Seventh International Symposium
on
Machine Processing
Of Remotely Sensed Data

with special emphasis on

Range, Forest and Wetlands Assessment

The Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 USA

June 23-26, 1981

Edited by P.G. Burroff and D.B. Morrison
Cover design and layout by S.L. Ferringer

Copyright © 1981
by Purdue Research Foundation, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907. All Rights Reserved.
These papers are provided for personal educational use only,
under permission from Purdue Research Foundation.

CATALOG NUMBERS

IEEE CATALOG NUMBER 81CH 1637-8 MPRSD
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG NUMBER 80-85518

PREFACE

These proceedings serve as the written record of the papers presented at the Seventh International Symposium on Machine Processing of Remotely Sensed Data, held at Purdue University, June 23-26, 1981. The text of 99 invited and contributed papers (including poster papers) are contained in this volume. We all recognize, however, that no written text can do an adequate job of recording the information exchange that takes place during coffee breaks, over mails or in the evening, as well as during the question and answer sessions after the papers. The Symposium was designed to allow for adequate exchange of information among the attendees at times other than during the formal presentations. The poster paper session on Tuesday evening, an informal barbeque at Fort Ouiatenon on Wednesday evening, and a discussion session Thursday evening helped to stimulate opportunities for informal discussions and exchanges of ideas and view points.

This 1981 Symposium focused attention on forest, range and wetland assessment. This theme was highlighted by opening and closing plenary sessions which addressed the topics of "Meeting Forest Information Needs Through Remote Sensing: What is the State-of the-Art?" and "Monitoring the World's Forest Resources: Today and Tomorrow." Between the opening and closing sessions, a series of three parallel technical sessions was held. The first of these series focused on forest resources and included sessions on the topics of "Effective Techniques for Classifying Forest Cover," "Classification and Accuracy Assessment Procedures," "Understanding and Characterizing the Forest Scene," and "Forest Resource Information Through Remote Sensing." The second group of sessions was directed at non-forestry applications and included sessions on "Agronomic Applications of Remote Sensing," "Wetlands and Water Resources assessment," and "Rangeland and Land Use Applications of Remote Sensing." The third series of sessions was directed at the machine processing aspects of remote sensing systems. It included sessions on "Preprocessing and Systems," "Image Data Modeling and Analysis," "Remote Sensing and Geo-referencing Information Systems." Three sessions during the week featured panel discussions in order to encourage audience participation and general discussion.

A large measure of the success of this Symposium goes to the co-sponsoring and cooperating organizations and to the members of the program committee and session chairmen who represented these groups. The cooperation, time and efforts of the various members of the Symposium Program Committee, as well as the session coordinators, session chairmen, and particularly the authors of the many fine papers presented are deeply appreciated. These people are congratulated for a job well done.

There was a total of 227 participants at this Symposium, including 51 from foreign countries. Thirty-three states within the U.S. and 15 foreign countries were represented. To facilitate further communication among participants of the Symposium and others who may wish to contact various authors or participants, we have included a list of the session chairmen, authors, and other participants on pages 711 through 723.

Roger M. Hoffer and Richard P. Mroczynski, Symposium Co-Chairmen

Symposium Co-Chairman: Roger M. Hoffer

Program Leader of the Ecosystems Research Programs, LARS, and Professor of Forestry, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University. B.S. in Forestry from Michigan State University; M.S. and Ph.D. in Watershed Management from Colorado State University. Dr. Hoffer has been involved full-time in remote sensing research and teaching since 1974, and was a cofounder of LARS in 1966. He teaches three different courses on Remote Sensing of Natural Resources and has served as principal investigator on Landsat, Skylab and several other major remote sensing projects Professor Hoffer is author or co-author of more that 120 scientific publications and papers on remote sensing. He has presented invited papers at international meetings throughout the world and spent several weeks as a remote sensing specialist in Brazil, Thailand, Afghanistan and Bolivia. He has been a consultant to several national and international agencies and has served on numerous technical panels at the request of NASA. Dr. Hoffer is a member of the Society of American Foresters, American Society of Photogrammetry (where he has served as the Associate Editor of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing and as Director of the Remote Sensing and Interpretation Division), Sigma Xi, Xi Sigma Pi, and several other professional and honorary societies. He received the 1978 Alan Gordon Memorial Award in recognition of his pioneering work in the field of remote sensing, is a Certified Photogrammetrist, and is listed in American Men and Women in Science.

Symposium Co-Chairman: Richard P. Mroczynski

Associate Program Leader for Ecosystem Research Programs, LARS. B.S.F. in Forest Production and M.S. in Forestry, University of Illinois. Richard P. Mroczynski joined LARS in 1969 and has been involved with photointerpretation and Landsat Analysis. Richard has been principal investigator and manager of a number of projects which involved the inventory of natural resources. Significant among these have been projects with: NASA and the St. Regis Paper Company involving the development of a Forest Resource Information System: Ducks Unlimited (Canada) for a Water Fowl Habitat Inventory over 200,000 square miles in Canada; and a Derelict Land Survey for the Indiana Division of Reclamation. He is a member of the Society of American Foresters, active in that organization's Working Group on Photogrammetry and Remote sensing. In addition, he has served in various capacities with the American Society of Photogrammetry and is a member of the American Forestry Association and the American Management Association.

SPONSORSHIP

COSPONSORS:
     AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY
     CROP SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
     INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS, INC.
            Computer Society
            Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society
     SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FORESTERS
            Working Group on Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry
       SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA

IN COOPERATION WITH:
     AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY
     NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
     NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
     U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The co-chairmen would like to take this opportunity to extend a special thanks to the following committee members without whose efforts and cooperation the symposium would not have been possible.

PROGRAM COMMITTEE

Roger M. Hoffer*
Richard P. Mroczynski*
Marion F. Baumgardner
Nevin Bryant
Lisette Dottavio
David G. Goodenough
Roy Mead
Frank Sadowski

SYMPOSIUM COORDINATION COMMITTEE

Roger M. Hoffer*
Richard P. Mroczynski*
Paul E. Anuta
Luis A. Bartolucci
Marvin Bauer
Marion F. Baumgardner
Pamela G. Burroff
Douglas B. Morrison
Terry Phillips
Philip H. Swain
Richard A. Weismiller

* Co-chairmen

Other symposium proceedings pages not included in the papers below.

TABLE OF CONTENTS