Comparison of Landsat Thematic Mapper digital enhancements of snow-avalanche paths: Validation through GIS/remote sensing integration
Walsh SJ, Brown DG, Bian L. 1990. Comparison of Landsat Thematic Mapper digital enhancements of snow-avalanche paths: Validation through GIS/remote sensing integration. Pages 1161-1664. In Remote sensing science for the nineties: 10th Annual International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. College Park, MD. May 20-24, 1990. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Landsat TM digital data were enhanced through a combination of ratio, spatial filtering, and principal components analysis to discern the composition, orientation, and dimensionality of snow avalanche paths within a portion of Glacier National Park, Montana. A set of control paths were identified that represented variability in elevation, slope angle, slope aspect, vegetation regeneration, length, and width. Attributes related to the characteristics of each path, organized within INFO tables of a Geographic Information System, were searched to identify paths that offered a unique combination of the test variables. Data contained within the GIS served as control attributes for comparison to the TM digital enhancements. The success of each enhancement technique was validated by the development of a Spectral Variability Index for the in-path versus out-path pixels.