Abstract
Although large numbers of imageries over planetary surfaces have been aquired by notable space missions over the past twenty years, the versatile technical remote sensing achievements, which have found their long-term and successful applications within the fields of different geosciences, have not been employed in planetology. High resolution imageries allow small-scale surface features to be observed, various filters allow different wavelength bands and surface units of different colour or spectral reflectance to be recorded. Also long-term missions transmit information about multitemporal changes, but such diversified multitemporal surface mapping, as possible by Landsat MSS data, to say nothing of the potential of the Landsat TM and SPOT equipment, are mostly unexecuted.
This paper contains an example of the aquatic environment research by computer-assited remote sensing using Landsat MSS data. The western parts of Lake Yli-Kitka, northeastern Finland were studied and mapped according to spectrally identified classes which were improved after field work by associated reclassification.
The Landsat classification of open water areas depends on the water quality and depth, or shore distance relations. The recognition of aquatic vegetation complexes is based on the main life-form (helophytic, nymphaeid, isoetid etc.) and the amount of recorded radiation reflected from the chlorophyll (or from other shallow bottom coverage) in respect to the open water surface radiation absorbance within near infrared wavelengths.
Aquatic areas are quite featureless in respect to their reflectance, especially in northeastern Finland area studied. The use of wide-channel multispectral satellite data has demonstrated to be valid under quite difficult circumstances. Similar or preferably more up-to-date planetary imagery data could be of high utility value in mapping various surface units of the terrestrial planets and large moons.
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Raitala, J., Jantunen, H. & Lampinen, J. Mapping previously unmapped planetary surface: A supervised multispectral terrestrial/aquatic approach in northeastern Finland. Earth Moon Planet 30, 295–311 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00056206
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00056206