Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Spectrally Driven Classification of High Spatial Resolution, Hyperspectral Imagery: A Tool for Mapping In-Stream Habitat

  • Environmental Assessment
  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Streams represent an essential component of functional ecosystems and serve as sensitive indicators of disturbance. Accurate mapping and monitoring of these features is therefore critical, and this study explored the potential to characterize aquatic habitat with remotely sensed data. High spatial resolution, hyperspectral imagery of the Lamar River, Wyoming, USA, was used to examine the relationship between spectrally defined classes and field-mapped habitats. Advantages of this approach included enhanced depiction of fine-scale heterogeneity and improved portrayal of gradational zones between adjacent features. Certain habitat types delineated in the field were strongly associated with specific image classes, but most included areas of diverse spectral character; spatially buffering the field map polygons strengthened this association. Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) indicated that the ratio of the variability among groups to that within a group was an order of magnitude greater for spectrally defined image classes (20.84) than for field-mapped habitat types (1.82), suggesting that unsupervised image classification might more effectively categorize the fluvial environment. CDA results also suggested that shortwave-infrared wavelengths were valuable for distinguishing various in-stream habitats. Although hyperspectral stream classification seemed capable of identifying more features than previously recognized, the technique also suggested that the intrinsic complexity of the Lamar River would preclude its subdivision into a discrete number of classes. Establishing physically based linkages between observed spectral patterns and ecologically relevant channel characteristics will require additional research, but hyperspectral stream classification could provide novel insight into fluvial systems while emerging as a potentially powerful tool for resource management.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. A. M. Alabyan R. S. Chalov (1998) ArticleTitleTypes of river channel patterns and their natural controls. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 23 467–474 Occurrence Handle10.1002/(SICI)1096-9837(199805)23:5<467::AID-ESP861>3.0.CO;2-T

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. P. A. Bisson J. L. Nielsen R. A. Palmason L. E. Grove (1982) A system of naming habitat types in small streams, with examples of habitat utilization by salmonids during low streamflow. N. A. Armatrout (Eds) Acquisition and utilization of aquatic habitat inventory information. American Fisheries Society Bethesda, Maryland 62–73

    Google Scholar 

  3. P. J. Boon (1992) Essential elements in the case for river conservation. P. J. Boon P. Calow G. E. Petts (Eds) River conservation and management. John Wiley & Sons Chichester, UK 11–33

    Google Scholar 

  4. R. P. Bukata J. H. Jerome K. Y. Kondratyev D. V. Pozdnyakov (1995) Optical properties and remote sensing of inland and coastal waters. CRC Press Boca Raton, Florida 362

    Google Scholar 

  5. P. A. Burrough (1996) Natural objects with indeterminate boundaries. P. A. Burrough A. U. Frank (Eds) Geographic objects with indeterminate boundaries. Taylor and Francis Bristol, Pennsylvania 3–28

    Google Scholar 

  6. B. S. Everitt G. Dunn (1991) Applied multivariate data analysis. Halsted Press New York 304

    Google Scholar 

  7. R. A. Fisher (1936) ArticleTitleThe use of multiple measurements on taxonomic problems. Annals of Eugenics 7 179–188

    Google Scholar 

  8. A. U. Frank (1996) The prevalence of objects with sharp boundaries in GIS. P. A. Burrough A. U. Frank (Eds) Geographic objects with indeterminate boundaries. Taylor and Francis Bristol, Pennsylvania 29–40

    Google Scholar 

  9. C. A. Frissell W. J. Liss C. E. Warren M. D. Hurley (1986) ArticleTitleA hierarchical framework for stream habitat classification: viewing streams in a watershed context. Environmental Management 10 199–214

    Google Scholar 

  10. D. J. Gilvear S. J. Winterbottom (1992) ArticleTitleChannel change and flood events since 1783 on the regulated River Tay, Scotland: implications for flood hazard management. Regulated Rivers: Research & Management 7 247–260

    Google Scholar 

  11. D. J. Gilvear T. M. Waters A. M. Milner (1995) ArticleTitleImage analysis of aerial photography to quantify changes in channel morphology and in-stream habitat following placer mining in interior Alaska. Freshwater Biology 34 389–398

    Google Scholar 

  12. C. N. Goodwin (1999) Fluvial classification: Neanderthal necessity or needless normalcy. D. S. Olson J. P. Potyondy (Eds) Wildland hydrology. American Water Resources Association Middleburg, Virginia 229–236

