A Systematic Solution to Multi-Instrument Coregistration of High-Resolution Planetary Images to an Orthorectified Baseline

We address the problem of automatically coregistering planetary images to a common baseline, introducing a novel generic technique that achieves an unprecedented robustness to different image inputs, thus making batch-mode coregistration achievable without requiring the usual parameter tweaking. We introduce a novel image matching technique, which boosts matching performance even under the most strenuous circumstances, and experimentally demonstrate validation through an extensive experimental multi-instrument setup that includes images from eight high-resolution data sets of the Mars and the Moon. The technique is further tested in a batch-mode processing, in which approximately 1.6% of all high-resolution Martian imagery is coregistered to a common baseline

Anomaly detection performance comparison on anomaly-detection based change detection on martian image pairs

The surface of Mars has been imaged in visible wavelengths for more than 40 years since the first flyby image taken by Mariner 4 in 1964. With higher resolution from orbit from MOC-NA, HRSC, CTX, THEMIS, and HiRISE, changes can now be observed on high-resolution images from different instruments, including spiders (Piqueux et al., 2003) near the south pole and Recurring Slope Lineae (McEwen et al., 2011) observable in HiRISE resolution. With the huge amount of data and the small number of datasets available on Martian changes, semi-automatic or automatic methods are preferred to help narrow down surface change candidates over a large area. To detect changes automatically in Martian images, we propose a method based on a denoising autoencoder to map the first Martian image to the second Martian image. Both images have been automatically coregistered and orthorectified using ACRO (Autocoregistration and Orthorectification) (Sidiropoulos and Muller, 2018) to the same base image, HRSC (High-Resolution Stereo Camera) (Neukum and Jaumann, 2004; Putri et al., 2018) and CTX (Context Camera) (Tao et al., 2018) orthorectified using their DTMs (Digital Terrain Models) to reduce the number of false positives caused by the difference in instruments and viewing conditions. Subtraction of the codes of the images are then inputted to an anomaly detector to look for change candidates. We compare different anomaly detection methods in our change detection pipeline: OneClassSVM, Isolation Forest, and, Gaussian Mixture Models in known areas of changes such as Nicholson Crater (dark slope streak), using image pairs from the same and different instruments

Current state of Alaska's glaciers and evolution of Black Rapids Glacier constrained by observations and modeling

