.40"W 59,493,466 122 136 137 86 150 20
28°52'24.91"N,
105°25'35.15"W 55,503,509 114 0 0 84 57 66
28°56'27.64"N,
105°25'36.14"W 55,503,260 61 88 90 70 124 102
28°50'4.54"N,
105°25'34.58"W 55,503,653 95 121 126 79 142 116
28°50'4.76"N,
105°18'12.86"W 59,493,654 80 118 116 75 140 112
28°56'33.71"N,
105°18'15.10"W 59,483,255 26 56 69 61 106 94
Cursor Location Data values for specific locations on the Original Image:

Disp #1 (5949, 3466) Scrn: R: 122 G: 136 B: 137

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 470385.00E, 3195345.00N Meters
LL: 28°53'8.03"N, 105°18'13.40"W
Data: R: 86 G: 150 B: 20

Disp #1 (5550, 3509) Scrn: R: 114 G: 0 B: 0

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 458415.00E, 3194055.00N Meters
LL: 28°52'24.91"N, 105°25'35.15"W
Data: R: 84 G: 57 B: 66

Disp #1 (5550, 3260) Scrn: R: 61 G: 88 B: 90

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 458415.00E, 3201525.00N Meters
LL: 28°56'27.64"N, 105°25'36.14"W
Data: R: 70 G: 124 B: 102

Disp #1 (5550, 3653) Scrn: R: 95 G: 121 B: 126

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 458415.00E, 3189735.00N Meters
LL: 28°50'4.54"N, 105°25'34.58"W
Data: R: 79 G: 142 B: 116

Disp #1 (5949, 3654) Scrn: R: 80 G: 118 B: 116

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 470385.00E, 3189705.00N Meters
LL: 28°50'4.76"N, 105°18'12.86"W
Data: R: 75 G: 140 B: 112

Disp #1 (5948, 3255) Scrn: R: 26 G: 56 B: 69

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 470355.00E, 3201675.00N Meters
LL: 28°56'33.71"N, 105°18'15.10"W
Data: R: 61 G: 106 B: 94

Disp #1 (5750, 3461) Scrn: R: 248 G: 255 B: 255

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 464415.00E, 3195495.00N Meters
LL: 28°53'12.35"N, 105°21'53.82"W
Data: R: 119 G: 227 B: 172
 K-Means
Screen Data
Location Display ID R G B R G B
28°53'8.03"N,
105°18'13.40"W 59,493,466 255 255 0 86 150 120
28°52'24.91"N,
105°25'35.15"W 55,503,509 255 255 0 81 128 105
28°56'27.64"N,
105°25'36.14"W 55,503,260 255 255 0 70 129 107
28°50'4.54"N,
105°25'34.58"W 55,503,653 255 255 0 79 142 116
28°50'4.76"N,
105°18'12.86"W 59,493,654 255 255 0 75 140 112
28°56'33.71"N,
105°18'15.10"W 59,483,255 255 0 0 13 45 63

Cursor Location Data values for specific locations on the Image after K-Means Classification:

Disp #2 (5949, 3466) Scrn: R: 255 G: 255 B: 0

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 470385.00E, 3195345.00N Meters
LL: 28°53'8.03"N, 105°18'13.40"W
Disp #1 Data: R: 86 G: 150 B: 120
Disp #2 Data: 4 {Class 4}

Disp #2 (5550, 3505) Scrn: R: 255 G: 255 B: 0

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 458415.00E, 3194175.00N Meters
LL: 28°52'28.81"N, 105°25'35.17"W
Disp #1 Data: R: 81 G: 128 B: 105
Disp #2 Data: 4 {Class 4}

Disp #2 (5550, 3285) Scrn: R: 255 G: 255 B: 0

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 458415.00E, 3200775.00N Meters
LL: 28°56'3.27"N, 105°25'36.04"W
Disp #1 Data: R: 70 G: 129 B: 107
Disp #2 Data: 4 {Class 4}

Disp #2 (5550, 3653) Scrn: R: 255 G: 255 B: 0

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 458415.00E, 3189735.00N Meters
LL: 28°50'4.54"N, 105°25'34.58"W
Disp #1 Data: R: 79 G: 142 B: 116
Disp #2 Data: 4 {Class 4}
Disp #2 (5949, 3654) Scrn: R: 255 G: 255 B: 0
Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 470385.00E, 3189705.00N Meters
LL: 28°50'4.76"N, 105°18'12.86"W
Disp #1 Data: R: 75 G: 140 B: 112
Disp #2 Data: 4 {Class 4}

Disp #2 (5947, 3285) Scrn: R: 255 G: 0 B: 0

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 470325.00E, 3200775.00N Meters
LL: 28°56'4.46"N, 105°18'16.13"W
Disp #1 Data: R: 13 G: 45 B: 63
Disp #2 Data: 1 {Class 1}

ISODATA
Screen Data
Location Display ID R G B R G B
28°53'8.03"N,
105°18'13.40"W 59,493,466 0 255 255 - - -
28°52'24.91"N,
105°25'35.15"W 55,503,509 0 0 255 - - -
28°56'27.64"N,
105°25'36.14"W 55,503,260 0 255 255 - - -
28°50'4.54"N,
105°25'34.58"W 55,503,653 255 0 255 - - -
28°50'4.76"N,
105°18'12.86"W 59,493,654 255 0 255 - - -
28°56'33.71"N,
105°18'15.10"W 59,483,255 255 0 0 - - -

Cursor Location Data values for specific locations on the Image after ISODATA Classification:

Disp #2 (5949,3466) Scrn: R:0 G:255 B:255

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 470385.00E,3195345.00N Meters
LL : 28°53'8.03"N, 105°18'13.40"W
Data: 5 {Class 5}

Disp #2 (5553,3508) Scrn: R:0 G:0 B:255

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 458505.00E,3194085.00N Meters
LL : 28°52'25.90"N, 105°25'31.83"W
Data: 3 {Class 3}

Disp #2 (5550,3286) Scrn: R:0 G:255 B:255

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 458415.00E,3200745.00N Meters
LL : 28°56'2.29"N, 105°25'36.04"W
Data: 5 {Class 5}

Disp #2 (5550,3652) Scrn: R:255 G:0 B:255

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 458415.00E,3189765.00N Meters
LL : 28°50'5.52"N, 105°25'34.58"W
Data: 6 {Class 6}

Disp #2 (5949,3648) Scrn: R:255 G:0 B:255

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 470385.00E,3189885.00N Meters
LL : 28°50'10.61"N, 105°18'12.88"W
Data: 6 {Class 6}

Disp #2 (5949,3289) Scrn: R:255 G:0 B:0

Projection: UTM, Zone 13 North
Map: 470385.00E,3200655.00N Meters
LL : 28°56'0.57"N, 105°18'13.90"W
Data: 1 {Class 1}