Spectral mixture analysis for bi-sensor wetland mapping using Landsat TM and Terra MODIS data

Spatial and temporal resolution is essential for understanding the spatial and temporal characteristics and dynamics of wetland ecosystems. However, single satellite imagery with both high spatial resolution and high temporal frequency is currently unavailable. Instead, the development of a bi-sensor monitoring technique utilizing spatial details of middle-to-high resolution data and temporal details of coarse spatial resolution data is highly desirable. For the initial work on our time-series bi-sensor wetland mapping, the applicability of multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA) using single-date bi-sensor imagery with different orbiting periods was investigated. Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Terra Moderate Resolution Image Spectrometer (MODIS) data were utilized in the Poyang Lake area in China and the Great Salt Lake area in the USA to examine three decisive elements in utilizing MESMA: (1) the method of optimal endmember selection; (2) the threshold between two- and three-endmember models; and (3) the treatment of shade fractions. As a result, we found that (1) the number of spectra for an endmember spectrum similar to other endmember spectra meeting the modelling restrictions of maximum and minimum land-cover fractions and root mean square error (RMSE) within a class (In_CoB), the number of spectra for an endmember spectrum similar to other endmember spectra meeting the modelling restrictions outside of a class (Out_CoB), the ratio of In_CoB to Out_CoB multiplied by the inverse number of spectra within the class (CoBI) and the endmember average RMSE (EAR) were optimal endmember selection methods for the TM maps, whereas CoBI, EAR and minimum average spectral angle (MASA) were optimal endmember selection methods for the MODIS maps; (2) the MODIS maps were more sensitive to change in the two- and three-endmember modelling thresholds than the TM maps; and (3) the addition of shade fractions to dark water fractions were an appropriate shade treatment. This research demonstrated how MESMA can be applied for multi-scale mapping of wetland ecosystems, how the difference in observation dates between the TM and MODIS data affects the agreement in land-cover fractions and how spectral similarity between dark water and shade affects the agreement in land-cover fractions.