Significant spatial co-distribution pattern discovery

Given instances (spatial points) of different spatial features (categories), significant spatial co-distribution pattern discovery aims to find subsets of spatial features whose spatial distributions are statistically significantly similar to each other. Discovering significant spatial co-distribution patterns is important for many application domains such as identifying spatial associations between diseases and risk factors in spatial epidemiology. Previous methods mostly associated spatial features whose instances are frequently located together; however, this does not necessarily indicate a similarity in the spatial distributions between different features. Thus, this paper defines the significant spatial co-distribution pattern discovery problem and subsequently develops a novel method to solve it effectively. First, we propose a new measure, dissimilarity index, to quantify the difference between spatial distributions of different features under the spatial neighbor relation and then employ it in a distribution clustering method to detect candidate spatial co-distribution patterns. To further remove spurious patterns that occur accidentally, the validity of each candidate spatial co-distribution pattern is verified through a significance test under the null hypothesis that spatial distributions of different features are independent of each other. To model the null hypothesis, a distribution shift-correction method is presented by randomizing the relationships between different features and maintaining spatial structure of each feature (e.g., spatial auto-correlation). Comparisons with baseline methods using synthetic datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. A case study identifying co-morbidities in central Colorado is also presented to illustrate the real-world applicability of the proposed method.     

阿姆河流域耕地变化及水土匹配特征分析

基于中亚阿姆河流域4个分区1990—2015年间土地利用变化和水资源等数据,运用耕地变化速率、洛伦兹曲线和基尼系数法以及水土资源匹配系数对阿姆河流域耕地变化和水土匹配状况进行了综合分析。结果表明:1990—2015年阿姆河流域耕地以146.74 km²/a的速度在扩张,且各时期、各分区扩张的速度不同;在不考虑咸海来水不断减少、生态持续恶化的前提下,绿洲区匹配状况属比较公平和相对合理状况;阿姆河流域水土资源空间分布存在明显的错位现象;全流域生态用水被农业用水严重挤占,阿姆河流域灌溉面积、灌溉用水量成为影响咸海水量及面积变化的重要因素,是一种不可持续的用水方式。     

A comprehensive approach to evaluating watershed models for predicting river flow regimes critical to downstream ecosystem services

Selection of strategies that help reduce riverine inputs requires numerical models that accurately quantify hydrologic processes. While numerous models exist, information on how to evaluate and select the most robust models is limited. Toward this end, we developed a comprehensive approach that helps evaluate watershed models in their ability to simulate flow regimes critical to downstream ecosystem services. We demonstrated the method using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), the Hydrological Simulation Program–FORTRAN (HSPF) model, and Distributed Large Basin Runoff Model (DLBRM) applied to the Maumee River Basin (USA). The approach helped in identifying that each model simulated flows within acceptable ranges. However, each was limited in its ability to simulate flows triggered by extreme weather events, owing to algorithms not being optimized for such events and mismatched physiographic watershed conditions. Ultimately, we found HSPF to best predict river flow, whereas SWAT offered the most flexibility for evaluating agricultural management practices.     

基本地貌形态数学模型的改进

以邻域、边界等拓扑学概念为基础,引入环状邻域和分离型邻域等概念,根据任意点对地貌特征点的高差所满足的不同条件,分别推导了山、洼地、鞍部、盆地、高原、岛屿等基本地貌形态的数学模型.     

基于IHS的高分辨率遥感影像自适应融合算法

在分析几种IHS算法的基础上,提出了一种适合于高分辨率遥感影像的自适应加权融合算法。该算法基于快速IHS变换,从亮度成份构成和空间细节注入程度两个方面加以改进,采用相关系数来调整权重,避免了人工指定权重带来的主观因素偏差,在提高影像空间细节和光谱保持之间取得了较好的均衡,同时还具备了高计算效率。通过融合实验并与几种改进的IHS算法的对比分析,该算法均优于其他几种改进算法。     

Accurately estimating reflectance parameters for color and gloss reproduction

A new method is described to estimate diffuse and specular reflectance parameters using spectral images, which overcomes the dynamic range limitation of imaging devices. After eliminating the influences of illumination and camera on spectral images, reflection values are initially assumed as diffuse-only reflection components, and subjected to the least squares method to estimate diffuse reflectance parameters at each wavelength on each single surface particle. Based on the dichromatic reflection model, specular reflection components are obtained, and then subjected to the least squares method to estimate specular reflectance parameters for gloss intensity and surface roughness. Experiments were carried out using both simulation data and measured spectral images. Our results demonstrate that this method is capable of estimating diffuse and specular reflectance parameters precisely for color and gloss reproduction, without requiring preprocesses such as image segmentation and synthesis of high dynamic range images.     

