Chapter 12: Band Combinations using Landsat Imagery

Remote Sensing in an
ArcMap Environment
Remote Sensing Analysis
in an
ArcMap Environment
Tammy E. Parece

Image source: landsat.usgs.gov

Tammy Parece
James Campbell
John McGee

NSF DUE 0903270; 1205110

This workbook is available online as text (.pdfs) and short video tutorials via:
http://www.virginiaview.net/education.html

The project described in this publication was supported by Grant Number G14AP00002 from the
Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey to AmericaView. Its contents are
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are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies
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their endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Remote Sensing in an ArcMap Environment

12. Band Combinations Using Landsat Imagery
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In this tutorial, you will learn how to display color images in different band combinations using
ArcGIS 10.X and how an analyst can use these different combinations.
Introduction
Landsat images are acquired in grayscale but by combining 3 or more bands, you can display the
images in color. Using different band combinations to display your scene allows you to see
different features within a scene and become more familiar with the scene to identify urban
areas, forests, agriculture, and water bodies, for example. Familiarity with your Landsat scene is
important in order to do different types of analyses, such as unsupervised classifications,
supervised classifications, and different indices (ex: NDVI). Different types of analyses will be
covered in subsequent tutorials.
Remember, from prior tutorials, that the electromagnetic spectrum differs for each band. Each
one of these bands is useful for distinguishing different features (please also see additional notes
at the end of this tutorial):

If you download a different scene from a different sensor, each band will likely convey different
information. Please see: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3072/fs2012-3072.pdf for more
information.

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Creating Different Band Combinations
Open ArcMap, open a new map document, and add the composite image that was created
in the tutorial on Creating a Composite Image from Landsat Imagery. Set your Workspace. You
will not need the Image Analysis Window to display different band combinations.
Right click on your composite image in the Table of Contents, go to Properties and click
on the Symbology tab. This tab looks very different than it did when we were looking at the
image of a single band. The RGB Composite is highlighted (red oval) and multiple Channels
and Bands are listed (green oval).
Under Stretch, it lists the method that ArcMap used to stretch the colors over the range of
brightness values (remember each band has a range of brightness values). (Note specific
discussion of the different methods is beyond this tutorial please see ArcGIS Help or other
related sources for further information.)

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Click on the Histograms button. ArcMap displays the histograms for each band
displayed in the red, green, or blue channels. These are frequency histograms which plot the
values of the digital numbers (DNs) (x-axis) against the number of pixels with that value (yaxis). It shows the minimum DN value, and the maximum, mean, and standard deviation. Why
would each histogram look different?
(Answer because each band has a different range of DNs.) We will discuss Histograms more in
the tutorial on Radiometric Enhancement of Landsat Imagery.

Close the dialog box and lets next look at the image in the map document. The image
that is displayed in the map document window does not look very natural. Why?

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(Answer: because ArcMap is displaying the blue band as red and the red band as blue.)
Now, lets change this display strategy to make it look more natural.
Go back to Layer Properties/ Symbology dialog box. Left-click on the down arrow at the
end of the row of the Red Channel (red circle). It lists all bands from the Landsat image.
Because all bands are included, you can display any of those bands in the red region of the
visible spectrum. Click on Band_3 to assign the red channel to band 3. Then, click on the
down arrow at the end of the row for the Blue Channel and click on Band_1 to assign band 1 to
the blue channel
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The dialog box should look like this. You are displaying the natural red colors as red,
green as green and blue as blue. Click OK.

The scene is now displayed in natural colors (a true color image). The lake (red oval) is
now blue, whereas before, it was brown. You can see in the mountainous areas (yellow circle),
some green. But, it certainly does not look very colorful, does it? Why is there not more color?
Lets zoom in and examine closer.

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Zooming into the mountains, what do you

see? You see some green, brown, some
gray and white. What are these features?
Think about when this image was acquired.
Remember, we downloaded the March 13,
2011 image, so it is leaf-off. So if no
leaves on the trees, why do we see some
green? (Answer - conifers.) Brown areas
would represent either the bare earth where
no vegetation is currently growing, or the
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deciduous trees. What about the white? What are long, linear features on the ground and could
possibly be seen from an overhead image?
Lets look as another area of the scene, the city of Roanoke. Can you find it? Roanoke
is the largest urban area in southwest Virginia and within this Landsat scene. Does this help?
What do you find in urban areas (hint long linear features like roads, things with definite
angles like buildings, perhaps an airport). Did you find it? What do you see? When zoomed
out?

Okay, now lets try a different combination. Try 4-3-2. What does this mean? The
order of the combinations represents the RGB order. So, place Band_4 in the Red Channel,
Band_3 in the Green Channel and Band 2 in the Blue_ Channel. This combination is the
traditional false-color infrared band combination in which healthy or mature vegetation is shown
in red.
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Your dialog box should appear as follows:

Dont forget to click OK before you close the window!

We were still zoomed into Roanoke. Looks a lot different doesnt it? Why? What do
the different bands being placed within those specific channels mean? (See Landsat Table
above and additional notes at the end of this tutorial.) Landsat Band_4 is the near infrared and
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we have asked ArcMap to display the near infrared as red color. Vegetation shows bright in the
near infrared, so the healthiest vegetation within this scene will show red. That does not mean
that the pink is unhealthy vegetation it could be vegetation just beginning to grow. Would any
vegetation be growing in March? It will depend on the climate of the area. You can go to the
National Weather Service website to determine the temperature of this area for this time frame.
What else can you now identify with this band combination that you could not discern
from the natural color combination?
Zoom in closer on the city. This looks more defined. We can see some distinct features
within the city. Do you see the airport? Major roads? What about neighborhoods? How can
you tell the difference between major roads and neighborhoods? Can you find one of the golf
courses? (Hint infrared is showing bright red for healthy vegetation what do you find in a
golf course year round?) What else in a golf course is it just lawn area? What about sand
traps? Would they
show as bright
red? (See Landsat
Table above and
additional notes at
the end of this
tutorial). Can
you find the river
that flows through
the city?

