Abstract
Several studies in the past have examined the spectral capability of multispectral and hyperspectral imagery for the identification of crop marks, while recent studies have applied different vegetation indices in order to support remote sensing archaeological applications. However, the use of vegetation indices for the detection of crop marks lacks in accuracy assessment and critical evaluation. In this study, 71 vegetation indices were indexed, from the relevant bibliography, and evaluated for their potential to detect such crop marks. During this study, several ground spectroradiometric campaigns took place, in a controlled archaeological environment in Cyprus, cultivated with barley crops, during a complete phenological cycle (2011–2012). All vegetation indices, both broadband and narrowband, were evaluated for their separability performance, and the results were presented through tables and diagrams. In the end, the use of more than one vegetation index is suggested in order to enhance the final results. In fact, several not widely used vegetation indices are suggested and evaluated using both Landsat TM and EO-1 Hyperion images.
Highlights
Vegetation Indices (VIs) have been widely used for supporting archaeological investigations [1,2,3,4,5].Some studies aim at monitoring archaeological sites and monuments using satellite images [6,7], whileRemote Sens. 2012, 4 some other studies are focused on the detection of buried archaeological relics [8,9,10,11].The latest have been used in archaeology since the first grayscale aerial images were available to researches
This study aims to evaluate several Vis, both broadband and narrowband, for monitoring crop marks
Several ground spectroradiometric measurements were collected from a controlled archaeological site at the Alampra village (Cyprus), and different VI values for each campaign were calculated
Summary
Vegetation Indices (VIs) have been widely used for supporting archaeological investigations [1,2,3,4,5].Some studies aim at monitoring archaeological sites and monuments using satellite images [6,7], whileRemote Sens. 2012, 4 some other studies are focused on the detection of buried archaeological relics (i.e., crop marks) [8,9,10,11].The latest have been used in archaeology since the first grayscale aerial images were available to researches. 2012, 4 some other studies are focused on the detection of buried archaeological relics (i.e., crop marks) [8,9,10,11]. Crop marks are usually formed in areas where vegetation overlays near-surface archaeological remains. In this case, archaeological features can retain soil moisture with a different percentage of moisture compared to non-archaeological areas [12]. VIs intend to explore vegetation’s spectral signature characteristics, both in the visible and near-infrared part of the spectrum. The use of hyperspectral data for monitoring vegetation characteristics is increasingly needed in order to characterize, model, classify and map agricultural crops and natural vegetation, in the study in [16]
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