A Geostatistically Based Preprocessing Algorithm for Hyperspectral Data Analysis

We present a preprocessing algorithm for hyperspectral remote sensing datasets. The algorithm is based on a geostatistical method and should be helpful when a spatial relationship is detected in a dataset. One significant advantage of hyperspectral remote sensing using spectral profiles is the ability to compare an unknown pixel's profile with endmembers that have already been identified by a variety of methods (e.g., laboratory experiments with high-precision spectrometers), with the final goal of determining the unknown pixel. The conditions under which the airborne or spaceborne hyperspectral data are collected, however, differ from those that prevail in the laboratory or field. Therefore, a dataset should be preprocessed so as to eliminate or considerably reduce these differences; the algorithm presented here could be used for that purpose. The result will not only improve the smoothness of spectral profiles, but it may also offer advantages for geological investigations to study mineral anomalies using hyperspectral data. Concentrations of minerals in rock bodies often have certain patterns and follow trends that can be modeled by computing a semivariogram. The advantages of using such a trend have induced mining engineers to develop innovations in geostatistics. These trends should be taken into account when handling hyperspectral datasets. In all methods presented for boosting spectral profiles, the spatial relationships among pixels' DNs are neglected, but, in the method presented here, this relationship is calculated by geostatistics, and an algorithm is applied to improve spectral profiles. The nugget effect is calculated separately for each channel, and its square root is subtracted from the reflectance of all pixels in that channel. Finally, we examine the effectiveness and validation of the method examined using the AVIRIS dataset from Cuprite, Nevada. The results are satisfactory, as the algorithm yields a better mineral detection process.     

The effect of leaf-on and leaf-off forest canopy conditions on LiDAR derived estimations of forest structural diversity

Forest structural diversity metrics describing diversity in tree size and crown shape within forest stands can be used as indicators of biodiversity. These diversity metrics can be generated using airborne laser scanning (LiDAR) data to provide a rapid and cost effective alternative to ground-based inspection. Measures of tree height derived from LiDAR can be significantly affected by the canopy conditions at the time of data collection, in particular whether the canopy is under leaf-on or leaf-off conditions, but there have been no studies of the effects on structural diversity metrics. The aim of this research is to assess whether leaf-on/leaf-off changes in canopy conditions during LiDAR data collection affect the accuracy of calculated forest structural diversity metrics. We undertook a quantitative analysis of LiDAR ground detection and return height, and return height diversity from two airborne laser scanning surveys collected under leaf-on and leaf-off conditions to assess initial dataset differences. LiDAR data were then regressed against field-derived tree size diversity measurements using diversity metrics from each LiDAR dataset in isolation and, where appropriate, a mixture of the two. Models utilising leaf-off LiDAR diversity variables described DBH diversity, crown length diversity and crown width diversity more successfully than leaf-on (leaf-on models resulted in R² values of 0.66, 0.38 and 0.16, respectively, and leaf-off models 0.67, 0.37 and 0.23, respectively). When LiDAR datasets were combined into one model to describe tree height diversity and DBH diversity the models described 75% and 69% of the variance (R² of 0.75 for tree height diversity and 0.69 for DBH diversity). The results suggest that tree height diversity models derived from airborne LiDAR, collected (and where appropriate combined) under any seasonal conditions, can be used to differentiate between simple single and diverse multiple storey forest structure with confidence.     

Retrieving aboveground biomass of wetland Phragmites australis (common reed) using a combination of airborne discrete-return LiDAR and hyperspectral data

Wetland biomass is essential for monitoring the stability and productivity of wetland ecosystems. Conventional field methods to measure or estimate wetland biomass are accurate and reliable, but expensive, time consuming and labor intensive. This research explored the potential for estimating wetland reed biomass using a combination of airborne discrete-return Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and hyperspectral data. To derive the optimal predictor variables of reed biomass, a range of LiDAR and hyperspectral metrics at different spatial scales were regressed against the field-observed biomasses. The results showed that the LiDAR-derived H_p99 (99th percentile of the LiDAR height) and hyperspectral-calculated modified soil-adjusted vegetation index (MSAVI) were the best metrics for estimating reed biomass using the single regression model. Although the LiDAR data yielded a higher estimation accuracy compared to the hyperspectral data, the combination of LiDAR and hyperspectral data produced a more accurate prediction model for reed biomass (R² = 0.648, RMSE = 167.546 g/m², RMSE_r = 20.71%) than LiDAR data alone. Thus, combining LiDAR data with hyperspectral data has a great potential for improving the accuracy of aboveground biomass estimation.     

高光谱-LiDAR多级融合城区地表覆盖分类

城市地区地表覆盖分类在城市研究中是一个十分重要的方向。遥感作为获取地物物理属性的一种重要技术手段,已初步应用于分类研究中。然而,随着城镇化的不断推进,城市内部地物类型越来越复杂,单一的遥感影像已无法满足城区地表覆盖分类中高精度的要求。高光谱影像和LiDAR数据能够分别表征地物的光谱信息及高程而被广泛应用。因此,根据两者之间互补的优势,本文提出了基于高光谱影像和LiDAR数据多级融合的城区地表覆盖分类方法。首先对两幅影像分别进行特征提取,将提取到的光谱、空间及高程信息进行层叠实现特征级融合。对得到的特征影像的所有像素点进行分类,然后利用LiDAR点云数据提取的建筑物掩膜,对非建筑物部分进行分类,再次实现特征级融合,以此改善建筑物区域与非建筑物区域的混淆。然后将未使用掩膜得到的分类结果与利用掩膜得到的分类结果进行投票实现决策级融合。最后利用条件随机场模型对分类结果进行后处理操作,达到平滑图像去除噪声点的目的。     

车载MMS激光点云与序列全景影像自动配准方法

提出一种车载移动测量系统（MMS）激光点云与序列全景影像自动配准方法。首先采用层次化城市场景目标提取方法自激光点云提取天际线矢量,在全景影像中经虚拟成像与分割角点提取算法生成天际线矢量。然后,将提取结果作为几何配准基元,构建配准基元图,通过最小化配准基元图编辑距离进行匹配,组成共轭配准基元对,解算2D-3D粗配准模型,获得全景影像与LiDAR点云参考坐标系之间的初始转换关系。最后,为消除几何配准基元提取与匹配误差对配准结果的影响,自序列全景影像虚拟成像影像生成多视立体密集匹配点云,继而使用变种ICP算法优化其与激光点云数据间3D-3D配准参数,间接优化全景影像与激光点云间的配准参数,精化配准结果。试验结果表明,本文提出的自动配准方法可以实现车载MMS激光点云与序列全景影像的1.5像素级自动配准,配准成果可应用于真彩色点云生成等点云/影像数据融合应用。     

Spectral mapping methods applied to LiDAR data: Application to fuel type mapping

Originally developed to classify multispectral and hyperspectral images, spectral mapping methods were used to classify Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data to estimate the vertical structure of vegetation for Fuel Type (FT) mapping. Three spectral mapping methods generated spatially comprehensive FT maps for Cabañeros National Park (Spain): (1) Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA), (2) Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM), and (3) Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis (MESMA). The Vegetation Vertical Profiles (VVPs) describe the vertical distribution of the vegetation and are used to define each FT endmember in a LiDAR signature library. Two different approaches were used to define the endmembers, one based on the field data collected in 1998 and 1999 (Approach 1) and the other on exploring spatial patterns of the singular FT discriminating factors (Approach 2). The overall accuracy is higher for Approach 2 and with best results when considering a five-FT model rather than a seven-FT model. The agreement with field data of 44% for MESMA and SMA and 40% for SAM is higher than the 38% of the official Cabañeros National Park FTs map. The principal spatial patterns for the different FTs were well captured, demonstrating the value of this novel approach using spectral mapping methods applied to LiDAR data. The error sources included the time gap between field data and LiDAR acquisition, the steep topography in parts of the study site, and the low LiDAR point density among others.     

