Monitoring of vegetation coverage based on high-resolution images

Measurement of vegetation coverage on a small scale is the foundation for the monitoring of changes in vegetation coverage and of the inversion model of monitoring vegetation coverage on a large scale by remote sensing. Using the object-oriented analytical software, Definiens Professional 5, a new method for calculating vegetation coverage based on high-resolution images （aerial photographs or near-surface photography） is proposed. Our research supplies references to remote sensing measurements of vegetation coverage on a small scale and accurate fundamental data for the inversion model of vegetation coverage on a large and intermediate scale to improve the accuracy of remote sensing monitoring of changes in vegetation coverage.

LAND-COVER DENSITY-BASED APPROACH TO URBAN LAND USE MAPPING USING HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGERY

Nowadays, remote sensing imagery, especially with its high spatialresolution, has become an indispensable tool to provide timely up-gradation of urban land use andland cover information, which is a prerequisite for proper urban planning and management. Thepossible method described in the present paper to obtain urban land use types is based on theprinciple that land use can be derived from the land cover existing in a neighborhood. Here, movingwindow is used to represent the spatial pattern of land cover within a neighborhood and seven windowsizes (61mx61m, 68mx68m, 75mx75m, 87mx87m, 99mx99m, 110mx110m and 121mxl21m) are applied todetermining the most proper window size. Then, the unsupervised method of ISODATA is employed toclassify the layered land cover density maps obtained by the moving window. The results of accuracyevaluation show that the window size of 99mx99m is proper to infer urban land use categories and theproposed method has produced a land use map with a total accuracy of 85%.

Identifying ephemeral gullies from high-resolution images and DEMs using flow-directional detection

Ephemeral gullies,which are widely developed worldwide and threaten farmlands,have aroused a growing concern.Identifying and mapping gullies are generally considered prerequisites of gully erosion assessment.However,ephemeral gully mapping remains a challenge.In this study,we proposed a flow-directional detection for identifying ephemeral gullies from high-resolution images and digital elevation models(DEMs).Ephemeral gullies exhibit clear linear features in high-resolution images.An edge detection operator was initially used to identify linear features from high-resolution images.Then,according to gully erosion mechanism,the flow-directional detection was designed.Edge images obtained from edge detection and flow directions obtained from DEMs were used to implement the flow-directional detection that detects ephemeral gullies along the flow direction.Results from ten study areas in the Loess Plateau of China showed that ranges of precision,recall,and Fmeasure are 6 o.66%-90.47%,65.74%-94.98%,and63.10%-91.93%,respectively.The proposed method is flexible and can be used with various images and DEMs.However,analysis of the effect of DEM resolution and accuracy showed that DEM resolution only demonstrates a minor effect on the detection results.Conversely,DEM accuracy influences the detection result and is more important than the DEM resolution.The worse the vertical accuracy of DEM,the lower the performance of the flow-directional detection will be.This work is beneficial to research related to monitoring gully erosion and assessing soil loss.

Investigation of Image Fusion Between High-Resolution Image and Multi-spectral Image

On the basis of a thorough understanding of the physical characteristics of remote sensing image, this paper employs the theories of wavelet transform and signal sampling to develop a new image fusion algorithm. The algorithm has been successfully applied to the image fusion of SPOT PAN and TM of Guangdong province, China. The experimental results show that a perfect image fusion can be built up by using the image analytical solution and re-construction in the image frequency domain based on the physical characteristics of the image formation. The method has demonstrated that the results of the image fusion do not change spectral characteristics of the original image.

Information Detection of Seismic Debris Flow by UAV High-resolution Image Based on Transfer Learning

A large number of debris flow disasters(called Seismic debris flows) would occur after an earthquake, which can cause a great amount of damage. UAV low-altitude remote sensing technology has become a means of quickly obtaining disaster information as it has the advantage of convenience and timeliness, but the spectral information of the image is so scarce, making it difficult to accurately detect the information of earthquake debris flow disasters. Based on the above problems, a seismic debris flow detection method based on transfer learning(TL) mechanism is proposed. On the basis of the constructed seismic debris flow disaster database, the features acquired from the training of the convolutional neural network(CNN) are transferred to the disaster information detection of the seismic debris flow. The automatic detection of earthquake debris flow disaster information is then completed, and the results of object-oriented seismic debris flow disaster information detection are compared and analyzed with the detection results supported by transfer learning.

