Remote Sensing Image Display, Cursor

Operations, and Spectral and Spatial Profiles

Objective: To introduce basic ERDAS IMAGINE display, cursor operations, and
spectral and spatial profiles.

Part I - Introduction to ERDAS IMAGINE

This semester we will be using the ERDAS IMAGINE 10 image processing and GIS
software for Windows XP.  IMAGINE 10 is a product of ERDAS LLC, subsidiary of
Leica Geosystems.  The latest versions of IMAGINE are designed to complement ESRI's
ArcGIS software. 

You will be analyzing four images in this exercise. When you download the imagery,
please use "Save Target As..." function by clicking the right-button of your mouse.  You
can download the imagery to any place you want to save it.  However, when working in
the laboratory, copy the files you need to your local computer to optimize data access and
retrieval speed.

After you have successfully logged onto the system, launch IMAGINE by going to the
Start Menu - Remote Sensing - ERDAS IMAGINE 10. Wait a few seconds for all menus
to appear. Examine the icon panel along the top of the screen (below). These icons
represent the various components and add-on modules available with the University’s
ERDAS license.

Familiarize yourself with the eight menu items located along the top of the icon:
[Application Menu - the green left-most icon], [Open a file], [Save a file], [Undo the
last edit], [Zoom in], [Zoom out], and [Clear a view].

Click on the top-left Application menu and then on the Preferences button at the bottom
of the menu. The Preferences menu controls many of the session settings that you can
adjust to suit your needs. In particular, the Category "User Interface & Session" in the
Preference Editor allows you to set the Default (Input) Data Directory and the Default
Output Directory. It is very useful to set the Default Data (Input) and Output Directory
to the location where you have stored the remote sensor data for a particular exercise.
You can set the Icon Panel Orientation to horizontal or vertical. It is quite useful to set
3, 4, 5, and 6-band Red, Green, and Blue Channel Defaults. For example, if you are
working with a 3-band dataset and it has the following three bands in it, Band 1 = NIR,
band 2 = red, and band 3 =green, then you would normally set up the 3-band Image
Channel Defaults as Red channel = 3, Green channel = 2, and blue channel = 1. This
creates a normal false-color infrared color composite every time you load the particular
dataset. Be sure to do a "Global Save" if you made changes in the Preference Editor.

The second row of the user interface contains the [Home], [Manage Data], [Raster],
[Vector], [Terrain], [Toolbox], [Help], [Multispectral], [Drawing] and [Table] drop
down menus. These drop-down menus will be used heavily throughout the course. The
[Help] menu brings up the Reference Library and allows you to search the reference
library for key words

Part II - Displaying an Image

Now you are ready to display your first digital image in this class using ERDAS Imagine
software. Click on the IMAGINE Viewer Open file icon on the top row. A dropdown
menu will appear and request you to Select Layer to Add. In our case, ERDAS is asking
for the name of the *.img dataset you want to load into the image processing memory.
You browse to the location. Also note that you must specify *.img (Imagine) in the
"Files of type:" section at the bottom of the page to locate the remote sensing image files
used in your exercises. You can also load a remote sensing image by simply right-
clicking on the mouse in the viewer area (hereafter referred to as RMB) to get a menu
and then select Open Raster Layer and proceed as described above to load a remote
sensing image.

Navigate to the folder where you have stored the remote sensor data. Position the cursor
over the file you want to display (e.g. marco-island_spot_1988-10-21.img) and click the
LMB once (do not double-click). The file name should appear in the file name window in
the Viewer list on the left side of the interface. If you do not see the correct files then you
are either not looking in the correct folder or you do not have the [Files of type] specified
as IMAGINE Image (note that it has an *.img extension). Before clicking [OK], you need
to assign the spectral bands of the image to the computer image processor color memory
planes red, green, and blue (RGB). Click on the [Raster Options] tab at the top of the

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menu and assign band 3 (SPOT NIR image) to red, band 2 (SPOT Red image) to green,
and band 1 (SPOT Green image) to blue. Make sure that the [Display as] option is set to
[True Color]. You also have the option of making the image fit the Viewer frame by
clicking on the small box next to Fit to Frame. Now you are ready to click [OK]. If the
SPOT image is requiring less space in the IMAGINE Viewer (there are large black
borders on the sides) then you can resize the IMAGINE Viewer to use your screen
desktop area more efficiently. This will become important in future exercises when many
IMAGINE Viewers will need to be open at the same time. To remove an image displayed
in the IMAGINE Viewer go to the [2D View #] dropdown menu on the left side of the
user interface and select it with the LMB, then click the RMB and select [Remove
Layer]. You can also place the cursor in the view area and right click and then select
[Clear View]. You can also click the Clear View icon on the top row of the Main Menu.