机载激光雷达及高光谱的森林乔木物种多样性遥感监测

利用机载LiDAR和高光谱数据并结合37个地面调查样本数据,基于结构差异与光谱变异理论,通过相关分析法分别筛选了3个最优林冠结构参数和6个最优光谱指数,在单木尺度上利用自适应C均值模糊聚类算法,在神农架国家自然保护区开展森林乔木物种多样性监测,实现了森林乔木物种多样性的区域成图。研究结果表明,(1)基于结合形态学冠层控制的分水岭算法可以获得较高精度的单木分割结果(R~2=0.88,RMSE=13.17,P0.001);(2)基于LiDAR数据提取的9个结构参数中,95%百分位高度、冠层盖度和植被穿透率为最优结构参数,与Shannon-Wiener指数的相关性达到R~2=0.39—0.42(P0.01);(3)基于机载高光谱数据筛选的16个常用的植被指数中,CRI、OSAVI、Narrow band NDVI、SR、Vogelmann index1、PRI与Shannon-Wiener指数的相关性最高(R~2=0.37—0.45,P0.01);(4)在研究区,利用以30 m×30 m为窗口的自适应模糊C均值聚类算法可预测的最大森林乔木物种数为20,物种丰富度的预测精度为R~2=0.69,RMSE=3.11,Shannon-Wiener指数的预测精度为R~2=0.70,RMSE=0.32。该研究在亚热带森林开展乔木物种多样性监测,是在区域尺度上进行物种多样性成图的重要实践,可有效补充森林生物多样性本底数据的调查手段,有助于实现生物多样性的长期动态监测及科学分析森林物种多样性的现状和变化趋势。     

Estimation of forest leaf water content through inversion of a radiative transfer model from LiDAR and hyperspectral data

The accurate estimation of leaf water content (LWC) and knowledge about its spatial variation are important for forest and agricultural management since LWC provides key information for evaluating plant physiology. Hyperspectral data have been widely used to estimate LWC. However, the canopy reflectance can be affected by canopy structure, thereby introducing error to the retrieval of LWC from hyperspectral data alone. Radiative transfer models (RTM) provide a robust approach to combine LiDAR and hyperspectral data in order to address the confounding effects caused by the variation of canopy structure. In this study, the INFORM model was adjusted to retrieve LWC from airborne hyperspectral and LiDAR data. Two structural parameters (i.e. stem density and crown diameter) in the input of the INFORM model that affect canopy reflectance most were replaced by canopy cover which could be directly obtained from LiDAR data. The LiDAR-derived canopy cover was used to constrain in the inversion procedure to alleviate the ill-posed problem. The models were validated against field measurements obtained from 26 forest plots and then used to map LWC in the southern part of the Bavarian Forest National Park in Germany. The results show that with the introduction of prior information of canopy cover obtained from LiDAR data, LWC could be retrieved with a good accuracy (R² = 0.87, RMSE = 0.0022 g/cm², nRMSE = 0.13). The adjustment of the INFORM model facilitated the introduction of prior information over a large extent, as the estimation of canopy cover can be achieved from airborne LiDAR data.     

“针孔”模拟成像下的单航空影像与LiDAR点云配准

以摄影测量共线方程为严格配准模型,提出了一种引入针孔成像模拟过程的单张航空影像LiDAR点云配准迭代方法,共分为3个阶段:第一,利用航空影像内参数及初始外方位元素对LiDAR点云针孔模拟成像,生成与航空影像空间分辨率、几何形变相接近且具有相同幅面大小的透视影像-LiDAR深度影像;第二,以梯度互信息作为影像相似性测度依据,实施影像金字塔、分块处理策略实现LiDAR深度影像与航空影像几何变换参数快速估计,进而依据估计参数及LiDAR深度影像、激光脚点投影关系建立LiDAR点云航空影像概略相关;第三,以LiDAR点云影像概略相关下的近似同名像点为观测值,以像点梯度互信息为权重,实施摄影测量空间后方交会计算获得优化的影像外方位元素,生成新的LiDAR深度影像并重复上述过程,直至满足给定的迭代计算条件,实现单张航空影像与LiDAR点云数据的自动空间配准。实验表明,本文方法配准精度达亚像素级且自动化程度高。     