    Google Scholar 

  13. T. B. Hardy P. C. Anderson M. U. Neale D. K. Stevens (1994) Applications of multispectral videography for the delineation of riverine depths and mesoscale hydraulic features. R. Marston V. Hasfurther (Eds) Effects of human-induced change on hydrologic systems. American Water Resources Association Bethesda, Maryland 445–454

    Google Scholar 

  14. C. P. Hawkins J. L. Kershner P. A. Bisson M. D. Bryant L. M. Decker S. V. Gregory D. A. McCullough C. K. Overton G. H. Reeves R. J. Steedman M. K. Young (1993) ArticleTitleA hierarchical approach to classifying stream habitat features. Fisheries 18 3–12

    Google Scholar 

  15. H. B. N. Hynes (1975) ArticleTitleThe stream and its valley. Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereininung fur Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 19 1–15

    Google Scholar 

  16. J. R. Jensen (1996) Digital image processing. Prentice-Hall Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 316

    Google Scholar 

  17. J. R. Karr I. J. Schlosser (1978) ArticleTitleWater resources and the land-water interface. Science 201 229–234

    Google Scholar 

  18. H. Kohler (1994) Statistics for business and economics. Harper Collins College Publishers New York 1043

    Google Scholar 

  19. S. C. Ladd W. A. Marcus S. Cherry (1998) ArticleTitleDifferences in trace metal concentrations among fluvial morphologic units and implications for sampling. Environmental Geology 36 259–270 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s002540050341 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK1MXitFSisLo%3D

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. C. J. Legleiter W. A. Marcus R. L. Lawrence (2002) ArticleTitleEffects of sensor resolution on mapping in-stream habitats. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 68 801–807

    Google Scholar 

  21. J. G. Lyon R. S. Lunetta D. C. Williams (1992) ArticleTitleAirborne multispectral scanner data for evaluating bottom sediment types and water depths of the St. Mary’s River, Michigan. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 58 951–956

    Google Scholar 

  22. D. R. Lyzenga (1981) ArticleTitleRemote sensing of bottom reflectance and water attenuation parameters in shallow water using aircraft and landsat data. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2 71–82

    Google Scholar 

  23. W. A. Marcus (2002) ArticleTitleMapping of stream microhabitats with high spatial resolution hyperspectral imagery. Journal of Geographical Systems 4 113–126 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s101090100078

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Marcus, W. A., C. J. Legleiter, R. Aspinall, J. W. Boardman, and R. Crabtree (2003) High spatial resolution, hyperspectral (HSRH) mapping of in-stream habitats, depths, and woody debris in mountain streams. Geomorphology 55: 363–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. S. Maritorena (1996) ArticleTitleRemote sensing of the water attenuation in coral reefs: a case study in French Polynesia. International Journal of Remote Sensing 17 155–166

    Google Scholar 

  26. L. A. K. Mertes (2002) ArticleTitleRemote sensing of riverine landscapes. Freshwater Biology 47 799–816 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2427.2002.00909.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. G. A. Meyer S. G. Wells A. J. T. Jull (1995) ArticleTitleFire and alluvial chronology in Yellowstone National Park: climatic and intrinsic controls on Holocene geomorphic processes. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 107 1211–1230 Occurrence Handle10.1130/0016-7606(1995)107<1211:FAACIY>2.3.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. E. J. Milton D. J. Gilvear I. Hooper (1995) Investigating change in fluvial systems using remotely sensed data. A. Gurnell G. Petts (Eds) Changing river channels John Wiley & Sons New York 277–299

    Google Scholar 

  29. G. W. Minshall C. T. Robinson D. E. Lawrence (1997) ArticleTitlePostfire responses of lotic ecosystems in Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 54 2509–2525 Occurrence Handle10.1139/cjfas-54-11-2509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. D. R. Montgomery J. M. Buffington (1997) ArticleTitleChannel-reach morphology in mountain drainage basins. The Geological Society of America Bulletin 109 596–612 Occurrence Handle10.1130/0016-7606(1997)109<0596:CRMIMD>2.3.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. J. A. Moody D. A. Martin (2001) ArticleTitleInitial hydrologic and geomorphic response following a wildfire in the Colorado Front Range. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 26 1049–1070

    Google Scholar 

  32. E. Muller H. Decamps M. K. Dobson (1993) ArticleTitleContribution of space remote sensing to river studies. Freshwater Biology 29 301–312