Transformer-Based Cloud Detection Method for High-Resolution Remote Sensing Imagery

Cloud detection from satellite and drone imagery is crucial for applications such as weather forecasting and environmentalmonitoring.Addressing the limitations of conventional convolutional neural networks,we propose an innovative transformer-based method.This method leverages transformers,which are adept at processing data sequences,to enhance cloud detection accuracy.Additionally,we introduce a Cyclic Refinement Architecture that improves the resolution and quality of feature extraction,thereby aiding in the retention of critical details often lost during cloud detection.Our extensive experimental validation shows that our approach significantly outperforms established models,excelling in high-resolution feature extraction and precise cloud segmentation.By integrating Positional Visual Transformers(PVT)with this architecture,our method advances high-resolution feature delineation and segmentation accuracy.Ultimately,our research offers a novel perspective for surmounting traditional challenges in cloud detection and contributes to the advancement of precise and dependable image analysis across various domains.

Weakly Supervised Network with Scribble-Supervised and Edge-Mask for Road Extraction from High-Resolution Remote Sensing Images

Significant advancements have been achieved in road surface extraction based on high-resolution remote sensingimage processing. Most current methods rely on fully supervised learning, which necessitates enormous humaneffort to label the image. Within this field, other research endeavors utilize weakly supervised methods. Theseapproaches aim to reduce the expenses associated with annotation by leveraging sparsely annotated data, such asscribbles. This paper presents a novel technique called a weakly supervised network using scribble-supervised andedge-mask (WSSE-net). This network is a three-branch network architecture, whereby each branch is equippedwith a distinct decoder module dedicated to road extraction tasks. One of the branches is dedicated to generatingedge masks using edge detection algorithms and optimizing road edge details. The other two branches supervise themodel’s training by employing scribble labels and spreading scribble information throughout the image. To addressthe historical flaw that created pseudo-labels that are not updated with network training, we use mixup to blendprediction results dynamically and continually update new pseudo-labels to steer network training. Our solutiondemonstrates efficient operation by simultaneously considering both edge-mask aid and dynamic pseudo-labelsupport. The studies are conducted on three separate road datasets, which consist primarily of high-resolutionremote-sensing satellite photos and drone images. The experimental findings suggest that our methodologyperforms better than advanced scribble-supervised approaches and specific traditional fully supervised methods.

Migration images guided high-resolution velocity modeling based on fully convolutional neural network

Current data-driven deep learning(DL)methods typically reconstruct subsurface velocity models directly from pre-stack seismic records.However,these purely data-driven methods are often less robust and produce results that are less physically interpretative.Here,the authors propose a new method that uses migration images as input,combined with convolutional neural networks to construct high-resolution velocity models.Compared to directly using pre-stack seismic records as input,the nonlinearity between migration images and velocity models is significantly reduced.Additionally,the advantage of using migration images lies in its ability to more comprehensively capture the reflective properties of the subsurface medium,including amplitude and phase information,thereby to provide richer physical information in guiding the reconstruction of the velocity model.This approach not only improves the accuracy and resolution of the reconstructed velocity models,but also enhances the physical interpretability and robustness.Numerical experiments on synthetic data show that the proposed method has superior reconstruction performance and strong generalization capability when dealing with complex geological structures,and shows great potential in providing efficient solutions for the task of reconstructing high-wavenumber components.

Investigating the relationship between intracranial atherosclerotic plaque remodelling and diabetes using high-resolution vessel wall imaging

