Extending satellite remote sensing to local scales: land and water resource monitoring using high-resolution imagery

The potential of high-resolution IKONOS and QuickBird satellite imagery for mapping and analysis of land and water resources at local scales in Minnesota is assessed in a series of three applications. The applications and accuracies evaluated include: (1) classification of lake water clarity (r(2)=0.89), (2) mapping of urban impervious surface area (r(2) = 0.98), and (3) aquatic vegetation surveys of emergent and submergent plant groups (80% accuracy). There were several notable findings from these applications. For example, modeling and estimation approaches developed for Landsat TM data for continuous variables such as take water clarity and impervious surface area can be applied to high-resolution satellite data. The rapid delivery of spatial data can be coupled with current GPS and field computer technologies to bring the imagery into the field for cover type validation. We also found several limitations in working with this data type. For example, shadows can influence feature classification and their effects need to be evaluated. Nevertheless, high-resolution satellite data has excellent potential to extend satellite remote sensing beyond what has been possible with aerial photography and Landsat data, and should be of interest to resource managers as a way to create timely and reliable assessments of land and water resources at a local scale. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.