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2016Glaciological studies rely on a wide range of input data, the most basic of which, accurate glacier extents, were not available on an Alaska wide scale prior to this work. We thus compiled a glacier database for Alaska and neighboring Canada using multi-sensor satellite data from 2000 to 2011. The inventory yielded a glacierized area of 86,720 km², which corresponds to ~12% of the global glacierized area outside the ice sheets. For each of the ~27,100 glaciers, we derived outlines and 51 variables, including centerline lengths, outline types, and debris cover, which provide key input for observational and modeling studies across Alaska. Expanding on this large-scale observational snapshot, we conducted two case studies on Black Rapids Glacier, Eastern Alaska Range, to assess its evolution during the late 20th and 21st centuries. Black Rapids Glacier, 250 km² in area, was chosen given its surge-type dynamics and proximity to critical infrastructure. Remotely sensed and in-situ elevation observations over the 1980--2001--2010 period indicated strong mass loss of Black Rapids Glacier (~0.5 m w.e. a⁻¹), with higher thinning rates over the 2001--2010 (~0.65 m w.e. a⁻¹) than the 1980--2001 period (~0.4 m w.e. a⁻¹). A coupled surface mass balance-glacier dynamics model, driven by reanalysis climate data, reproduced the glacier shrinkage. It identified the increasingly negative summer balances, a consequence of the warming atmosphere, as the main driver for the negative mass balance trend. Elevation observations in Black Rapids' surge reservoir suggested a surge was not imminent at the time of the analysis due to the lack of ice thickening. Re-initiation of sufficient elevation growth in the surge reservoir would require more favorable surface mass balances, as observed in the early 1980s. Compared to nearby Gulkana Glacier (a USGS benchmark glacier), the observed specific mass losses at Black Rapids Glacier were less pronounced, ~0.4 vs. 0.5 m w.e. a⁻¹ (1980--2001) and ~0.65 vs. 0.95 m w.e. a⁻¹ (2001--2010). The larger difference between the two glaciers' mass balances over the 2001--2010 period was partly caused by rockslide debris deposited on Black Rapids Glacier in 2002. This ~4.5 m thick debris layer, spread across 11.7 km² of Black Rapids lower ablation area, was modeled to suppress Black Rapids' glacier wide mass loss by ~20%. Modeling Black Rapids' evolution until 2100 suggested sustained glacier retreat, even under a repeated constant climate scenario, with ~225 km² of area remaining in 2100. Using a warming scenario (RCP 8.5), the modeled retreat was strongly accelerated with only ~50 km² of glacier area left in 2100. Given its thick, low-slope valley portion, Black Rapids Glacier is very susceptible to climate change. Its neighboring glaciers in the Eastern Alaska Range have similar properties, suggesting region wide glacier retreat in the future. To constrain this further, the Black Rapids case studies should be extended to the regional scale, a step now facilitated by the new Alaska wide glacier database.Chapter 1 General Introduction -- Chapter 2 Derivation and analysis of a complete modern-date glacier inventory for Alaska and northwest Canada -- Chapter 3 Geodetic mass balance of surge-type Black Rapids Glacier, Alaska, 1980--2001--2010, including role of rockslide deposition and earthquake displacement -- Chapter 4 Mass balance evolution of Black Rapids Glacier, Alaska, 1980--2015--2100, and its implications for surge recurrence -- Chapter 5 General Conclusions

Gazing at the Solar System: Capturing the Evolution of Dunes, Faults, Volcanoes, and Ice from Space

Gazing imaging holds promise for improved understanding of surface characteristics and processes of Earth and solar system bodies. Evolution of earthquake fault zones, migration of sand dunes, and retreat of ice masses can be understood by observing changing features over time. To gaze or stare means to look steadily, intently, and with fixed attention, offering the ability to probe the characteristics of a target deeply, allowing retrieval of 3D structure and changes on fine and coarse scales. Observing surface reflectance and 3D structure from multiple perspectives allows for a more complete view of a surface than conventional remote imaging. A gaze from low Earth orbit (LEO) could last several minutes allowing for video capture of dynamic processes. Repeat passes enable monitoring time scales of days to years. Numerous vantage points are available during a gaze (Figure 1). Features in the scene are projected into each image frame enabling the recovery of dense 3D structure. The recovery is robust to errors in the spacecraft position and attitude knowledge, because features are from different perspectives. The combination of a varying look angle and the solar illumination allows recovering texture and reflectance properties and permits the separation of atmospheric effects. Applications are numerous and diverse, including, for example, glacier and ice sheet flux, sand dune migration, geohazards from earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, rivers and floods, animal migrations, ecosystem changes, geysers on Enceladus, or ice structure on Europa. The Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) hosted a workshop in June of 2014 to explore opportunities and challenges of gazing imaging. The goals of the workshop were to develop and discuss the broad scientific questions that can be addressed using spaceborne gazing, specific types of targets and applications, the resolution and spectral bands needed to achieve the science objectives, and possible instrument configurations for future missions. The workshop participants found that gazing imaging offers the ability to measure morphology, composition, and reflectance simultaneously and to measure their variability over time. Gazing imaging can be applied to better understand the consequences of climate change and natural hazards processes, through the study of continuous and episodic processes in both domains

