ASSESSING the ACCURACY of REMOTELY SENSED DATA - CHAPTER 1

ASSESSING the ACCURACY of REMOTELY SENSED DATA Principles and Practices Russell G. Congalton & Kass Green LEWIS PUBLISHERS Boca Raton New York London Tokyo ©1999 by CRC Press Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Congalton, Russell G., 1957– Assessing the accuracy of remotely senseddata : principles and practices / Russell Congalton, Kass Green. p. cm. — (Mapping science series) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-87371-986-7 (alk. paper) 1. Remote sensing—Evaluation. I. Green, Kass. II. Title. III. Series. G70.4.C647 1998 621.36¢78—dc21 98-29658 CIP This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted mate-rial is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are listed. Reason-able efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and the publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or for the consequences of their use. Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or by any information storage or re-trieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. All rights reserved. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the personal or in-ternal use of specific clients, may be granted by CRC Press, Inc., provided that $.50 per page photocopied is paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA. The fee code for users of the Transactional Reporting Service is ISBN 0-87371-986-7/99/$0.00+$.50. The fee is subject to change without notice. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. CRC Press, Inc.’s consent does not extend to copying for general distribution, for promotion, for creat-ing new works, or for resale. Specific permission must be obtained from CRC Press for such copying. Direct all inquiries to CRC Press, Inc., 2000 Corporate Blvd., N.W., Boca Raton, Florida 33431. © 1999 by CRC Press, Inc. Lewis Publishers is an imprint of CRC Press No claim to original U.S. Government works International Standard Book Number 0-87371-986-7 Library of Congress Card Number 98-29658 Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Printed on acid-free paper ©1999 by CRC Press Dedication This book is dedicated to Dr. Roy Mead for his vision, encouragement, advice, and commitment to assessing the accuracy of remotely sensed data. ©1999 by CRC Press About the Authors Russell G. Congalton Russell G. Congalton has spent much of the last 20 years developing techniques and practical applications for assessing the accuracy of remotely sensed data. This work began in 1979 as an MS student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, continued through his dissertation at the same institution, and has fol-lowed him throughout his academic career. Upon graduation, Dr. Congalton was employed as a post-doctorate research associate with the US Army Corps of Engi-neers Waterways Experiment Station Environmental Lab in 1984. From 1985-1991, he held the position of Assistant Professor of Remote Sensing in the Department of Forestry and Resource Management at the University of California, Berkeley. Also during this time he began his friendship with Kass Green and Pacific Meridian Resources which has lead to his current role as its Chief Scientist. Since 1991, Dr. Congalton has been on the faculty in the Department of Natural Resources at the University of New Hampshire. Currently he is an Associate Professor of Remote Sensing and GIS. Dr. Congalton has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles and more than 40 conference proceedings papers. He is the author of three book chapters and is co-editor of a book on spatial uncertainty in natural resource databases. He has been a member of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) since 1979. He was the Conference Director for GIS ’87 in San Francisco and was the first National GIS Division Director serving on the National Board of Directors from 1989-91. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator for the Land Cover/Biology Investigation of the GLOBE Program, a project that integrates environmental science with K-12 education sponsored by NSF, NASA, and NOAA. Ms. Kass Green Kass Green is a cofounder and President of Pacific Meridian Resources, a natural resources, GIS and remote sensing consulting firm that operates from offices throughout the United States (www.pacificmeridian.com). Ms. Green’s background includes over 25 years of experience in natural resource policy, economics, GIS analysis and remote sensing. She earned a BS in Forestry from the University of California, Berkeley, an MS in Natural Resource Policy and Economics from the University of Michigan, and a PhD–ABD from the University of California, Berke-ley. Ms. Green has lead Pacific Meridian’s growth since its inception in 1988 to its current status as a leader in remote sensing and GIS community. She is the author of numerous articles on GIS and remote sensing, regularly conducts workshops on the applications and practical uses of spatial data analysis, and is a highly requested speaker at many conferences and symposia. ©1999 by CRC Press Acknowledgments No book is written solely by the authors listed on the cover and we have many people to thank who helped, encouraged, and inspired us along the way. First, we would like to thank the many graduate students at the University of New Hampshire that compiled, edited, and proofread this work along the way. Special thanks go to Dan Fehringer, Robb Macleod, and Lucie Plourde. Second, we would like to acknowledge the help of the entire staff at Pacific Meridian Resources especially Aaron Loeb, who spent countless hours formatting tables and figures. Third, we must thank all of our friends and colleagues in the remote sensing community who inspired and encouraged us on many occasions. We are especially thankful to Dr. John Jensen, Dr. Greg Biging, Dr. Tom Lillesand, Dr. Jim Smith, Mr. Ross Lunetta, Mr. Mike Renslow, and Dr. Jim Campbell for their positive feedback and support. This book would not have been written if not for Dr. John Lyon. He has been a constant source of incredible encouragement and has mentored us through this entire process. Finally, we would like to thank our families for the time they managed without us while we worked on this book. ©1999 by CRC Press ... - tailieumienphi.vn