高光谱和LiDAR联合反演森林生物量研究

估算森林地上生物量(AGB)对于全球实现碳中和目标至关重要。本文以美国缅因州Howland森林为研究区域,借助地面实测样地数据,对比分析协同不同数据源(高光谱和LiDAR)和机器学习算法(随机森林、支持向量机、梯度提升决策树和K最邻近回归)的研究,以改善Howland森林的生物量估计精度。结果表明,采用LiDAR和高光谱植被指数变量模型的最佳精度分别为0.874和0.868,协同高光谱和LiDAR变量并采用梯度提升决策树回归模型的精度为0.927,即多源遥感数据要优于单一数据源。高光谱和LiDAR数据的协同使用对于提高类似于Howland地区或更广泛区域的生物量估计的准确性,具有普遍的适用性与一定的应用前景。     

LiDAR虚拟仿真实践教学平台设计与建设

为适应测绘工作从三维空间测量向多维空间、从静态测量向动态实时测量、从地面向全域空间拓展的高新技术发展趋势,更好地应对信息化教育背景下的知识获取和传授方式、教与学关系等教改创新要求。本实验教学项目在现有实训课程基础上,以建构筑物三维空间信息快速采集与建模的真实测绘项目为基础,将三维激光测量技术、虚拟仿真技术与LiDAR技术进行深度融合;设计并建设了LiDAR虚拟仿真实践教学平台,运用C#开发程序界面和Pr视频编辑软件制作仿真动画,结合VLCPlayer视频播放插件,实现了对LiDAR仪器认知,测量模拟,数据处理和实践展示等功能,帮助学生理解并掌握LiDAR的相关知识和操作技能,取得了良好的教学效果。     

Spectral characterization of coastal sediments using Field Spectral Libraries,Airborne Hyperspectral Images and Topographic LiDAR Data (FHyL)

Beach dune systems are important for coastal zone ecosystems as they provide natural sea defences that dissipate wave energy. Geomorphological models of this near-shore topography require site-specific sediment composition, grain size and moisture content as inputs. Hyperspectral, field radiometry and LiDAR remote sensing can be used as tools by providing synoptic maps of these properties. However, multi-remote sensing of near-shore beach images can only be interpreted if there are adequate bio-geophysical or empirical models for information extraction. Our aim was thus to model the effects of varying sediment properties on the reflectance in both field and laboratory conditions within the FHyL (Field Spectral Libraries, Airborne Hyperspectral Images and Topographic LiDAR) procedure, using a multisource dataset (airborne Hyperspectral – MIVIS and topographic LiDAR – Hawk-eye II and field radiometry). The methodology consisted of (i) acquisition of simultaneous multi-source datasets (airborne Hyperspectral – MIVIS and topographic LiDAR – Hawk-eye) (ii) hyperspectral measurements of sediment mixtures with varying physical characteristics (moisture, grain size and minerals) in field and laboratory conditions, (iii) determination and quantification of specific absorption features, and (iv) correlation between the absorption features and physical parameters cited above.Results showed the potential of hyperspectral signals to assess the effect of moisture, grain-size and mineral composition on sediment properties.     

机载激光雷达平均树高提取研究

为了研究机载激光雷达(LiDAR)树高提取技术,以山东省泰安市徂徕山林场为实验区,于2005年5月进行了机载LiDAR数据获取和外业测量.通过对LiDAR点云数据的分类处理,分别得到了试验区的地面点云子集、植被点云子集和高程归一化的植被点云子集.基于高程归一化的植被点云子集计算了上四分位数处的高度,与实地测量的数据进行了比较,并结合中国森林调查规程进行了实用性分析.结果表明:对于较低密度的点云数据,使用分位数法可以较好地进行林分平均高的估计;机载激光雷达技术对树高估计是可行的,精度都高于87%,总体平均精度为90.59%,其中阔叶树的精度高于针叶树.该试验精度可以满足中国二类森林调查规程中平均树高因子的一般商品林和生态公益林的精度要求,对国有商品林小班的调查精度要求(5%)存在一点差距,需要在国有商品林区进一步开展验证工作.对本试验区而言,已经可以满足其作为森林公园生态公益林的调查要求.     

