Monitoring Earth Surface Dynamics With Optical Imagery

Abstract

The increasing availability of high‐quality optical satellite images should allow, in principle, continuous monitoring of Earth's surface changes due to geologic processes, climate change, or anthropic activity. For instance, sequential optical images have been used to measure displacements at Earth's surface due to coseismic ground deformation [e.g., Van Puymbroeck et al., 2000], ice flow [Scambos et al., 1992; Berthier et al., 2005], sand dune migration [Crippen, 1992], and landslides [Kääb, 2002; Delacourt et al., 2004]. Surface changes related to agriculture, deforestation, urbanization, and erosion—which do not involve ground displacement—might also be monitored, provided that the images can be registered with sufficient accuracy. Although the approach is simple in principle, its use is still limited, mainly because of geometric distortion of the images induced by the imaging system, biased correlation techniques, and implementation difficulties.

Technical Note: Use of remote sensing for landslide studies in Europe

“…The capability of DIC (Digital Image Correlation) to monitor landslide surfaces over multiple time steps has been demonstrated with aerial photographs (Casson et al, 2005) and Terrestrial Optical Photogrammetry (Sturzenegger and Stead, 2009;Travelletti et al, 2012). Only a few studies have reported the usefulness of satellite images in this field (Delacourt et al, 2007(Delacourt et al, , 2009; Leprince et al, 2008) and exhaustive research addressing to the analysis of longer available very high resolution (VHR) satellite time series is still missing.…”

Time Series Analysis of Landslide Dynamics Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

“…In Lucieer et al [11] we used an image correlation method developed by Leprince et al [28] and Leprince [29]. The correlation method is implemented in the ENVI image processing environment [30] and is referred to as COSI-Corr: Co-registration of Optically Sensed Imaged and Correlation [31,32].…”

Remote sensing and spatial analysis of aeolian sand dunes: A review and outlook

“…They used COSI-Corr software (Coregistration of Optically Sensed Images and Correlation, available for free to the research community; Leprince et al, 2007Leprince et al, , 2008 with ASTER satellite images (also free for researchers). Vermeesch and Drake (2008) estimated the mass flux of migrating barchans on a pixel-by-pixel basis in the Bodélé depression of northern Chad.…”