To find out additional information about this image, go to the [Home] drop down menu
and select [Layer Info]. You can also access Layer Info by clicking on the file name in
the Contents list and then right-clicking and selecting Layer Info. Often the Layer Info
display comes up behind the main user interface. Be sure to look behind the user
interface if you don't see the Layer Info information.

Please answer the following questions associated with the October 21, 1988 SPOT image
of Marco Island, Florida [SPOT bands 1, 2, and 3 were acquired at 20 x 20 m spatial
resolution. SPOT band 4 panchromatic data were originally acquired at 10 x 10 m spatial
resolution. The band 4 image has been resampled to 20 x 20 pixels to be in geometric
congruence with the other three bands, but it has not lost any of its more detailed spatial
information].

1a) What is the pixel size in the X and Y direction?

1b) What are the units of measurement?

1c) What map projection is the image geo-referenced to?

1d) What is the maximum brightness value indicated in the Statistics Info for the
green band?

1e) What is the minimum brightness value indicated in the Statistics Info for the
red band?
 1f) Print out the histogram for the NIR band, evaluate it, and explain the reason
for the bi-modal distribution.

1g) Examine the Image Info contents of the panchromatic band. Can you identify
any errors?

1h) How large are the individual SPOT bands in megabytes?

Clear all of the images from 2d View #1. Go to [Home], [Window], [Add Views],
Select [Display 4 Views].

Click on Display 2D View #1 in the Content part of the user interface and load marco-
island_spot_1988-10-21.img with Red = 3, Green = 2, and Blue = 1 (RGB = 3, 2, 1) and
click [OK]. This will open the color composite in 2D Viewer #1. Now position the cursor
(the black arrow at the top of the viewer sometimes needs to be clicked) somewhere in
2D Viewer #1 and press the right mouse button (RMB) to access the [Quick View] menu.
Examine the options and move the cursor over [Zoom to Data Extent] and select it. The
[Quick View] menu should then disappear. This will affect only the Viewer you are
currently using. For other Viewers you will need to repeat the process. Load bands 1, 2,
and 3 in gray-scale mode into 2D Viewers #2, #3, and #4.

Please note that you can zoom in and out and pan within all four views simultaneously by
clicking on the Equalize Scales icon in the Home| Windows section of the user
interface. This is very useful.

2a) What are some advantages of having multiple viewers open when working in
a digital image processing research project?

2b) Compare each of the three grayscale bands (NIR = band 3, Red = 2, Green =
1) and briefly describe how they differ in their spectral responses to water, bare
soil (sand), and mangrove wetland vegetation.

2c) If you wanted to study the road network on Marco Island, which one of the
three black and white bands image (green, red, and NIR) would be best? Why?

2d) Now substitute the 10 x 10 m SPOT panchromatic band 4 for the red band in

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 the color composite display in 2D View #1. Now which band would you use to
identify roads in the imagery? Why?

Part III - Cursor, Magnification, and Overlay Operations

The next image you will browse is a Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image of Columbia,
SC. Open the file cola_tm_1991-1-15.img the same way you opened the first image and
assign Red = Band 3 (NIR), Green = Band 2 (red), and Blue = Band 1 (green).

To magnify (or reduce) an image, the easiest option is to use the Interactive Zoom In (or
Interactive Zoom Out) tools that are located on the top row of the user interface. The best
way to zoom is to select the Interactive Zoom in or Zoom out tools and left-click on the
top-left most point of the area and while holding the left-click button down, dragging in
to the bottom right location of the area you want to enlarge. This automatically enlarges
the area of interest to the full size of the viewer. You can also access numerous zoom and
panning operations using the [Home] menu and [Extent] icons. These are self
explanatory.

Sometimes it is necessary to determine the coordinates and brightness values of specific

pixels in the displayed image. The inquire cursor allows you to do this. Right-click
within the Viewer and select Inquire Cursor. You can also activate the cursor by
locating Inquire Cursor in the [Home] menu. This will open a pixel information menu
that allows you to move a crosshair cursor on the Viewer. You can use the black arrows
to move the crosshair cursor in any pixel increment you set. For now leave the increment
at 1.00 and note that the increment is variable between the file and map coordinate
system. You can move the crosshair cursor using the black arrows or by pressing and
holding the LMB while the mouse cursor touches the crosshair cursor. For "fine tuning,"
use the keyboard arrows to move the cursor. The black circle will move the crosshair
cursor back to the center of the Viewer.