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Now lets zoom in on the forest. What do you see? Can you see the difference between
the conifers and the deciduous trees? What would be showing as red (answer conifers would
have green leaves in March) and what would show as green? What about the pink areas, what
are those? Many of the pink areas have straight lines and sharp angles. (Humans like to design
things with straight lines and definitive angles.) Can you see roads? Streams? Why is some of
the forest darker? (Answer shadowing on sides of the mountains.)

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Lets do one more band combination. See window below and set your values as shown.

Yes, you can use the same band more than once. This again changes what you see in the
map document window. Does this band combination help you see anything more distinctly in
the forested mountains? (Answer- no, Band_4 (near infrared) is the best for healthy vegetation
and Band_4 is not used in this combination.)

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What about in the City of Roanoke? Why would the roads show more distinctly with this
band combination? The river? The first golf course is even more distinguishable at this spatial
resolution. Do you see a second one?

Zoom into the city, what happens? Do you see the remnants of a third golf course near
the airport? Why is this band combination more helpful in urban areas?

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Go ahead and try different band combinations for yourself.

Try different combinations for the whole scene, and then for different areas of the scene on a
zoomed-in basis.
Note some aerial photos are acquired in 4 bands the three visible bands (RGB) and
also the near-infrared. The U.S.D.A. NAIP imagery is acquired with 4 bands because their
purpose to evaluate agricultural productivity and these photos are usually acquired during the
growing season
(see http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/apfoapp?area=home&subject=prog&topic=nai for further
information). This imagery can be loaded into ArcMap and displayed using the different band
combinations in similar fashion. The photos come as one image (not 7 separate images as with
Landsat).
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Additional Notes on LANDSAT TM Single Band Sensitivities
0.45-0.52 m BLUE (BAND 1)

Shorter wavelengths most sensitive to atmospheric haze and so images may lack tonal
contrast

Shorter wavelengths have greatest water penetration (longer wavelengths more

absorbed); optimal for detection of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), pollution
plumes, water turbidity and sediment

Detecting smoke plumes (shorter wavelengths more easily scattered by smaller particles

Good for distinguishing clouds from snow and rock, and soil surfaces from vegetated
surfaces
0.52-0.6 m GREEN (BAND 2)

Sensitive to water turbidity differences, sediment and pollution plumes

Covers green reflectance peak from leaf surfaces, can be useful for discriminating broad
vegetation classes

Also useful for detection of SAV

Also useful for penetration of water for detection of SAV, pollution plumes, turbidity and
sediment
0.63-0.69 m RED (BAND 3)

Senses in strong chlorophyll absorption region, i.e. good for discriminating soil and
vegetation

Senses in strong reflectance region for most soils

Delineating soil cover

0.76-0.9 m NEAR IR (BAND 4)

Distinguishes vegetation varieties and vegetation vigor

Water is strong absorber of NIR, so this band is good for delineation of water bodies and
distinguishing dry and moist soils
1.55-1.75 m MID OR SWIR (BAND 5)

Sensitive to changes in leaf-tissue water content (turgidity)

Sensitive to moisture variation in vegetation and soils; reflectance decreases as water

content increases

Useful for determining plant vigor and for distinguishing succulents vs. woody vegetation

Especially sensitive to presence/absence of ferric iron or hemitite rocks (reflectance

increases as ferric iron increases)

Discriminates between snow and ice (light toned) and clouds (dark toned)
2.08-2.35 m MID OR SWIR (BAND 7)

Coincides with absorption band caused by hydrous minerals (clay mica, some oxides, and
sulfates) making them appear darker; e.g. clay alteration zones associated with mineral
deposits such as copper

Lithologic mapping

Like band 5, sensitive to moisture variation in vegetation and soils

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10.4-12.5 m LWIR, THERMAL (BAND 6)

Sensor designed to measure radiant surface temps -100 degrees C to +150 degrees C; day
or nighttime use

Heat mapping applications: soil moisture, rock types, thermal water plumes, household
heat conservation, urban heat generation, active military targeting, wildlife inventory,
geothermal detection
LANDSAT TM Band Combination Sensititivies
3-2-1
This combination simulates a natural color image. It is sometimes used for coastal studies and for
the detection of smoke plumes.
4-5-3
Used for the analysis of soil moisture and vegetation conditions. It is also good for the location
of inland water bodies and land-water boundaries.
4-3-2
Known as false-color Infrared; this is the most conventional band combination used in remote
sensing for vegetation, crops, land-use and wetlands analysis.
7-4-2
Analysis of soil and vegetation moisture content and the location of inland water. Vegetation
appears green.
5-4-3
Separation of urban and rural land uses; identification of land/water boundaries.
4-5-7
Detection of clouds, snow, and ice (in high latitudes especially).

You are now ready to proceed to the next set of tutorials. We recommend that you
complete the tutorial on sub-setting before you proceed to the tutorials on analyzing Landsat
imagery.

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Notes:

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