TY - JOUR

T1 - Framework to create cloud-free remote sensing data using passenger aircraft as the platform

AU - Wang, Chisheng

AU - Wang, Shuying

AU - Cui, Hongxing

AU - Šebela, Monja

AU - Zhang, Ce

AU - Gu, Xiaowei

AU - Fang, Xu

AU - Hu, Zhongwen

AU - Tang, Qiandi

AU - Wang, Yongquan

PY - 2021/7/7

Y1 - 2021/7/7

N2 - Cloud removal in optical remote sensing imagery is essential for many Earth observation applications.Due to the inherent imaging geometry features in satellite remote sensing, it is impossible to observe the ground under the clouds directly; therefore, cloud removal algorithms are always not perfect owing to the loss of ground truth. Passenger aircraft have the advantages of short visitation frequency and low cost. Additionally, because passenger aircraft fly at lower altitudes compared to satellites, they can observe the ground under the clouds at an oblique viewing angle. In this study, we examine the possibility of creating cloud-free remote sensing data by stacking multi-angle images captured by passenger aircraft. To accomplish this, a processing framework is proposed, which includes four main steps: 1) multi-angle image acquisition from passenger aircraft, 2) cloud detection based on deep learning semantic segmentation models, 3) cloud removal by image stacking, and 4) image quality enhancement via haze removal. This method is intended to remove cloud contamination without the requirements of reference images and pre-determination of cloud types. The proposed method was tested in multiple case studies, wherein the resultant cloud- and haze-free orthophotos were visualized and quantitatively analyzed in various land cover type scenes. The results of the case studies demonstrated that the proposed method could generate high quality, cloud-free orthophotos. Therefore, we conclude that this framework has great potential for creating cloud-free remote sensing images when the cloud removal of satellite imagery is difficult or inaccurate.

AB - Cloud removal in optical remote sensing imagery is essential for many Earth observation applications.Due to the inherent imaging geometry features in satellite remote sensing, it is impossible to observe the ground under the clouds directly; therefore, cloud removal algorithms are always not perfect owing to the loss of ground truth. Passenger aircraft have the advantages of short visitation frequency and low cost. Additionally, because passenger aircraft fly at lower altitudes compared to satellites, they can observe the ground under the clouds at an oblique viewing angle. In this study, we examine the possibility of creating cloud-free remote sensing data by stacking multi-angle images captured by passenger aircraft. To accomplish this, a processing framework is proposed, which includes four main steps: 1) multi-angle image acquisition from passenger aircraft, 2) cloud detection based on deep learning semantic segmentation models, 3) cloud removal by image stacking, and 4) image quality enhancement via haze removal. This method is intended to remove cloud contamination without the requirements of reference images and pre-determination of cloud types. The proposed method was tested in multiple case studies, wherein the resultant cloud- and haze-free orthophotos were visualized and quantitatively analyzed in various land cover type scenes. The results of the case studies demonstrated that the proposed method could generate high quality, cloud-free orthophotos. Therefore, we conclude that this framework has great potential for creating cloud-free remote sensing images when the cloud removal of satellite imagery is difficult or inaccurate.

KW - Cloud removal

KW - deep learning

KW - haze removal

KW - multiple viewing angles

KW - passenger aircraft

KW - photogrammetry

U2 - 10.1109/JSTARS.2021.3094586

DO - 10.1109/JSTARS.2021.3094586

M3 - Journal article

JO - IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing

JF - IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing

SN - 1939-1404

ER -