Elevation and Deformation Extraction from TomoSAR

3D SAR tomography (TomoSAR) and 4D SAR differential tomography (Diff-TomoSAR) exploit multi-baseline SAR data stacks to provide an essential innovation of SAR Interferometry for many applications, sensing complex scenes with multiple scatterers mapped into the same SAR pixel cell. However, these are still influenced by DEM uncertainty, temporal decorrelation, orbital, tropospheric and ionospheric phase distortion and height blurring. In this thesis, these techniques are explored. As part of this exploration, the systematic procedures for DEM generation, DEM quality assessment, DEM quality improvement and DEM applications are first studied. Besides, this thesis focuses on the whole cycle of systematic methods for 3D & 4D TomoSAR imaging for height and deformation retrieval, from the problem formation phase, through the development of methods to testing on real SAR data. After DEM generation introduction from spaceborne bistatic InSAR (TanDEM-X) and airborne photogrammetry (Bluesky), a new DEM co-registration method with line feature validation (river network line, ridgeline, valley line, crater boundary feature and so on) is developed and demonstrated to assist the study of a wide area DEM data quality. This DEM co-registration method aligns two DEMs irrespective of the linear distortion model, which improves the quality of DEM vertical comparison accuracy significantly and is suitable and helpful for DEM quality assessment. A systematic TomoSAR algorithm and method have been established, tested, analysed and demonstrated for various applications (urban buildings, bridges, dams) to achieve better 3D & 4D tomographic SAR imaging results. These include applying Cosmo-Skymed X band single-polarisation data over the Zipingpu dam, Dujiangyan, Sichuan, China, to map topography; and using ALOS L band data in the San Francisco Bay region to map urban building and bridge. A new ionospheric correction method based on the tile method employing IGS TEC data, a split-spectrum and an ionospheric model via least squares are developed to correct ionospheric distortion to improve the accuracy of 3D & 4D tomographic SAR imaging. Meanwhile, a pixel by pixel orbit baseline estimation method is developed to address the research gaps of baseline estimation for 3D & 4D spaceborne SAR tomography imaging. Moreover, a SAR tomography imaging algorithm and a differential tomography four-dimensional SAR imaging algorithm based on compressive sensing, SAR interferometry phase (InSAR) calibration reference to DEM with DEM error correction, a new phase error calibration and compensation algorithm, based on PS, SVD, PGA, weighted least squares and minimum entropy, are developed to obtain accurate 3D & 4D tomographic SAR imaging results. The new baseline estimation method and consequent TomoSAR processing results showed that an accurate baseline estimation is essential to build up the TomoSAR model. After baseline estimation, phase calibration experiments (via FFT and Capon method) indicate that a phase calibration step is indispensable for TomoSAR imaging, which eventually influences the inversion results. A super-resolution reconstruction CS based study demonstrates X band data with the CS method does not fit for forest reconstruction but works for reconstruction of large civil engineering structures such as dams and urban buildings. Meanwhile, the L band data with FFT, Capon and the CS method are shown to work for the reconstruction of large manmade structures (such as bridges) and urban buildings

Gazing at the Solar System: Capturing the Evolution of Dunes, Faults, Volcanoes, and Ice from Space

Gazing imaging holds promise for improved understanding of surface characteristics and processes of Earth and solar system bodies. Evolution of earthquake fault zones, migration of sand dunes, and retreat of ice masses can be understood by observing changing features over time. To gaze or stare means to look steadily, intently, and with fixed attention, offering the ability to probe the characteristics of a target deeply, allowing retrieval of 3D structure and changes on fine and coarse scales. Observing surface reflectance and 3D structure from multiple perspectives allows for a more complete view of a surface than conventional remote imaging. A gaze from low Earth orbit (LEO) could last several minutes allowing for video capture of dynamic processes. Repeat passes enable monitoring time scales of days to years. Numerous vantage points are available during a gaze (Figure 1). Features in the scene are projected into each image frame enabling the recovery of dense 3D structure. The recovery is robust to errors in the spacecraft position and attitude knowledge, because features are from different perspectives. The combination of a varying look angle and the solar illumination allows recovering texture and reflectance properties and permits the separation of atmospheric effects. Applications are numerous and diverse, including, for example, glacier and ice sheet flux, sand dune migration, geohazards from earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, rivers and floods, animal migrations, ecosystem changes, geysers on Enceladus, or ice structure on Europa. The Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) hosted a workshop in June of 2014 to explore opportunities and challenges of gazing imaging. The goals of the workshop were to develop and discuss the broad scientific questions that can be addressed using spaceborne gazing, specific types of targets and applications, the resolution and spectral bands needed to achieve the science objectives, and possible instrument configurations for future missions. The workshop participants found that gazing imaging offers the ability to measure morphology, composition, and reflectance simultaneously and to measure their variability over time. Gazing imaging can be applied to better understand the consequences of climate change and natural hazards processes, through the study of continuous and episodic processes in both domains

Airborne hyperspectral imaging for wetland mapping in the Yukon Flats, Alaska

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2020This study involved commissioning HySpex, a hyperspectral imaging system, on a single-engine Bush Hawk aircraft; using it to acquire images over selected regions of the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge; establishing a complete processing flow to convert raw data to radiometrically and geometrically corrected hypercubes, and further processing the data to classify wetlands. Commissioning involved designing a customized mount to simultaneously install two-camera systems, one operating in the visible and near infrared region, and the other operating in the shortwave infrared region. Flight planning incorporated special considerations in choosing the flight direction, speed, and time windows to minimize effects of the Bidirectional Reflection Distribution Function (BRDF) that are more dominant in high latitudes. BRDF effects were further minimized through a special processing step, that was added to the established hyperspectral data processing chain developed by the German Space Agency (DLR). Instrument commissioning included a test flight over the University of Alaska Fairbanks for a bore-sight calibration between the HySpex system's two cameras, and to ensure the radiometric and geometric fidelity of the acquired images. Calibration resulted in a root mean square error of 0.5 pixels or less for images acquired from both cameras at 1-meter spatial resolution for each geometrically corrected flight line. Imagery was radiometrically corrected using the ATCOR-4 software package. No field spectra of the study areas were collected due to logistics constraints. However, a visual comparison between current spectral libraries and acquired hyperspectral image spectra was used to ensure spectral quality. For wetlands mapping, a 6-category legend was established based on previous United States Geological Survey and United States Fish and Wildlife Service information and maps, and three different classification methods are used in two selected areas: hybrid classification, spectral angle mapper, and maximum likelihood. Final maps were successfully classified using a maximum likelihood method with high Kappa values and user's and producer's accuracy are more than 90% for nearly all categories. The maximum likelihood classifier generated the best wetland classification results, with a Kappa index of about 0.90. This was followed by the SAM classifier with a Kappa index of about 0.57 and lastly by the hybrid classifier that achieved a Kappa index of only 0.42. Recommendations for future work include using higher-accuracy GPS measurements to improve georectification, building a spectral library for Alaskan vegetation, collection of ground spectral measurements concurrently with flight image acquisition, and acquisition of LiDAR or RGB-photo derived digital surface models to improve classification efforts.United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska NSF EPSCoR, College of Natural Science and Mathematics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, UAF Graduate Schoo

Integration of Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for monitoring mining induced surface deformations