Integration of hyperspectral and LiDAR data for mapping small water bodies

Inland water bodies are globally threatened by environmental degradation and climate change. On the other hand, new water bodies can be designed during landscape restoration (e.g. after coal mining). Effective management of new water resources requires continuous monitoring; in situ surveys are, however, extremely time-demanding. Remote sensing has been widely used for identifying water bodies. However, the use of optical imagery is constrained by accuracy problems related to the difficulty in distinguishing water features from other surfaces with low albedo, such as tree shadows. This is especially true when mapping water bodies of different sizes. To address these problems, we evaluated the potential of integrating hyperspectral data with LiDAR (hereinafter “integrative approach”). The study area consisted of several spoil heaps containing heterogeneous water bodies with a high variability of shape and size. We utilized object-based classification (Support Vector Machine) based on: (i) hyperspectral data; (ii) LiDAR variables; (iii) integration of both datasets. Besides, we classified hyperspectral data using pixel-based approaches (K-mean, spectral angle mapper). Individual approaches (hyperspectral data, LiDAR data and integrative approach) resulted in 2–22.4 % underestimation of the water surface area (i.e, omission error) and 0.4–1.5 % overestimation (i.e., commission error).The integrative approach yielded an improved discrimination of open water surface compared to other approaches (omission error of 2 % and commission error of 0.4 %). We also evaluated the success of detecting individual ponds; the integrative approach was the only one capable of detecting the water bodies with both omission and commission errors below 10 %. Finally, the assessment of misclassification reasons showed a successful elimination of shadows in the integrative approach. Our findings demonstrate that the integration of hyperspectral and LiDAR data can greatly improve the identification of small water bodies and can be applied in practice to support mapping of restoration process.     

Assessing the potential for leaf-off LiDAR data to model canopy closure in temperate deciduous forests

Estimates of canopy closure have many important uses in forest management and ecological research. Field measurements, however, are typically not practical to acquire over expansive areas or for large numbers of locations. This problem has been addressed, in recent years, through the use of airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology which has proven effective in modeling canopy closure remotely. The techniques developed to use LiDAR for this purpose have been designed and evaluated for datasets acquired during leaf-on conditions. However, a large number of LiDAR datasets are acquired during leaf-off conditions since their primary purpose is to generate bare-earth Digital Elevation Models. In this paper, we develop and evaluate techniques for leveraging small-footprint leaf-off LiDAR data to model leaf-on canopy closure in temperate deciduous forests.We evaluate three techniques for modeling canopy closure: (1) the canopy-to-total-return-ratio (CTRR), (2) the canopy-to-total-pixel-ratio (CTPR), and (3) the hemispherical-viewshed (HV). The first technique has been used widely, in various forms, and has been shown to be effective with leaf-on LiDAR datasets. The CTRR technique that we tested uses the first-return LiDAR data only. The latter two techniques are new contributions that we develop and present in this paper. These techniques use Canopy Height Models (CHM) to detect significant gaps in the forest canopy which are of primary importance in estimating closure.The techniques we tested each showed good promise for predicting canopy closure using leaf-off LiDAR data with the CTPR and HV models having particularly high correlations with closure estimates from hemispherical photographs. The CTRR model had performance on par with results from previous studies that used leaf-on LiDAR, although, with leaf-off data the model tended to be negatively biased with respect to species having simple and compound leaf types and positively biased for coniferous species. The CTPR and HV models also showed some slight negative biases for compound-leaf species. The biases for the CTPR and HV models were mitigated when the CHM data were smoothed to fill in small gaps. The CHM-based models were robust to changes in the CHM model resolution which suggests that these methods may be applicable to a variety of small-footprint LiDAR datasets. In this research, the new CTPR and HV methods showed a strong ability to predict canopy closure using leaf-off data, however, future work will be needed to test the applicability of the models to variations in LiDAR datasets, forest types, and topography.     

Integration of full-waveform LiDAR and hyperspectral data to enhance tea and areca classification

Hyperspectral image and full-waveform light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data provide useful spectral and geometric information for classifying land cover. Hyperspectral images contain a large number of bands, thus providing land-cover discrimination. Waveform LiDAR systems record the entire time-varying intensity of a return signal and supply detailed information on geometric distribution of land cover. This study developed an efficient multi-sensor data fusion approach that integrates hyperspectral data and full-waveform LiDAR information on the basis of minimum noise fraction and principal component analysis. Then, support vector machine was used to classify land cover in mountainous areas. Results showed that using multi-sensor fused data achieved better accuracy than using a hyperspectral image alone, with overall accuracy increasing from 83% to 91% using population error matrices, for the test site. The classification accuracies of forest and tea farms exhibited significant improvement when fused data were used. For example, classification results were more complete and compact in tea farms based on fused data. Fused data considered spectral and geometric land-cover information, and increased the discriminability of vegetation classes that provided similar spectral signatures.     

