Remote sensing: Data formats and software packages

Rüdiger Gens What is this presentation is about

y broad overview about x most common data formats used in remote sensing x software packages dealing with those formats y starting point for further studies Data formats and software packages Data formats and

2 What this presentation is NOT about

y the conclusive answer to all the questions about data formats you ever had y an attempt to cover every remote sensing data format under the sun y a sales pitch for any of the software packages y a tutorial on the different image products Data formats and software packages Data formats and

3 Common remote sensing data

y Optical x Landsat, Aster, AVHRR, MODIS, SPOT y SAR x Radarsat, ERS, JERS-1 y DEMs x GTOPO30, SDTS, NED, SRTM y Vector data x ESRI shape files Data formats and software packages Data formats and y Models x netCDF

4 Flat binary multi-band formats

y most basic form of storing raster data y usually accompanied by metadata file (ASCII or XML) y three common format x BIL – band interleaved by line x BIP – band interleaved by pixel x BSQ – band sequential Data formats and software packages Data formats and

5 HDF-EOS format

y standard data format for all NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) data products x multi-object file format developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) y standard HDF objects: images, tables, text, and data arrays y three additional data types based on HDF objects: grid, point, and swath Data formats and software packages Data formats and y self-describing format

6 GeoTIFF format

y extension of the regular TIFF format y uses a small set of reserved TIFF tags to store a broad range of information y only commonly used generic image format that can handle geolocation information y available in all standard remote sensing and GIS packages Data formats and software packages Data formats and

7 ERDAS Imagine

y .lan format x old ERDAS Imagine 7.5 format x around for long time: most packages can read it y .img format x one of the standard remote sensing format x plays well with ArcGIS (Arc/Info) Data formats and software packages Data formats and

8 CEOS format

y standard data format for radar data x Radarsat, ERS, JERS-1 y comes in a large variety of flavors y contents depends on processing facility y usually requires software tools to read and convert into different format y interface for ASF data available in next version

Data formats and software packages Data formats and of ERDAS Imagine

9 MrSID format

y stands for Multi-resolution Seamless Image Database y wavelet based image encoder, viewer and file format: compression efficient y main format of USGS scanning products x topo maps x aerial photographs y regularly used in GIS applications Data formats and software packages Data formats and

10 Landsat data

y available formats x HDF-EOS x GeoTIFF x Fast L7 • each band is self-contained in its own file • header file containing three ASCII metadata records (administrative, radiometric, and geometric) Data formats and software packages Data formats and

11 Terra / Aqua data

y large variety of products y Terra instruments x ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS, MOPITT y Aqua instruments x AIRS, AMSR-E, CERES, HSB, MODIS y number of software packages with interfaces y available formats

Data formats and software packages Data formats and x HDF-EOS

12 AVHRR data

y number of software package interfaces available y available formats x Level 1b 8-bit/10-bit/16-bit HRPT/LAC x Level 1b 8-bit/10-bit/16-bit GAC x Dartcom 16-bit HRPT x Satlantic 16-bit HRPT x Quorum Qtrack 16-bit HRPT x 16-bit HRPT Minor Frame x Dundee 16-bit HRPT x AVHRR CEOS (Raw AVHRR CCT Image Format) Data formats and software packages Data formats and

13 SPOT data

y SPOT 1-4: CAP format y SPOT 5 and later: DIMAP format y usually requires software package with SPOT data interface Data formats and software packages Data formats and

14 Digital Orthophoto Quadrangle (DOQ)

y computer-generated image of an aerial photograph x image displacement caused by terrain relief and camera tilt has been removed x combines the image characteristics of the original photograph with the georeferenced qualities of a map y available formats

Data formats and software packages Data formats and x native (viewer and conversion tools available) x GeoTIFF

15 GTOPO30

y global topographic data (30 arc seconds) y format x DEM – digital elevation model data (flat binary) x HDR – header file for DEM (ASCII) x DMW – world file (ASCII) x STX – statistics file (ASCII) x PRJ – projection information file (ASCII) x GIF – shaded relief image (GIF format) Data formats and software packages Data formats and x SRC – source map (8-bit binary) x SCH – header file for source map (ASCII)

16 SDTS format

y stands for Spatial Data Transfer Standard y used by USGS for providing DEMs x SDTS was ratified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS 173). x Compliance with FIPS 173 by federal agencies became mandatory in 1994 Data formats and software packages Data formats and

17 National Elevation Dataset (NED)

y provided by USGS using the Seamless Data Distribution System y available formats x ArcGrid (integer data) x GeoTIFF x GridFloat (Arc floating point data) x BIL (flat binary – band interleaved by line) Data formats and software packages Data formats and