Using QuickBird imagery and a production efficiency model to improve crop yield estimation in the semi-arid hilly Loess Plateau,China

Crop yield is a key element in rural development and an indicator of national food security. A method that could estimate crop yield over large hilly areas would be highly desirable. Methods including high spatial resolution satellite imagery have the potential to achieve this objective. This paper describes a method of integrating QuickBird imagery with a production efficiency model (PEM) to estimate crop yield in Zhonglianchuan, a hilly area on Loess Plateau, China. In the PEM model, crop yield is a function of the photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (f_APAR) and light-use efficiency (LUE). Based on the high spatial resolution QuickBird imagery, a land cover classification is used to attribute a class-specific LUE. The f_APAR is related to spectral vegetation indices (SVI), which can be derived from the satellite images. The LUE, f_APAR and incident PAR data were combined to estimate the crop yield. Farmer-reported crop yield data in 80 representative plots were used to validate the model output. The results indicated QuickBird imagery can improve the accuracy of predicted results relative to the Landsat TM image. The predicted yield approximated well with the data reported by the farmers (r² = 0.86; n = 80). The spatial distributions of crop yield derived here also offers valuable information to manage agricultural production and understand ecosystem functioning.     

Semi-supervised multi-class Adaboost by exploiting unlabeled data

Semi-supervised learning has attracted much attention in pattern recognition and machine learning. Most semi-supervised learning algorithms are proposed for binary classification, and then extended to multi-class cases by using approaches such as one-against-the-rest. In this work, we propose a semi-supervised learning method by using the multi-class boosting, which can directly classify the multi-class data and achieve high classification accuracy by exploiting the unlabeled data. There are two distinct features in our proposed semi-supervised learning approach: (1) handling multi-class cases directly without reducing them to multiple two-class problems, and (2) the classification accuracy of each base classifier requiring only at least 1/K or better than 1/K (K is the number of classes). Experimental results show that the proposed method is effective based on the testing of 21 UCI benchmark data sets.     

The application of a binary division procedure to the classification of forest subcategories using MODIS time-series data during 2000–2010 in China

Forests account for more than 23% of China’s total area. As the most important terrestrial ecosystem, forests have tremendous ecological value. However, it remains difficult to classify forest subcategories at the national scale. In this study, a newly developed binary division procedure was used to categorize forest areas, including their spatiotemporal dynamics, during the period 2000–2010. Time-series images acquired using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), together with auxiliary data on land use, climate zoning, and topography, were utilized. Hierarchical classification and zoning were combined with remote-sensing auto-classification. Based on the forest extent mask, the state-level forest system was divided into four classes and 18 subcategories. The method achieved an acceptable overall accuracy of 73.1%, based on a comparison to the sample points of China’s fourth forest general survey data set. In 2010, the total forest area was 1.755 × 10⁶ km², and the total area of and shrubs was 4.885 × 10⁵ km². The total area of woodland increased by 2536.25 km² during the decade 2000–2010. The shrub subcategories exhibited almost no change during this time period; however, significant changes in forest area occurred in the mountainous region of Northeast China as well as in the hilly regions of Southern China. The main transformations took place in cold-temperate and temperate mountainous deciduous coniferous forest, subtropical deciduous coniferous forest, subtropical evergreen coniferous forest, and temperate and subtropical deciduous broadleaved mixed forests. The binary division procedure proposed herein can be used not only to rapidly classify more forest subcategories and monitor their dynamic changes, but also to improve the classification accuracy compared with global and national land-cover maps.     

计算机辅助图像分类信息挖掘与应用探讨*

以沿海地区TM图像应用为例,通过量化方法由计算机对训练区的分离度进行确定与比较,进行最佳信息维数的确定与最佳信息维组合的选择,并将信息维数对分类精度的影响进行探讨。结果证明,这种方法可以得到能满足工作需要的分类精度,组合维数以6维最佳。