Abstract
Earth observation sensors continually provide datasets with different spectral and spatial characteristics, while a series of pre- and postprocessing techniques are needed for calibration purposes. Nowadays, a variety of satellite images have become accessible to researchers, while big data cloud platforms allow them to deal with an extensive number of datasets. However, there is still difficulty related to these sensors meeting specific needs and challenges such as those of cultural heritage and supporting archaeological research world-wide. The harmonization and synergistic use of different sensors can be used in order to maximize the impact of earth observation sensors and enhance their benefit to the scientific community. In this direction, the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) has proposed the concept of virtual constellations, which is defined as “a coordinated set of space and/or ground segment capabilities from different partners that focuses on observing a particular parameter or set of parameters of the Earth system”. This paper provides an overview of existing and future earth observation sensors, the various levels of interoperability as proposed by Wulder et al., and presents some preliminary results from the Thessalian plain in Greece using integrated optical and radar Sentinel images. The potential for archaeolandscape studies using virtual constellations is discussed here.
Highlights
Nowadays, a variety of satellite images with different spatial, temporal, and radiometric resolutions are available due to the recent advancements of earth observation [1]
This paper aims to present the concept of virtual earth observation constellations for cultural heritage and archaeological research
The use of medium resolution freely distributed datasets has the potential to assist towards the detection of new archaeological sites, critical aspects need to be taken into consideration, towards the detection of new archaeological sites, critical aspects need to be taken into consideration, for instance, the spatial resolution of such datasets
Summary
A variety of satellite images with different spatial, temporal, and radiometric resolutions are available due to the recent advancements of earth observation [1]. Despite the increasing availability of space-borne sensors, research is sometimes restricted by the mismatch observed between the individual sensors’ characteristics in regards to their resolutions. Optical and radar satellite sensors have been widely applied to support archaeological investigations all around the world. Optical image analysis takes advantage of the visible (400–700 nm) and near-infrared part of the spectrum (750–900 nm), while recent studies in the short wavelength infrared part of the spectrum (1500–2300 nm) can be found [8]. The use of radar spaceborne imagery has shown a significant increase in the last decade, mainly due to the advancement of the Sensors 2019, 19, 4066; doi:10.3390/s19194066 www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors
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