BACKGROUND Intracranial atherosclerosis,a leading cause of stroke,involves arterial plaque formation.This study explores the link between plaque remodelling patterns and diabetes using high-resolution vessel wall imaging(HR-VWI).AIM To investigate the factors of intracranial atherosclerotic remodelling patterns and the relationship between intracranial atherosclerotic remodelling and diabetes mellitus using HR-VWI.METHODS Ninety-four patients diagnosed with middle cerebral artery or basilar artery INTRODUCTION Intracranial atherosclerotic disease is one of the main causes of ischaemic stroke in the world,accounting for approx-imately 10%of transient ischaemic attacks and 30%-50%of ischaemic strokes[1].It is the most common factor among Asian people[2].The adaptive changes in the structure and function of blood vessels that can adapt to changes in the internal and external environment are called vascular remodelling,which is a common and important pathological mechanism in atherosclerotic diseases,and the remodelling mode of atherosclerotic plaques is closely related to the occurrence of stroke.Positive remodelling(PR)is an outwards compensatory remodelling where the arterial wall grows outwards in an attempt to maintain a constant lumen diameter.For a long time,it was believed that the degree of stenosis can accurately reflect the risk of ischaemic stroke[3-5].Previous studies have revealed that lesions without significant luminal stenosis can also lead to acute events[6,7],as summarized in a recent meta-analysis study in which approximately 50%of acute/subacute ischaemic events were due to this type of lesion[6].Research[8,9]has pointed out that the PR of plaques is more dangerous and more likely to cause acute ischaemic stroke.Previous studies[10-13]have found that there are specific vascular remodelling phenomena in the coronary and carotid arteries of diabetic patients.However,due to the deep location and small lumen of intracranial arteries and limitations of imaging techniques,the relationship between intracranial arterial remodelling and diabetes is still unclear.In recent years,with the development of magnetic resonance technology and the emergence of high-resolution(HR)vascular wall imaging,a clear and multidimensional display of the intracranial vascular wall has been achieved.Therefore,in this study,HR wall imaging(HR-VWI)was used to display the remodelling characteristics of bilateral middle cerebral arteries and basilar arteries and to explore the factors of intracranial vascular remodelling and its relationship with diabetes.

In vivo pilot study into superficial microcirculatory characteristics of colorectal adenomas using novel high-resolution magnifying endoscopy with blue laser imaging

BACKGROUND No studies have yet been conducted on changes in microcirculatory hemody-namics of colorectal adenomas in vivo under endoscopy.The microcirculation of the colorectal adenoma could be observed in vivo by a novel high-resolution magnification endoscopy with blue laser imaging(BLI),thus providing a new insight into the microcirculation of early colon tumors.AIM To observe the superficial microcirculation of colorectal adenomas using the novel magnifying colonoscope with BLI and quantitatively analyzed the changes in hemodynamic parameters.METHODS From October 2019 to January 2020,11 patients were screened for colon adenomas with the novel high-resolution magnification endoscope with BLI.Video images were recorded and processed with Adobe Premiere,Adobe Photoshop and Image-pro Plus software.Four microcirculation parameters:Microcirculation vessel density(MVD),mean vessel width(MVW)with width standard deviation(WSD),and blood flow velocity(BFV),were calculated for adenomas and the surrounding normal mucosa.RESULTS A total of 16 adenomas were identified.Compared with the normal surrounding mucosa,the superficial vessel density in the adenomas was decreased(MVD:0.95±0.18 vs 1.17±0.28μm/μm2,P<0.05).MVW(5.11±1.19 vs 4.16±0.76μm,P<0.05)and WSD(11.94±3.44 vs 9.04±3.74,P<0.05)were both increased.BFV slowed in the adenomas(709.74±213.28 vs 1256.51±383.31μm/s,P<0.05).CONCLUSION The novel high-resolution magnification endoscope with BLI can be used for in vivo study of adenoma superficial microcirculation.Superficial vessel density was decreased,more irregular,with slower blood flow.

High-resolution imaging of magnetic fields of banknote anti-counterfeiting strip using fiber diamond probe

Counterfeiting of modern banknotes poses a significant challenge,prompting the use of various preventive measures.One such measure is the magnetic anti-counterfeiting strip.However,due to its inherent weak magnetic properties,visualizing its magnetic distribution has been a longstanding challenge.In this work,we introduce an innovative method by using a fiber optic diamond probe,a highly sensitive quantum sensor designed specifically for detecting extremely weak magnetic fields.We employ this probe to achieve high-resolution imaging of the magnetic fields associated with the RMB 50denomination anti-counterfeiting strip.Additionally,we conduct computer simulations by using COMSOL Multiphysics software to deduce the potential geometric characteristics and material composition of the magnetic region within the anti-counterfeiting strip.The findings and method presented in this study hold broader significance,extending the RMB 50 denomination to various denominations of the Chinese currency and other items that employ magnetic anti-counterfeiting strips.These advances have the potential to significantly improve and promote security measures in order to prevent the banknotes from being counterfeited.