Reference system values for the image can be obtained in either Map, Paper, File, or
Lat/Lon, or MGRS coordinates. Notice that the coordinate system is defined for you. The
image projection is also shown but if you have not selected the Map option then you may
not necessarily be viewing the x, y coordinates of that projection system. The table shows
the R,G,B pixel brightness values for both the image file (File Pixel) and the color lookup
table (LUT Value). Move the Cursor and notice how the values change. To move the
Inquire Cursor using the mouse you must initially place the arrow cursor at the center of
the crosshairs and click on the LMB. Keep the LMB depressed to move the Inquire
Cursor.

3a) Which of the coordinate systems would you use to describe a pixel location to
someone working on a different dataset of the same geographic area? Why?

3b) Position the crosshairs on a representative pixel and record the actual data
values in each band for the following features:

a. Urban b. Water c. Forest d. Agriculture

3c) How do these data values compare with your knowledge of the spectral
signatures for urban, water, and vegetation?

Now close the Inquire Cursor dialog and open another image in 2D Viewer #1 without
closing the TM scene. You can use IMAGINE to overlay imagery that is georeferenced
to the same coordinate system. To do this, be sure to uncheck the [Clear Display] option
under Raster in the [Select Layer to Add – Raster Options] dialog box. Now overlay the
file cola_atlas_1997-10-7.img on top of the TM scene using RGB=4,3,2. This is a 3 x 3
m spatial resolution image of downtown Columbia collected on October 7, 1997 using
the NASA Airborne Terrestrial Applications Sensor (ATLAS) multispectral scanning
system. Now zoom in to the downtown area and experiment with the utilities listed
below.

4a) Using the [Measure] tools in the [Home] menu, what is the perimeter and
total area of the Coliseum? Note: Use the "Polygon Perimeter" tool.

4b) Locate the tools found in the [View] section of the [Home] menu. Briefly
discuss how these utilities could be useful to an image analyst.

a. Swipe (in manual and automated mode)

b. Blend (in manual and automated mode)

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 c. Flicker (in manual and automated mode)

Part IV - Spectral and Spatial Profile Tools

For this part of the exercise you will examine an image of estuary marshland of Smooth
Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) near Isle of Palms, SC. You will be using the spectral
and spatial profile tools for the analysis. Open the image isle-of-palms_atlas_1998-10-
15.img with RGB = 4,3,2. When the image is displayed, click on the [Multispectral |
Utilities | Spectral Profile icon.

After the Spectral Profile tool appears, click on [Edit | Chart Options]. Now click on
the Y-axis folder and change Y-axis maximum value to 80.0 and click [Apply], then
close the Chart Options dialog box. Using the crosshair icon in the Spectral Profile
menu, place three spectral profile points at the file coordinates listed below. To do this,
first randomly place a point in the image and then type in the x, y FILE (not MAP)
coordinates. Do this for each of the three points. Print the Spectral Profile plot of all three
points listed below and briefly explain the spectral curve difference of each point as it
relates to the electromagnetic spectrum. You may want to zoom in on the individual
points for a more detailed analysis.

5a) 242, 470 (Healthy Cordgrass)

5b) 272, 508 (Water)

5c) 302, 504 (Oyster Bed)

Now open the Spatial Profile tool. When the Spatial Profile tool appears, change the Y-
axis in the chart to 80.0 and click on the polyline icon (it looks like a lightning bolt).
Draw a polyline on the image in the Viewer. This initiates a cross-hair in the image
viewer. Single-click to set vertices and double-click to set an endpoint. The default is to
view one band at a time. View different bands by incrementing the Plot Layer option up
or down to the band you want to view. To view multiple bands simultaneously in the
profile chart, select [Edit | Plot Layers] in the Spatial Profile Tool. When the Band
Combination dialog opens, add the layers you want to view by selecting each band one at
a time and clicking on the [Add Selected Layer] icon (top icon). Then click [Apply] and
close the dialog. Now briefly answer the remaining questions:

6a) Cordgrass is known to grow very densely at the edges of inlet rivers and less
densely as further away from the river. Draw a profile line on the image that
illustrates this point using three of the seven bands and print the graph. Describe
the general trends of the changes in data values using your knowledge of spectral
signatures and explain why the values change as they do.

6b) Based on your analysis, what band do you think would be most sensitive to
the evidence of smooth cordgrass biomass and why?

When you have finished your assignment, follow the directions listed below for ending
an IMAGINE session. Hand in your typed answers to each of the questions, as well as
your graphs from the spectral and spatial profile tools.  

From the [Application] icon choose the [Close All Layers] option.

Click on the "X" icon at the top right of the user interface.

Logoff from your computer.