Remote Sensing Fall 2014
Lab exercise 3 – Visual image interpretation: urban applications
Introduction: Urban landscape is most complex and heterogeneous. Most urban applications require fine spatial resolution data. Quickbird images have fine spatial
resolution and can be used for urban area mapping, feature identification and planning related purposes. The Quickbird satellite sensors collect multispectral data in
B, G, R and NIR bands at a spatial resolution of 2.4 m and panchromatic data at a resolution of 61 cm.
This lab is designed for you to identify urban features and land uses using Quickbird image of Murray, KY, using elements of visual image interpretation.The QuickBird
image was collected on February 28, 2004. It is registered to UTM-WGS84 coordinate system. The multispectral bands were merged with the panchromatic band to enhance
spatial details. The entire dataset is over 1GB. The dataset you will use for this lab covers the north side of Murray. To reduce the size of the dataset, only bands 4
(NIR), 3 (R) and 2(G) are included. That reduced the size of thedataset to around300 M. Copy the StraboGSC45GSC_512_01labslab3folder to your directory on local
disk D:.Load the image into ERDAS Imagine, using layers 321 as RGB, which would show the conventional false color composition with vegetation in red color. If you are
not quite familiar with the area, you may need a map of Murray or “ground truthing” in the field.Alternatively, turn on the Open Street Mapsbasemap in ERDAS IMAGINE.
1. Urban land use patterns
Urban land use categories include residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, transportation and utilities, etc. They show different land use patterns in the
image.
Display qb_murraynorth.img in ERDAS IMAGINE. For the three available layers, layers 321 as RGB would make a conventional false color composite. Zoomin onto
MurrayStateUniversity area south of Chestnut St. Then zoom onto the strip mall across the street from Stewart Stadium.
Q1.Compare the institutional landscape of MSU and the commercial landscape of the strip mall. Using the elements of visual image interpretation (size, shape, pattern,
color, site,…), describe the two distinct urban land use patterns and how you could distinguish them.
Q2. Compare the land use pattern of MSU to the residential areas surrounding MSU. How do the residential areas differ from institutional land use such as MSU?
Q3. Zoom in onto the north part of the image. Focus on the built-up area to the east of US641, a large complex around UTM X: 383980, Y: 4056600 (Hint: You may use
theInquiry tool and type in the X and Y coordinate.). What type of land use exists there? What are the visual clues? How does it differ from MSU and the commercial
land uses?
Q4. Compare residential areas A (around X: 380875, Y: 4053470), B (around X: 381257, Y: 4054185), and C (around X: 383035, Y: 4055020). What types of residential areas
are they? How do they differ visually in the image?
In addition tothe typicalresidential, transportational, commercial and industrial land use, you may also find a variety of other types of land use, as the examples
below.
Q5. What land use is at the site around (X: 384300, Y: 4054440)? What are the visual clues? What land use is at the site around (X: 381415, Y: 4055600)? What are the
visual clues? What land use is at the site around (X: 382915, Y: 4056170)? What are the visual clues?
2. Monitoring construction
Details of construction sites are shown in this Quickbird image at the time of its acquisition. Find the following sites on the MSU campus and compare their status of
progress: the new Regional Center for Emerging Technologies (around X: 381610, Y: 4053775), the new MSU Student Wellness Center (around X: 381895, Y: 4053630) and the
new Biology Building (around X: 381400, Y: 4052800).
Q6: which site was the closet to completion at the time of image acquisition? Why? Which construction project was in the initial stage? Why?
3. Population estimation
Fine resolution image of urban areas have been used for population estimations. Open a predefined area-of-interest (AOI) file by right-click inside the Viewer, then
select Open AOI layer, and select city_blocks.aoi in your Lab 4 folder. The identified city blocks are located to the west of Five Points. If you cannot see it, zoom
in/out or pan to find it. Zoom in onto the city blocks and count the number of houses inside these four blocks. The City of Murray has estimated that the average
household size is 2.02 persons inside the city.
Q7: Based on your count of the number of houses and the average household size, what is the estimated population in these city blocks? According to the 2000 census,
150 persons resided in theseblocks. What is the difference between your estimation and the 2000 census? What factors may have contributed to the difference?
4. Environmental assessment
In the image, environmentally sensitive areas can be readily identified, for example, the waterways (Clarks River, Bee Creek, etc.). The flood plain of ClarksRiver is
also visible.
Q8: Find the site surrounding X: 381407, Y: 4054692. What was going on at that site? What environmental problems do you see? What information on the image led you to
that conclusion?
Submit your written answers for questions Q1-Q8.
5. Your feedback
Do you have any comments and/or suggestions about this lab? Please provide your feedback.