    Google Scholar 

  33. W. D. Philpot (1989) ArticleTitleBathymetric mapping with passive multispectral imagery. Applied Optics 28 1569–1578

    Google Scholar 

  34. Pierce, K. L. (1979) History and dynamics of glaciation in the northern Yellowstone National Park area. US Geological Survey Professional Paper 729-F. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 90 pp

  35. G. C. Poole C. A. Frissell S. C. Ralph (1997) ArticleTitleIn-stream habitat unit classification: inadequacies for monitoring and some consequences for management. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 33 879–896

    Google Scholar 

  36. J. C. Price (1997) ArticleTitleSpectral band selection for visible-near infrared remote sensing: spectral- spatial resolution tradeoffs. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 35 1277–1299 Occurrence Handle10.1109/36.628794

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. D. L. Rosgen (1994) ArticleTitleA classification of natural rivers. Catena 22 169–199 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0341-8162(94)90001-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. J. R. Schott (1997) Remote sensing: the image chain approach. Oxford University Press New York 394

    Google Scholar 

  39. R. R. Schumann (1989) ArticleTitleMorphology of Red Creek, Wyoming, an arid-region anastomosing channel system. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 14 277–288

    Google Scholar 

  40. L. C. Smith (1997) ArticleTitleSatellite remote sensing of river inundation area, stage, and discharge: a review. Hydrological Processes 11 1427–1439 Occurrence Handle10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(199708)11:10<1427::AID-HYP473>3.3.CO;2-J

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Swayze, G. A., R. N. Clark, R. M. Pearson, and K. E. Livo (1996) Mapping acid-generating minerals at the California Gulch Superfund Site in Leadville, Colorado using imaging spectroscopy. Pages 231–234 in Summaries of the sixth annual JPL airborne earth science workshop, volume 1. AVIRIS Workshop, Pasadena, California, 4–8 March 1996

  42. J. V. Ward (1989) ArticleTitleThe four-dimensional nature of lotic ecosystems. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 8 2–8

    Google Scholar 

  43. InstitutionalAuthorNameWater Science and Technology Board. (2002) Riparian areas: functions and strategies for management. National Academy Press Washington, DC 436

    Google Scholar 

  44. R. M. Westaway S. N. Lane D. M. Hicks (2001) ArticleTitleRemote sensing of clear-water, shallow, gravel-bed rivers using digital photogrammetry. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 67 1271–1281 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD38XjsFGgug%3D%3D

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. P. J. Whiting J. B. Bradley (1993) ArticleTitleA process-based classification system for headwater streams. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 18 603–612

    Google Scholar 

  46. G.P. Williams (1978) The case of the shrinking channels - the North Platte and Platte Rivers in Nebraska. United States Geological Survey Circular 781. Government Printing Office Washington, DC 48

    Google Scholar 

  47. S. J. Winterbottom D. J. Gilvear (1997) ArticleTitleQuantification of channel-bed morphology in gravel-bed rivers using airborne multispectral imagery and aerial photography. Regulated Rivers: Research & Management 13 489–499

    Google Scholar 

  48. E. Wohl (2000) Mountain rivers. American Geophysical Union Washington, DC 320

    Google Scholar 

  49. A. Wright W. A. Marcus R. Aspinall (2000) ArticleTitleEvaluation of multispectral, fine scale digital imagery as a tool for mapping stream morphology. Geomorphology 33 107–120 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0169-555X(99)00117-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Probe-1 data collected in August 1999 was funded by a NASA EOCAP grant (Stennis Space Flight Center, Mississippi) administered through Yellowstone Ecosystem Studies. The map in Figure 1 was developed from a DEM acquired by Intermap Technologies’ Star3i sensor, obtained through a NASA Scientific Data Purchase. The author is indebted to W. Andrew Marcus and Robert L. Crabtree for the opportunity to pursue this project and to David J. Gilvear and Craig N. Goodwin for their thoughtful reviews. Jim Rasmussen and Rob Ahl provided invaluable assistance in the field. Special thanks are also due to Mark Fonstad, Joan Plunkett, and especially Annie Toth, who played a vital role in the evolution of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geography Department, UC Santa Barbara, Ellison Hall 3611 Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA

    Carl J. Legleiter

Authors
  1. Carl J. Legleiter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carl J. Legleiter.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Legleiter, C. Spectrally Driven Classification of High Spatial Resolution, Hyperspectral Imagery: A Tool for Mapping In-Stream Habitat . Environmental Management 32, 399–411 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-003-0034-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-003-0034-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation