Remote Sensing: Alpha - Kalahari


Explanations for ETM-subsets

What kind of information is displayed?

This image is a subset of a Landsat 7 ETM+ image, covering a size of about 30 km by 25 km, which was acquired during the rainy season. It is visualized as a so-called false colour composite. On the Red, Green and Blue channels the spectral bands 4: NIR (near Infrared), 5: MIR1 (Mid Infrared 1) and 3: visible red of the Landsat ETM+ sensor are displayed (RGB: 4-5-3).This band combination suits best for a detailed visualization of different land cover properties. Due to that, the displayed colours are not natural.

Details

 Info

In the displayed image the BIOTA observatory is given as a dotted rectangular box of 1km x 1km extension. 

 View Observatory

Alpha 

 WRS2 Path-Row

175-79 

 Acquisition Date

01.09.2000 

 Image Details

Diagonal white lines are dune crests of the Kalahari Desert with no or sparse grass vegetation. Inter dune valleys are vegetated with a more or less dense grass (bright green, light red) or woody (dark green) vegetation. Violet “eyes” are calcrete pans. 

In general, the colours refer to the following land cover types:

  • Dark Blue: Water bodies, dams and lakes without Algae.

  • Light Blue: in populated places mainly buildings, outside of towns mainly rocks, and very sparsely vegetated soils.

  • Red: Very dense and vital vegetation like bush thickets, forests or planted fields, in towns: gardens.

  • Green: "middle dense" or less vital vegetation, like grass savanna (light green) and dry bush (dark green).

  • White: bare soil or sparsely vegetated areas, independently from the natural soil colour, also gravel roads and pads.

  • Intermediate colours are representing mixed pixels with information of several land cover types.

E-Mail to Manfred Keil (subproject leader)