Correg-Yolov3:a Method for Dense Buildings Detection in High-resolution Remote Sensing Images

The exploration of building detection plays an important role in urban planning,smart city and military.Aiming at the problem of high overlapping ratio of detection frames for dense building detection in high resolution remote sensing images,we present an effective YOLOv3 framework,corner regression-based YOLOv3(Correg-YOLOv3),to localize dense building accurately.This improved YOLOv3 algorithm establishes a vertex regression mechanism and an additional loss item about building vertex offsets relative to the center point of bounding box.By extending output dimensions,the trained model is able to output the rectangular bounding boxes and the building vertices meanwhile.Finally,we evaluate the performance of the Correg-YOLOv3 on our self-produced data set and provide a comparative analysis qualitatively and quantitatively.The experimental results achieve high performance in precision(96.45%),recall rate(95.75%),F1 score(96.10%)and average precision(98.05%),which were 2.73%,5.4%,4.1%and 4.73%higher than that of YOLOv3.Therefore,our proposed algorithm effectively tackles the problem of dense building detection in high resolution images.

Transverse Velocity Field Measurements in High-resolution Solar Images Based on Deep Learning

To address the problem of the low accuracy of transverse velocity field measurements for small targets in highresolution solar images,we proposed a novel velocity field measurement method for high-resolution solar images based on PWCNet.This method transforms the transverse velocity field measurements into an optical flow field prediction problem.We evaluated the performance of the proposed method using the Hαand TiO data sets obtained from New Vacuum Solar Telescope observations.The experimental results show that our method effectively predicts the optical flow of small targets in images compared with several typical machine-and deeplearning methods.On the Hαdata set,the proposed method improves the image structure similarity from 0.9182 to0.9587 and reduces the mean of residuals from 24.9931 to 15.2818;on the TiO data set,the proposed method improves the image structure similarity from 0.9289 to 0.9628 and reduces the mean of residuals from 25.9908 to17.0194.The optical flow predicted using the proposed method can provide accurate data for the atmospheric motion information of solar images.The code implementing the proposed method is available on https://github.com/lygmsy123/transverse-velocity-field-measurement.

Infrared and Visible Image Fusion Based on Res2Net-Transformer Automatic Encoding and Decoding

A novel image fusion network framework with an autonomous encoder and decoder is suggested to increase thevisual impression of fused images by improving the quality of infrared and visible light picture fusion. The networkcomprises an encoder module, fusion layer, decoder module, and edge improvementmodule. The encoder moduleutilizes an enhanced Inception module for shallow feature extraction, then combines Res2Net and Transformerto achieve deep-level co-extraction of local and global features from the original picture. An edge enhancementmodule (EEM) is created to extract significant edge features. A modal maximum difference fusion strategy isintroduced to enhance the adaptive representation of information in various regions of the source image, therebyenhancing the contrast of the fused image. The encoder and the EEM module extract features, which are thencombined in the fusion layer to create a fused picture using the decoder. Three datasets were chosen to test thealgorithmproposed in this paper. The results of the experiments demonstrate that the network effectively preservesbackground and detail information in both infrared and visible images, yielding superior outcomes in subjectiveand objective evaluations.

Using restored two-dimensional X-ray images to reconstruct the three-dimensional magnetopause

Astronomical imaging technologies are basic tools for the exploration of the universe,providing basic data for the research of astronomy and space physics.The Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)carried by the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)aims to capture two-dimensional(2-D)images of the Earth’s magnetosheath by using soft X-ray imaging.However,the observed 2-D images are affected by many noise factors,destroying the contained information,which is not conducive to the subsequent reconstruction of the three-dimensional(3-D)structure of the magnetopause.The analysis of SXI-simulated observation images shows that such damage cannot be evaluated with traditional restoration models.This makes it difficult to establish the mapping relationship between SXIsimulated observation images and target images by using mathematical models.We propose an image restoration algorithm for SXIsimulated observation images that can recover large-scale structure information on the magnetosphere.The idea is to train a patch estimator by selecting noise–clean patch pairs with the same distribution through the Classification–Expectation Maximization algorithm to achieve the restoration estimation of the SXI-simulated observation image,whose mapping relationship with the target image is established by the patch estimator.The Classification–Expectation Maximization algorithm is used to select multiple patch clusters with the same distribution and then train different patch estimators so as to improve the accuracy of the estimator.Experimental results showed that our image restoration algorithm is superior to other classical image restoration algorithms in the SXI-simulated observation image restoration task,according to the peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity.The restoration results of SXI-simulated observation images are used in the tangent fitting approach and the computed tomography approach toward magnetospheric reconstruction techniques,significantly improving the reconstruction results.Hence,the proposed technology may be feasible for processing SXI-simulated observation images.

