Land cover classification by an artificial neural network with ancillary information

Abstract

Remote sensing is an important source of land cover data required by many GIS users. Land cover data are typically derived from remotely–sensed data through the application of a conventional statistical classification. Such classification techniques are not, however, always appropriate, particularly as they may make untenable assumptions about the data and their output is hard, comprising only the code of the most likely class of membership. Whilst some deviation from the assumptions may be tolerated and a fuzzy output may be derived, making more information on class membership properties available, alternative classification procedures are sometimes required. Artificial neural networks are an attractive alternative to the statistical classifiers and here one is used to derive a fuzzy classification output from a remotely–sensed data set that may be post–processed with ancillary data available in a GIS to increase the accuracy with which land cover may be mapped. With the aid ancillary information on soil type and prior knowledge of class occurrence the accuracy of an artificial neural network classification was increased by 29–93 to 77–37 per cent. An artificial neural network can therefore be used generate a fuzzy classification output that may be used with other data sets in a GIS, which may not have been available to the producer of the classification, to increase the accuracy with which land cover may be classified.     

First Data on the Isotopic Age of Zircons from Rocks of the Roseta Ultramafic Massif,Southern Margin of the São Francisco Craton (Brazil)

Doklady Earth Sciences - The results of isotope U–Pb dating of zircons from lherzolite and vein olivine orthopyroxenite composing the Roseta ultramafic massif are presented. The zircons...     

Analysis of urbanization based on center-of-gravity movement and characteristics in Songhua River basin of China and its southern source sub-basin between 1990 and 2010

Urbanization in modern times led to a series of development strategies that brought new opportunities in China. Rapid urbanization caused severe stress to the ecosystems and the environment. Using the center-of-gravity(COG) method and parameters such as population, economy, and land, we studied the urbanization pattern in Songhua River Basin and its southern source sub-basin from 1990 to 2010. Urbanization was analyzed based on the COG position, eccentric distance, movement direction of COG, and distance of COG movement. Various characteristics of urbanization in the southern source sub-basin of the Songhua River were explained in relation to the whole Songhua River Basin. Urbanization in the southern source sub-basin of the Songhua River is balanced, relatively advanced, and stable compared to the whole Songhua River Basin. The average eccentric distance between the urbanization COGs in the Songhua River′s south source basin indicated rapid expansion of land urbanization during the span of this study. A basic pattern of urbanization COG in the whole Songhua Basin was observed, but there existed differences among the three aspects of urbanization process. Land urbanization is still in its active stage, so future studies should focus on analysis of such urbanization trends.     

Wide-field VLBI imaging

We discuss the technique of Wide-field imaging as it applies to Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). In the past VLBI data sets were usually averaged so severely that the field-of-view was typically restricted to regions extending a few hundred milliarcseconds from the phase centre of the field. Recent advances in data analysis techniques, together with increasing data storage capabilities, and enhanced computer processing power, now permit VLBI images to be made whose angular size represents a significant fraction of an individual antenna's primary beam. This technique has recently been successfully applied to several large separation gravitational lens systems, compact Supernova Remnants in the starburst galaxy M82, and two faint radio sources located within the same VLA FIRST field. It seems likely that other VLBI observing programmes might benefit from this wide-field approach to VLBI data analysis. With the raw sensitivity of global VLBI set to improve by a factor 4–5 over the coming few years, the number of sources that can be detected in a given field will rise considerably. In addition, a continued progression in VLBI's ability to image relatively faint and extended low brightness temperature features (such as hot-spots in large-scale astrophysical jets) is also to be expected. As VLBI sensitivity approaches the μJy level, a wide-field approach to data analysis becomes inevitable.     

A portable extruder for accurate and precise high-resolution subsampling of unconsolidated sediment cores

Journal of Paleolimnology - We developed a portable extruder for precise and accurate high-resolution subsampling of unconsolidated sediment cores. This extruder is capable of producing subsamples...     

The excitation mechanism of [Fe XIV] 5303 å line in the inner regions of solar corona

The line intensity of the green coronal line and the continuum intensity are derived from the filter and white light photographs of the solar corona obtained during the 1980 total solar eclipse. Ratio of the line to continuum intensity is plotted against the radial distancer(=R/R₀,R ₀ is the solar radius), in various position angles. A simple model assuming an electron density dependence of the line and continuum intensities suggests a dominant collisional mechanism for the excitation of the line in the innermost regions (～ 1.4R ₀). The measured line to continuum ratio tends to a constant value at different radial distances in different position angles. The constancy of the measured line to continuum ratio indicates significant radiative excitation beyond 1.4 R₀, in some of the position angles.     

The First Results of U–Pb Isotope Dating of Detrital Zircons from the Upper Mesoproterozoic Gulliksenfellet Quartzite (Southern Part of Wedel Jarlsberg Land,Southwest Spitsbergen)

The first results of U–Pb isotopic dating (LA–ICP–MS) of detrital zircons from metasedimentary rocks of the pre-Devonian basement of the SW part of western Spitsbergen (from Upper Mezoproterozoic Gulliksenfellet quartzite) showed ages ranging from 1700 ± 25 to 2948 ± 27 Ma.     

Interplanetary Nanodust Detection by the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory/WAVES Low Frequency Receiver

New measurements using radio and plasma-wave instruments in interplanetary space have shown that nanometer-scale dust, or nanodust, is a significant contributor to the total mass in interplanetary space. Better measurements of nanodust will allow us to determine where it comes from and the extent to which it interacts with the solar wind. When one of these nanodust grains impacts a spacecraft, it creates an expanding plasma cloud, which perturbs the photoelectron currents. This leads to a voltage pulse between the spacecraft body and the antenna. Nanodust has a high charge/mass ratio, and therefore can be accelerated by the interplanetary magnetic field to the speed of the solar wind: significantly faster than the Keplerian orbital speeds of heavier dust. The amplitude of the signal induced by a dust grain grows much more strongly with speed than with mass of the dust particle. As a result, nanodust can produce a strong signal despite its low mass. The WAVES instruments on the twin Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory spacecraft have observed interplanetary nanodust particles since shortly after their launch in 2006. After describing a new and improved analysis of the last five years of STEREO/WAVES Low Frequency Receiver data, we present a statistical survey of the nanodust characteristics, namely the rise time of the pulse voltage and the flux of nanodust. We show that previous measurements and interplanetary dust models agree with this survey. The temporal variations of the nanodust flux are also discussed.