Comparison of information content of TM and ETM+ bands in Playa case study: Damghan Playa, Iran

摘要

Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 were launched on March 1, 1984 and April 15, 1999 respectively. Because of the equal ground resolution of TM and ETM+ bands, (1-5 and 7, bands) the information content and efficiency of these sensors is comparable in a specific location. Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 were launched on March 1, 1984 and April 15, 1999 respectively. For this purpose, this study was carried out on the Damghan playa and ETM+ data (20 July 2000) and TM5 data (5 Sep. 1988) were used. Firstly, in order to obtain a precise comparison, the data were georeferenced. Then the effect of all changes (such as land cover / land use changes) using change detection methods (image differencing, image ratio, image overlay, PCA analysis, post classification comparison) and visual interpretation were masked from all bands. Finally the correlation between TM and ETM+ bands in both original and masked situations were studied. The results show that correlation between thermal and reflective bands in ETM+ sensor is lower than TM bands. This indicates a greater information content of ETM+ bands. More research is needed to compare the information content of TM and ETM+ bands, which must be done under precisely the same conditions.