REEF COVER AND ZONATION CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR USE WITH REMOTELY SENSED GREAT BARRIER REEF DATA: USER GUIDE AND HANDBOOK
D. KUCHLER
3BRMPA Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority .4240 9943 KUC Technical Memorandum GBRMPA TM 9 GREAT BARRIER REEF MARINE PARK AUTHORITY TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM GBRMPA-TM-9
REEF COVER AND ZONATION CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR USE WITH REMOTELY SENSED GREAT BARRIER REEF DATA - USER GUIDE AND HANDBOOK
D. A. KUCHLER March 1987 (submitted 1983)
SUMMARY The operational use of the Reef Cover and Zonation Classification System for use with Remotely Sensed Great Barrier Reef data, is outlined. A recommended data recording handbook is described for efficient recording from the classification system, whether it be in the laboratory or the field. The handbook is designed to be held in the palm of one hand and to be water resistant when used in the field. It comprises the classification system and data recording cards which are stored in an inside pocket. Each card has facilities for eight sample site recordings.
KEYWORDS: coral reef, classification system, data recording handbook, GBR, remote sensing.
Technical memoranda are of a preliminary nature, and represent the views of the author, not necessarily those of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
Please address comments or requests for additional copies to: The Executive Officer, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, P.O. Box 1379, TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA, 4810. C Commonwealth of Australia
ISSN 0817-6094 ISBN 0-642-52561-7
,J C
Great Barrier Reef Marine, Park Authority
P.O. Box 1379 Townsville QId 4810 Telephone (077) 81 8811 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction
This memorandum is one of a series of four GBRMPA Technical Memoranda dealing with the terminology, recognition and classification of coral reef cover and zonation features for use with the analysis of remotely sensed data of the Great Barrier Reef.
Objective of the Memorandum
The memorandum outlines how to use the reef cover and zonation classification system designed for use with remotely sensed coral reef data efficiently and easily and easily. It instructs users in the systematic recording of information obtained from field sample and remotely sensed data in the coral reef analysis process. The feature terminology and reef coral and zonation classification system were described in GBRMPA Technical Memoranda 7 and 8 respectively.
A data recording handbook designed for efficient use in the field laboratory is described and worked examples are given.
Summary
The classification system is an attempt to develop a standard for the classification of reef cover and zonation in the Great Barrier Reef region to facilitate comparison and evaluation of interpretations of remotely sensed data. The system is user oriented and based on a logical division approach to classification but is not strictly hierarchical so that classification decisions are not hierarchically dependant. This could limit its usefulness beyond the mapping phase. The system is based on five primary categories by criteria which are visible on, or inferrable from, remotely sensed data. The chosen criteria are (I) Zones, (II) Features, (III) Composition and/or Position, (IV) Condition and/or Pattern and/or Morphology, (V) Presence. A secondary categorising structure permits the ready classification of mixed data, i.e. when a mapped unit consists of a mixture of surface cover types or features. Multiple entries, to allow for features which can be categorised into more than one primary group, are permitted.
Coding of features is generally numeric to facilitate transfer of the recorded data between interpreter, recorder, operator and computer files.
Conclusion
The data recording book described provides a useful basis for development as a standard issue for use by field observers and air photo and image interpreters. Further discussion with other researchers and end users of the resultant data is required before the schema could be recommended and/or adopted as a universal data recording standard for the region. The system is simple enough in concept but the number of possible entries required for some features would be cumbersome until the user was thoroughly familiar with the given range. This is however a criticism common of most in-the-field recording systems. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page
1. Introduction 1 2. Classification system design 2 Primary categorising structure 2 Secondary categorising structure 4 Multiple entries 4 Coding symbols 5 3. Data recording handbook 6 4. Use of classification system 8 The decision making process 8 Recording classified data 8 Use of primary categorising structure 11 Use of secondary categorising structure 12 Use of classification system with recording card 17 Conclusion 30 Acknowledgements 30 References 31
FIGURES Figure 1 • Example of the field handbook which contains 6 the data recording cards. Figure 2 • Example of the data recording card. 17 Figure 3 • Landsat MSS image of Cairns Reef, GBR. 19 Figure 4 • Flow-diagram illustrating the use of the classification system with a recording card. 20 Figure 5 • Aerial photograph of Green Island Cay (GBR) and surrounding reef flat. Sample site 1 is delineated. 29
TABLES Table Full listing of data categories as used in 3 this classification system. Table Abbreviated entries for the classification 7 system given in the data recording handbook. -1-
1. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) has been mapped by many workers. Maps have been produced at scales which depict individual reefs (Stoddart, 1969, 1978; Flood, 1977); reef regions (Stoddart et al., 1978); and the whole Great Barrier Reef province (Maxwell, 1968; GBRMPA, 1983). During recent mapping projects (Jupp et al.,' 1985; Kuchler, 1984) it became evident that these maps were not compatible because the labels used to represent reefal cover and zonal units were not standard. For this reason, the information could not be easily integrated into a GBR data base.
Since a standardised labelling procedure is required for mapping geomorphological features in GBR remote sensing projects and for GBR mapping in general, a method was devised. The method has three components: a standardised geomorphological nomenclature of the GBR; a classification system which categorises and attributes labels to the nomenclature; and, a classified data recording system. Each component has been presented in a separate GBRMPA Technical Memorandum.
In one paper (Kuchler, 1986b), a nomenclature for geomorphological features on reefs within the GBR is presented. There is presently insufficient ground data by which to verify terms, so the nomenclature adopts the most frequently used terms in the literature.
The other paper (Kuchler, 1986a) categorises the nomenclature, attributes labels, and forms it into a classification system for use in the mapping process. The classification system was designed for labelling reef covers on maps, for labelling interpreted reef covers on aerial and orbital remotely sensed GBR images, and for recording ground data. Since the classification system has already been presented, this third paper describes and illustrates the classified data recording method. A handbook and data recording card format which facilitate easy recording are presented in the appendices of this paper. -2-
2. CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM DESIGN
The rationale behind, and the design of the classification system are described in Kuchler (1986b). To make this presentation more meaningful, a brief reiteration is given here. The classification system was devised for the following two reasons;
to provide a standard for classifying and labelling geomorphological information on reef covers and zonation. Such information may be derived from remotely sensed data or from field observations,
to provide a standard which allows the comparison and evaluation of interpretations of different types of remotely sensed data.
The system is built on information needed by the potential user and is based on the logical division approach to classification (Ryerson and Gierman, 1975). It has both primary and secondary categorising structures.
2.1 Primary categorising structure
The classification system has five levels which form the primary categorising structure. Each level attempts to categorise reef features according to different criteria which are important to mapping of the GBR using remotely sensed data. Thus, the classificatory form and purpose are inextricably bound together. The criteria chosen for each level are as follows:
Level I • Zones Level II : Features Level III : Composition and/or position Level IV : Condition and/or pattern and/or morphology Level V : Presence
-3- Table 1. Full listing of data categories as used in this classification system.
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