Manual versus automatic classification of Landsat TM data for lithological mapping: a case study in the Nama Group (South Africa)

Vittoria Zichella; Enzo Pranzini; Arthur Robert Newton

doi:10.1117/12.197293

30 December 1994 Manual versus automatic classification of Landsat TM data for lithological mapping: a case study in the Nama Group (South Africa)

Vittoria Zichella, Enzo Pranzini, Arthur Robert Newton

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 2320, Geology from Space; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.197293
Event: Satellite Remote Sensing, 1994, Rome, Italy

Abstract

Preliminary lithological investigation of a poorly known area can draw substantial help from remotely- sensed data, particularly in arid environments. A reconnaissance mapping of the Nama Group sedi- mentary succession in north-western South Africa (Richtersveld area) was performed with two strategies: visual interpretation and automatic classification. Both strategies share the same purpose: the identification and labelling/coding of the various surface types that are present in the image under study. Although often used alternatively, they can be successfully integrated. The first of such strategies is highly dependent on the interpreter's skill and intuition and therefore rather subjective; automatic classification, on the other hand, is rigidly parametric, although influenced by the creation of the spectral signatures for the training sets. The present paper offers some preliminary evaluations of the results deriving from the two approaches and contributes to the knowledge of an area that has not yet been mapped in detail.

Citation Download Citation

Vittoria Zichella, Enzo Pranzini, and Arthur Robert Newton "Manual versus automatic classification of Landsat TM data for lithological mapping: a case study in the Nama Group (South Africa)", Proc. SPIE 2320, Geology from Space, (30 December 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.197293

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