A pixel block intensity modulation ( PRIM) method has been developed to add spatial detail to Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM ) thermal band TM6 images in regions with su cient topography. The method uses 30 m resolution TM re¯ective spectral band images (TM1± 5 and 7) to modulate the relevant TM6 image on the basis of its 120 m resolution thermal pixel blocks. Topographic detail in each 120 m resolution pixel block of the TM6 image is thus recovered, without altering the average thermal digital number level of the block, by the spatial information recorded in the re¯ective spectral bands at 30 m resolution. Tests con® rm that the PBIM can e ectively integrate topographic spatial detail from re¯ective spectral bands with TM6 images while retaining the ® delity of the original thermal spectral information. PBIM is also applicable, as a general method, for data fusion of multispectral and panchromatic images with di erent spatial resolutions. Bearing in mind that, for space-borne remote sensing, the spatial resolution of the thermal band will continue to be lower than that of VIS-SWIR and panchromatic bands in the multispectral sensor systems of the next generation, such as Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, the PBIM method will remain a useful technique for enhancing thermal imagery data for some time.
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