3/2/2018 Spectral Indices with multispectral satellite data

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Spectral Indices with multispectral satellite data

October 16, 2017

Over the years numerous spectral indices have been introduced by the scienti c community to
solve complex environmental (or other) issues. After a quite extensive survey we present you
the most popular indices that be calculated by either of the following free data satellites:

1. USGS/NASA Landsat program (Landsat 8 OLI, Landsat 5 TM)

2. COPERNICUS/EC Sentinel-2 MSI

Advanced Vegetation Index (AVI)

Advanced Vegeta on Index (AVI) is a numerical indicator, similar to NDVI, that uses the red and
near-infrared spectral bands. Like NDVI, AVI is used in vegeta on studies to monitor crop and
forest varia ons over me. Through the mul -temporal combina on of the AVI and the NDVI,
users can discriminate different types of vegeta on and extract phenology
characteris cs/parameters.
To calculate the AVI with the following formulas (one for each satellite):

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Bare Soil Index (BSI) LEARN MORE GOT IT

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Bare Soil Index (BSI) is a numerical indicator that combines blue, red, near infrared and short
wave infrared spectral bands to capture soil varia ons. These spectral bands are used in a
normalized manner. The short wave infrared and the red spectral bands are used to quan fy the
soil mineral composi on, while the blue and the near infrared spectral bands are used to
enhance the presence of vegeta on.
BSI can be used in numerous remote sensing applica ons, like soil mapping, crop iden fica on
(in combina on with NDVI) etc.
To calculate the BSI with the following formulas (one for each satellite):

Shadow Index (SI)

The characteris cs of canopy shadow are associated by the total spectral radiance that is
reflected from the canopy. Canopy shadow provides essen al informa on about trees and plants
arrangement. As a remote sensing index, Shadow Index (SI) is calculated using the visible bands
of the spectrum, in a way that simulates the amount energy not reflected back to the sensor.
SI has main applica ons in forestry and crop monitoring. It is usually combined with AVI and BSI
to help understand the status of vegeta on.
To calculate the SI with the following formulas (one for each satellite):

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)

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The Normalized Difference Vegeta on Index (NDVI) is a numerical indicator that uses the red and
near-infrared spectral bands. NDVI is highly associated with vegeta on content. High NDVI
values correspond to areas that reflect more in the near-infrared spectrum. Higher reflectance in
the near-infrared correspond to denser and healthier vegeta on.
NDVI can be used in numerous remote sensing applica ons, like crop phenology determina on,
crop type iden fica on, crop health, forest monitoring etc.
To calculate the NDVI with the following formulas (one for each satellite):

Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI)

The Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) is a numerical indicator, derived from op cal
satellite images, using the near-infrared and short wave infrared spectral bands. The la er
spectral band is highly associated with changes in vegeta on water content and spongy
mesophyll structure in the vegeta on canopies. The near infrared spectral band response is
correlated with the leaf internal structure and the leaf dry ma er content, excluding water
content.
NDWI is useful in many remote sensing applica ons. Crop health monitoring, land/water
boarding mapping, inland water discrimina on from open sea water bodies, are just a few
applica ons where NDWI is used.
To calculate the NDWI with the following formulas (one for each satellite):

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Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI)

Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) is a numerical indicator that highlights snow cover
over land areas. The green and short wave infrared spectral bands are used map the extend of
snow cover. Snow and clouds reflect most of the incident radia on in the visible band. However,
snow absorbs most of the incident radia on in the short wave infrared, while clouds do not. This
enables the NDSI to dis nguish snow from clouds.
NDSI is commonly used in snow/ice cover mapping applica ons and can also be used, subsidiary,
in glacier monitoring.
To calculate the NDSI with the following formulas (one for each satellite):

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Normalized Difference Glacier Index (NDGI)

Glaciers are an essen al part of our living environment and especially the cryosphere. Although
not everybody is familiar with glaciers, they are considered as very important natural regions
that need to be preserved and monitored. Scien sts analyzing glaciers can be er model and
understand the climate and it’s changes and dive into earth’s long forgo en climate history!
Normalized Difference Glacier Index (NDGI) is a numerical indicator that helps to detect and
monitor glaciers by using the green and red spectral bands.
The main remote sensing applica ons that NDGI is used are glacier detec on and monitoring
(movement over me, con nuity etc).
To calculate the NDGI with the following formulas (one for each satellite):

Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI)

The Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI) is a numerical indicator, that is used in
combina on with other vegeta on indexes (NDVI and/or AVI), which is associated with
vegeta on moisture. NDMI uses the near infrared and short wave infrared spectral bands to
capture the varia ons of moisture in vegetated areas.
Drought monitoring and subtle changes in vegeta on moisture condi ons are remote sensing
applica ons where NDWI is applicable. NDMI can also be used to determine fuel moistures for
wildfire hazard assessments.

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To calculate the NDMI with the following formulas (one for each satellite):

Normalized Burned Ra o Index (NBRI)

Forest fires are a severe manmade or natural phenomena that destroy natural recourses, live
stock, unbalances the local environments, release huge amount of Green House Gases etc. The
scien fic community has introduced the Normalized Burned Ra o Index (NBRI) to es mate the
severity of fires, mainly in forested areas. NBRI takes advantage of the near infrared and short
wave infrared spectral bands, which are sensi ve in vegeta on changes, to detect burned areas
and monitor the recovery of the ecosystem.
The NBRI must be used at least in pairs in order to extract informa on. One NBRI image before
the fire event and one or more NBRI images a er the fire event. The difference among these
NBRI images will highlight the burned areas and can be used to monitor the behavior of the
ecosystem as the me passes.
To calculate the NBRI with the following formulas (one for each satellite):

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Normalized Pigment Chlorophyll Ra o Index (NPCRI)

Crop/vegeta on chlorophyll content is one of the parameters that is needed to determine

several physiological parameters of plants. For example, crops with low Nitrogen content usually
have a high carotenoid to chlorophyll ra o. Changes in such parameters can alter the spectral
response of plants, thus making possible to quan fy them using spectral indexes.
The Normalized Pigment Chlorophyll Ra o Index (NPCRI) is a numerical indicator that is
associated with the chlorophyll content and can find applica ons in precession agriculture. Using
the red and blue spectral bands, NPCRI can capture the informa on needed to quan fy
chlorophyll and Nitrogen.
To calculate the NPCRI with the following formulas (one for each satellite):

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avi bri bsi earth observation ndgi ndmi ndsi ndvi npcri

remote sensing spectral indices

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