全波形激光雷达的波形优化分解算法

随着数据存储能力和处理速度的提高,三维激光扫描系统逐渐具备全波形采集和分析技术。为了从全波形数据中获得脉冲时间、幅度、脉宽以及多回波分布等综合信息,波形分解成为了全波形激光雷达数据处理的关键技术之一。针对LM算法在一定程度上依赖初值,而传统激光雷达数据处理容易遗漏部分重叠的返回波,本文提出了一种改进回波分量初值设定的算法来获取回波脉冲的位置、宽度和强度。针对一套自主研发的全波形记录激光雷达演示系统进行了波形分解试验,定性和定量分析结果验证了该方法的有效性、可靠性和准确性。     

Estimating the spatial distribution,extent and potential lignocellulosic biomass supply of Trees Outside Forests in Baden-Wuerttemberg using airborne LiDAR and OpenStreetMap data

Trees Outside Forests (TOF) represent a source of lignocellulosic biomass that has received increasing attention in the recent years. While some studies have already investigated the potential of TOF in Germany, a spatial explicit analysis, specifically for Baden-Wuerttemberg, is still lacking. We used a unique wall-to-wall airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) dataset combined with OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to map and classify TOF of the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg (∼35.000 km²) in south-western Germany. Furthermore, from annual biomass potentials of TOF areas collected from available literature, we calculated the mean annual biomass supply for all TOF areas in Baden-Wuerttemberg. This combination of remote sensing-based classification and available literature resulted in a mean annual biomass supply between ∼490,000–730,000 t from TOF in Baden-Wuerttemberg. The classification congruence on three reference sites was very high (∼99%) using a simple filter technique applied to the LiDAR data and masking man-made objects using OSM data. In contrast, the available literature revealed a high variability of biomass potentials, supporting the demand for an inventory system. Still, the results demonstrate the applicability of LiDAR based vegetation mapping and the value of OSM data in Baden-Wuerttemberg to detect man-made objects.     

全波形机载激光雷达绝对辐射定标与不确定性分析

为揭示全波形激光雷达回波在森林等植被区域多回波信号的特征和对目标识别分类的影响,以激光雷达方程为模型基础,利用朗伯体目标为地面参考,提出了将激光雷达波形参数标定为后向散射截面、后向散射系数和漫反射率等物理量的方法,实现了机载小光斑全波形机载激光雷达数据绝对辐射定标。对两个不同实验区的LMS-Q680i数据标定结果表明,漫反射率与参考反射率相对误差总体分别小于10%和5.5%,误差标准差分别为0.044和0.077,有效消除了条带间差异。推导了多回波的激光雷达方程组,比较了相同系统在不同观测条件下的定标常数变化,重点分析了全波形激光雷达在穿透性目标上的多回波现象造成的能量衰减,及其对辐射定标结果的影响,证明了多回波现象是造成多回波信号减弱的主要原因。该现象是当前技术体制下激光雷达观测过程本身存在的缺陷,对基于激光雷达辐射信息的目标识别分类带来了一定的挑战,也是多光谱、高光谱激光雷达辐射信号定标必须解决的问题。     

基于支持向量回归的高光谱影像目标探测

高光谱影像目标探测可视为一个分类问题,本文通过揭示支持向量回归(SVR)与支持向量分类(SVC)之间的关系,证明了SVR用于分类的可行性,并以此为根据提出了一种基于SVR的目标探测算法,该算法利用虚拟维数得到端元个数的估计,结合端元选择和线性混合模型生成训练样本替代从影像中选择的训练样本,因而减少了对影像先验知识的依赖。采用模拟数据和由AVIRIS获得的高光谱影像对本文算法进行了检验,结果令人满意。