Dendritic Learning-Incorporated Vision Transformer for Image Recognition

Dear Editor,This letter proposes to integrate dendritic learnable network architecture with Vision Transformer to improve the accuracy of image recognition.In this study,based on the theory of dendritic neurons in neuroscience,we design a network that is more practical for engineering to classify visual features.Based on this,we propose a dendritic learning-incorporated vision Transformer(DVT),which out-performs other state-of-the-art methods on three image recognition benchmarks.

The Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)on the SMILE Mission

The Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)is part of the scientific payload of the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)mission.SMILE is a joint science mission between the European Space Agency(ESA)and the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)and is due for launch in 2025.SXI is a compact X-ray telescope with a wide field-of-view(FOV)capable of encompassing large portions of Earth’s magnetosphere from the vantage point of the SMILE orbit.SXI is sensitive to the soft X-rays produced by the Solar Wind Charge eXchange(SWCX)process produced when heavy ions of solar wind origin interact with neutral particles in Earth’s exosphere.SWCX provides a mechanism for boundary detection within the magnetosphere,such as the position of Earth’s magnetopause,because the solar wind heavy ions have a very low density in regions of closed magnetic field lines.The sensitivity of the SXI is such that it can potentially track movements of the magnetopause on timescales of a few minutes and the orbit of SMILE will enable such movements to be tracked for segments lasting many hours.SXI is led by the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom(UK)with collaborating organisations on hardware,software and science support within the UK,Europe,China and the United States.

Background removal from global auroral images:Data-driven dayglow modeling

Global images of auroras obtained by cameras on spacecraft are a key tool for studying the near-Earth environment.However,the cameras are sensitive not only to auroral emissions produced by precipitating particles,but also to dayglow emissions produced by photoelectrons induced by sunlight.Nightglow emissions and scattered sunlight can contribute to the background signal.To fully utilize such images in space science,background contamination must be removed to isolate the auroral signal.Here we outline a data-driven approach to modeling the background intensity in multiple images by formulating linear inverse problems based on B-splines and spherical harmonics.The approach is robust,flexible,and iteratively deselects outliers,such as auroral emissions.The final model is smooth across the terminator and accounts for slow temporal variations and large-scale asymmetries in the dayglow.We demonstrate the model by using the three far ultraviolet cameras on the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration(IMAGE)mission.The method can be applied to historical missions and is relevant for upcoming missions,such as the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)mission.

SMILE soft X-ray Imager flight model CCD370 pre-flight device characterisation

Throughout the SMILE mission the satellite will be bombarded by radiation which gradually damages the focal plane devices and degrades their performance.In order to understand the changes of the CCD370s within the soft X-ray Imager,an initial characterisation of the devices has been carried out to give a baseline performance level.Three CCDs have been characterised,the two flight devices and the flight spa re.This has been carried out at the Open University in a bespo ke cleanroom measure ment facility.The results show that there is a cluster of bright pixels in the flight spa re which increases in size with tempe rature.However at the nominal ope rating tempe rature(-120℃) it is within the procure ment specifications.Overall,the devices meet the specifications when ope rating at -120℃ in 6 × 6 binned frame transfer science mode.The se rial charge transfer inefficiency degrades with temperature in full frame mode.However any charge losses are recovered when binning/frame transfer is implemented.

Two-Staged Method for Ice Channel Identification Based on Image Segmentation and Corner Point Regression

Identification of the ice channel is the basic technology for developing intelligent ships in ice-covered waters,which is important to ensure the safety and economy of navigation.In the Arctic,merchant ships with low ice class often navigate in channels opened up by icebreakers.Navigation in the ice channel often depends on good maneuverability skills and abundant experience from the captain to a large extent.The ship may get stuck if steered into ice fields off the channel.Under this circumstance,it is very important to study how to identify the boundary lines of ice channels with a reliable method.In this paper,a two-staged ice channel identification method is developed based on image segmentation and corner point regression.The first stage employs the image segmentation method to extract channel regions.In the second stage,an intelligent corner regression network is proposed to extract the channel boundary lines from the channel region.A non-intelligent angle-based filtering and clustering method is proposed and compared with corner point regression network.The training and evaluation of the segmentation method and corner regression network are carried out on the synthetic and real ice channel dataset.The evaluation results show that the accuracy of the method using the corner point regression network in the second stage is achieved as high as 73.33%on the synthetic ice channel dataset and 70.66%on the real ice channel dataset,and the processing speed can reach up to 14.58frames per second.