Surface subsidence induced by mining is a source of risk to people, equipment and environment. It may also disrupt mining schedules and increase the cost of mine safety. To provide accurate assessment of the surface subsidence and its level of impact on mine production and environment, it is necessary to develop and introduce comprehensive subsidence monitoring systems. Current techniques for monitoring of surface deformation are usually based on classical survey principles. In general these techniques have disadvantages that limit their applicability: they follow point-by-point data collection techniques, they are relatively time-consuming and costly, they usually cover only a small area, they are not applicable for the monitoring of inaccessible areas and they are not able to collect data continuously.As a complementary or alternative technique, the thesis discusses the applicability of SAR interferometry for monitoring mining induced deformations. InSAR is a remote sensing technique that makes use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) observations to acquire change in terrain topography. In spite of the widespread application of the technique for monitoring large-scale deformations of the Earth crust, specific modifications are necessary for utilising the technology within a mining context. Limitations, such as difficulty to resolve deformation for a high gradient slope, difficulty to retrieve subsidence for localised highly dynamic ground movements and the unavailability of SAR images with the desired specifications restrict the potential to monitor high rate, localised mine subsidence on day-to-day basis.The secondary aim of the thesis is to present integration of InSAR and GIS in order to propose an optimum methodology for processing of InSAR data to determine mine subsidence. The presented research also involves detailed analysis of InSAR limitations. This in consequence has led to suggestions on how to improve current InSAR capability with respect to the mining needs.The thesis introduces a set of new GIS-based tools and methodologies that are integrated into a conventional InSAR processing technique, to further improve and facilitate application of InSAR in mining. The developed tools and techniques cover the three main stages of data processing (pre-processing, processing and postprocessing). The researcher tried to address InSAR.’s limitations associated with mining related applications and also to provide practical solutions to resolve these issues

Spin-scanning Cameras for Planetary Exploration: Imager Analysis and Simulation

In this thesis, a novel approach to spaceborne imaging is investigated, building upon the scan imaging technique in which camera motion is used to construct an image. This thesis investigates its use with wide-angle (≥90° field of view) optics mounted on spin stabilised probes for large-coverage imaging of planetary environments, and focusses on two instruments. Firstly, a descent camera concept for a planetary penetrator. The imaging geometry of the instrument is analysed. Image resolution is highest at the penetrator’s nadir and lowest at the horizon, whilst any point on the surface is imaged with highest possible resolution when the camera’s altitude is equal to that point’s radius from nadir. Image simulation is used to demonstrate the camera’s images and investigate analysis techniques. A study of stereophotogrammetric measurement of surface topography using pairs of descent images is conducted. Measurement accuracies and optimum stereo geometries are presented. Secondly, the thesis investigates the EnVisS (Entire Visible Sky) instrument, under development for the Comet Interceptor mission. The camera’s imaging geometry, coverage and exposure times are calculated, and used to model the expected signal and noise in EnVisS observations. It is found that the camera’s images will suffer from low signal, and four methods for mitigating this – binning, coaddition, time-delay integration and repeat sampling – are investigated and described. Use of these methods will be essential if images of sufficient signal are to be acquired, particularly for conducting polarimetry, the performance of which is modelled using Monte Carlo simulation. Methods of simulating planetary cameras’ images are developed to facilitate the study of both cameras. These methods enable the accurate simulation of planetary surfaces and cometary atmospheres, are based on Python libraries commonly used in planetary science, and are intended to be readily modified and expanded for facilitating the study of a variety of planetary cameras

Error sources and guidelines for quality assessment of glacier area, elevation change, and velocity products derived from satellite data in the Glaciers_cci project

Satellite data provide a large range of information on glacier dynamics and changes. Results are often reported, provided and used without consideration of measurement accuracy (difference to a true value) and precision (variability of independent assessments). Whereas accuracy might be difficult to determine due to the limited availability of appropriate reference data and the complimentary nature of satellite measurements, precision can be obtained from a large range of measures with a variable effort for determination. This study provides a systematic overview on the factors influencing accuracy and precision of glacier area, elevation change (from altimetry and DEM differencing), and velocity products derived from satellite data, along with measures for calculating them. A tiered list of recommendations is provided (sorted for effort from Level 0 to 3) as a guide for analysts to apply what is possible given the datasets used and available to them. The more simple measures to describe product quality (Levels 0 and 1) can often easily be applied and should thus always be reported. Medium efforts (Level 2) require additional work but provide a more realistic assessment of product precision. Real accuracy assessment (Level 3) requires independent and coincidently acquired reference data with high accuracy. However, these are rarely available and their transformation into an unbiased source of information is challenging. This overview is based on the experiences and lessons learned in the ESA project Glaciers_cci rather than a review of the literature