Suitability of spaceborne multispectral data for inter-tidal sediment characterization: A case study

The aim of this study is to assess the suitability of four spaceborne multispectral sensors (Spot 5 HRG, Landsat 5 TM, Landsat 7 ETM+, and IKONOS) for inter-tidal sediment characterization, in comparison to a hyperspectral image of 4 m × 4 m spatial resolution and 116 spectral bands. Four sediment properties were considered: organic matter content, moisture content, chlorophyll a content, and mud content. The utilized data were a hyperspectral image and its accompanying field data. The methodology included spectral and spatial resampling of this image to the properties of the spaceborne multispectral sensors. Then, these resampled data were analyzed by means of unsupervised classification. The results showed that spaceborne multispectral data have the potential for sediment characterization. Yet, compared to the hyperspectral image, the characterization of the different properties generally decreased. The results showed the spectral suitability of Landsat sensors to characterize all properties and the spectral and spatial suitability of all sensors to characterize chlorophyll a content.