Title
Spatial scale gap filling using an unmanned aerial system: A statistical downscaling method for applications in precision agriculture
Date Issued
14 September 2017
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Hassan-Esfahani L.
Ebtehaj A.
McKee M.
Utah State University
Publisher(s)
MDPI AG
Abstract
Applications of satellite-borne observations in precision agriculture (PA) are often limited due to the coarse spatial resolution of satellite imagery. This paper uses high-resolution airborne observations to increase the spatial resolution of satellite data for related applications in PA. A new variational downscaling scheme is presented that uses coincident aerial imagery products from “AggieAir”, an unmanned aerial system, to increase the spatial resolution of Landsat satellite data. This approach is primarily tested for downscaling individual band Landsat images that can be used to derive normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and surface soil moisture (SSM). Quantitative and qualitative results demonstrate promising capabilities of the downscaling approach enabling effective increase of the spatial resolution of Landsat imageries by orders of 2 to 4. Specifically, the downscaling scheme retrieved the missing high-resolution feature of the imageries and reduced the root mean squared error by 15, 11, and 10 percent in visual, near infrared, and thermal infrared bands, respectively. This metric is reduced by 9% in the derived NDVI and remains negligibly for the soil moisture products.
Volume
17
Issue
9
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencia del suelo Otras ciencias agrícolas
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85029649125
PubMed ID
Source
Sensors (Switzerland)
ISSN of the container
14248220
Sponsor(s)
Acknowledgments: This project was financially supported by the Utah Water Research Laboratory through an MLF Seed Grant. The authors would like to thank the Utah Water Research Laboratory, Utah State University, and the Provo, Office of the US Bureau of Reclamation for their support of this research. The authors acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of the AggieAir flight team. The authors appreciate the support of Ivan Robins, the farm owner, whose cooperation greatly improved of the data collection procedure.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus