An Assessment and Classification of a Multispectral Bandset for the Remote Sensing of Intertidal Seaweeds

RÉSUMÉ

Des images de l'Île de Vancouver, en Colombie-Britannique, ont été acquises à partir d'un scanneur multibande aéroporté fonctionnant dans huit bandes configurées pour la télédétection des zones intertidales. Des courbes de radiance, des corrélations entre bandes spectrales et des analyses des composantes principales ont été utilisées dans l'étude de deux zones littorales physiquement et biologiquement distinctes. On a montré que cinq des huit bandes spectrales apportaient de l'information unique concernant l'identification des algues en zones intertidales. La classification des cinq bandes en question a démontré que l'on pouvait identifier différents genres d'algues, y compris les chlorophytes (algues vertes) qui ont des spectres identiques.

SUMMARY

Airborne multispectral scanner imagery was acquired on Vancouver Island, British Columbia using an eight-channel handset configured for intertidal remote sensing. Radiance plots, between band correlations and a principal components analysis, were used in the examination of two physically and biologically distinct littoral regions. Five of the eight bands were found to contribute significant unique information pertaining to intertidal seaweed identification. Classification of the resulting five bands demonstrated that different algal genera could be identified, including the differentiation of spectrally similar Chlorophytes (green algae).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mark Zacharias

Mark Zacharias and Olaf Niemann are with the Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 3H5.

Olaf Niemann

Mark Zacharias and Olaf Niemann are with the Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 3H5.

Gary Borstad

Gary Borstad is with Borstad Associates Ltd., Suite 100, Marine Technology Centre, 9865 West Saanich Road, Sidney, British Columbia V8L 3S1.