18 SRTM data

y distributed by the USGS EROS Data Center y available formats x ArcGrid (integer data) x BIL (flat binary – band interleaved by line) x GeoTIFF Data formats and software packages Data formats and

19 ESRI shape files

y standard for vector data y basis of what GIS is all about y support point, line and area features y attributes stored in dBase format Data formats and software packages Data formats and

20 netCDF format

y stands for network Common Data Form y an interface for array-oriented data access y a library that provides an implementation of the interface y main format for atmospheric models y marine Geophysics data (gravity, magnetics and bathymetry) Data formats and software packages Data formats and

21 Software packages Data formats and software packages Data formats and

22 ArcGIS

y comprehensive GIS package y graphical user interface to Arc/Info y developed by ESRI y runs on Windows y handles raster formats x GRID x GeoTIFF x JPEG

Data formats and software packages Data formats and x MrSID x ERDAS Imagine

23 ENVI 4.1

y originally developed for hyperspectral data y developed by Research Systems Inc. y image processing package y runs on all major platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac, various Unix flavors) y handles all major raster and vector formats y interfaces to all common remote sensing data Data formats and software packages Data formats and

24 ERDAS Imagine 8.7

y full-blown remote sensing package y developed by Leica Geosystems y runs on Windows and Solaris y handles all major raster and vector formats y interfaces to all common remote sensing data y next version supports ASF CEOS format Data formats and software packages Data formats and

25 ER Mapper 6.4

y mapping and image processing package y developed by Earth Resource Mapping y runs on Windows y handles most common raster and vector formats y interfaces for some remote sensing data Data formats and software packages Data formats and

26 Geomatica 9.1

y remote sensing package y developed by PCI y runs on Windows, Linux, Solaris and Irix y handles all major raster and vector formats y interfaces to common remote sensing data Data formats and software packages Data formats and

27 GeoMedia 5.2

y focus on mapping and geospatial solutions y strong link to Open GIS Consortium (OGC) y developed by Intergraph y runs on Windows Data formats and software packages Data formats and

28 GRASS 5.3

y Geographic Resources Analysis Support System y GIS package with image processing functionality y handles common GIS formats and a few remote sensing formats y runs on Linux, Mac, various flavors of Unix

Data formats and software packages Data formats and y freeware

29 ILWIS 3.2

y stands for Integrated Land and Water Information System y developed at ITC, the Netherlands y remote sensing and GIS package y runs on Windows y shareware Data formats and software packages Data formats and

30 IDRISI Kilimanjaro

y focus on environmental decision making with GIS y developed by Clark Labs in Worcester, Massachusetts y GIS and image processing package y handles common data formats y interfaces to selected remote sensing data

Data formats and software packages Data formats and y runs on Windows

31 Nifty little helpers

y free viewing tool (ERDAS) providing basic image viewing and manipulation capabilities y supports a variety of raster formats x Arc/Info BIL, BIP, BSQ x ER Mapper x ERDAS Imagine Data formats and software packages Data formats and x JPEG x MrSID

32 Nifty little helpers

y free viewing and mapping tool (ERDAS)

y supports raster and vector formats x ERDAS Imagine Files x ESRI Shape Files x Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) x MrSID Data formats and software packages Data formats and x JPEG

33 Nifty little helpers

y ExpressView Browser Plug-in (MrSID) x for Internet Explorer and Netscape x ability to natively display MrSid and JPEG2000 Data formats and software packages Data formats and

34 Nifty little helpers

y HDF-EOS tools x HDF-EOS to GeoTIFF converter x General Coordinate Transformation Package (GCTP) x HDF Explorer – viewer for HDF-EOS and netCDF Data formats and software packages Data formats and

35 Nifty little helpers

y free image viewing tool (PCI)

y Geomatica FreeView x handles all common remote sensing data formats x basic image viewing and analysis functions Data formats and software packages Data formats and

36 Nifty little helpers

y free image viewing tool (ER Mapper)

y basic image viewing functions y supports raster formats x ER Mapper (incl. compressed) x GeoTIFF x ESRI BIL

Data formats and software packages Data formats and x USGS Digital Ortho Quad x JPEG

37 Take home message

y there is a lot of stuff out there x no silver bullet that does it all x look at your needs x look around – solutions don't have to be expensive y trend towards data integration x image processing and enhanced analysis x GIS is the keyword y data format of the moment: GeoTIFF Data formats and software packages Data formats and x generic data format x meets most user's needs

38 List of useful URLs

http://www.asf.alaska.edu/~rgens/teaching/data_sw.html Data formats and software packages Data formats and

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