[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]





                                                      Task 8 - "Feasibility of MIPS
                                                                  for SAV Studies"

















                                   Feasibility of MIPS for SAV Studies

                                               Final Report

                                             16 February 1990

                                   Virginia Institute of Marine Science





                                                    A,





























      







      






       
      
       
      







             FEASIBILITY OF MIPS FOR THE COLLECTION
               AND DISPLAY OF INFORMATION ON THE
                 DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF
                 SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION


                 .X, N
                    4








































                   ViRGINIA INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE
                        SCHOOL OF MARINE SCIENCE
                      COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY
                                  1990




                                         Property of CSC Library

                        Feasibility of the Map and Image Processing System (HIPS)

                        as a Device for the Collection and Display of Information

                          on the Distribution and Abundance of Submerged Aquatic

                                    Vegetation from Aerial Photographs


                                                    by


                  Kevin P. Kiley, Adam A. Frisch, Robert J. Orth, and Kenneth A. Moore


                                   Virginia Institute of Marine Science
                                        School of Marine Science
                                       College of William and Mary
                                       Gloucester Point, VA 23062



              Support for this project was furnished in part by:

                  Virginia Council on the Environment and Grant No. NA88-AA-D-CZ134 from
                  the Coastal Zone Management Program of the National Oceanic and
                  Atmospheric Administration.

                  Coastal Resources Division,  Tidewater Administration, Maryland
                  Department of Natural Resources, through Grant No. NA88-AA-D-CZ110 from
                  the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources Management, National Oceanic
                  and Atmospheric Administration.


                  Final Report Submitted to: Virginia Council on the Environment
                                                Ninth Street Office Building
                                                Richmond, VA 23219

                                                Maryland Department of Natural Resources
                                                Tawes State Office Building
                                                Annapolis, MD 21401


                                                16 February 1990


                  Cover Photo: Digitized aerial photograph of the Potomac River south of
                                 Washington, D.C., 2 Sept. 1987, altitude 12,000 feet, by
                                 AEROECO Inc., Edgewater, MD, scanned into MIPS at
                                 Salisbury State Univ, MD. SAV bed outlines in yellow.

             
                                         U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NOAA	
							COASTAL SERVICES CENTER
							2234 SOUTH HOBSON AVENUE
							CHARLESTON, SC 29405-2413  
   





                                                         -2-







                                                       Contents



                                                                                                Page


                Tables  ..............................................................             3

                Figures  .............................................................             4

                Executive Summary    ...................................................           6

                Acknowledgements   ....................................................          12

                1. Introduction..                                                                13
                          Project Description    ........................................        14
                          Rationale   ..................................................         14
                          Objectives   .................................................         15

                2. Evaluation   ......................................................           17
                          Description of MIPS    ........................................        17
                          Plan  of Work  ...............................................         18
                                MIPS Familiarization   ...................   :**''**'*"**'*      19
                                MIPS Methodologies for SAV Data Processing       ............    20
                                ARC-INFO Methodologies for MIPS Data Acquisition        ......   26
                                SAV Coverage Data Collection Using MIPS       ...............    26
                                Importation of MIPS SAV coverages into ARC-INFO        .......   28
                                Comparisons of MIPS, ARC-INFO, and VIMS SAV GIS        .......   28
                          Results of Test and Evaluation Trials of MIPS        ..............    32


                3. Discussion of Results     .........................................           34
                          Feasibility  ................................................          34
                          Costs .......................................................          35
                          Quality  ....................................................          36
                          Suitability  ................................................          37
                          Source'Data Requirements     ...................................       37
                          Interpretation of Final Mapping Product       ....................     38
                          Usefulness of Final Mapping Product      ........................      39

                4. Conclusions    .....................................................         -40

                5. Recommendations     .................................................         43


                6. Literature Cited    ................................................          44


                Tables  ..............................................................           45

                Figures .............................   I ................................       50

                Appendix  ............................................................           77





                                                      -3-







                                                    Tables



                 Table                                                                    Page


                     1  Area measurements for 1987 SAV beds and test areas     .........    45

                     2   Results of statistical comparisons of SAV and test areas...        48

                     3   Results of analysis of correlation of SAV and test areas...        49





                                                                -4-






                                                             Figures



                   Number                                                                                  Page

                         1    MIPS workstation at Salisbury State Univ            ...................        50

                         2    MIPS workstation at Va. Council on the Envirorunent              .........     50

                         3    Schematic diagram of complete MIPS workstation            ............         51

                         4    Portion of 7.5 minute quad map scanned into MIPS             ...........       51

                         5    Fiducial mark on scanned portion of scanned quad             ...........       52

                         6    First step of color scanner input          ..........................          52

                         7    Color  positive aerial photo scanned into MIPS            ..............       53

                         8    Black  and white, aerial photo scanned into MIPS             ............      53

                         9    Black  and white, aerial photo scanned into MIPS             ............      54

                       10     Color  positive, aerial film transparency scanned into MIPS.                   54

                       11     Color  print of captured aerial video image           .................        55

                       12     SAV beds in Alexandria, VA delineated by MIPS             ..............       56

                       13     "Zoomed" view of outlined SAV beds in Bloodsworth Island, MD                   56

                       14     SAV areas in Alexandria, VA delineated by feature               mapping..      57

                       15     SAV vector outlines in Alexandria, VA from nauto-line               .......    57

                       16     "Zoomed" view of SAV vector files showing jagged effect               ....     58

                       17     "Zoomed" view of SAV outline after thinning / smoothing               ....     58

                       18     SAV vector outline overlayed on scanned quad map             ...........       59

                       19     "Zoomed" view of vector ground control point             ...............       59

                       20     Transformed vector outline overlayed on scanned quad map                ...    60

                       21     SAV polygons in Bloodsworth Island MD plotted by pc ARC-INFO 61

                       22     Alexandria, VA quad map with SAV beds and test areas               ........    62

                       23     Mount Vernon, VA quad map with SAV beds and test areas               .....     63





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                     Figures (continued)


                 Number                                                                        Page

                     24   Bloodsworth Island, MD quad map with SAV beds and test areas          64

                     25   MIPS derived SAV and test area polygons, Alex., 129-4       ......    65

                     26   MIPS  derived  SAV and  test  area polygons,  Alex.,  129-6 ......    66

                     27   MIPS  derived  SAV and  test  area polygons,  Alex.,  129-7 ......    67

                     28   MIPS  derived  SAV and  test  area polygons,  Blood.  Is., 06-05.     68

                     29   MIPS  derived  SAV and  test  area polygons,  Blood.  Is., 06-03.     69

                     30   MIPS  derived  SAV and  test  area polygons,  Blood.  Is., 06-02.     70

                     31   MIPS  derived  SAV and  test  area polygons,  Blood.  Is., 05-01.     71

                     32   MIPS  derived  SAV and  test  area polygons,  Blood.  Is., 05-03.     72

                     33   MIPS  SAV polygons vs   VIMS  photo interpreted SAV   polygons   ...  73

                     34   MIPS  SAV polygons vs   VIMS  photo interpreted SAV   polygons   ...  74

                     35   Scatterplot of MIPS and pc ARC-INFO test areas vs. VIMS         ....  75

                     36   Scatterplot of MIPS and pe ARC-INFO SAV bed areas vs. VIMS.           76





                                                   -6-






                                            Executive Summary

                   An evaluations of the Map and Image Processing System (HIPS), as a
               device for the collection and display of information on the distribution and
               abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) from aerial photographs, has
               been conducted using MIPS workstations at Salisbury State University,
               Salisbury, MD and the Virginia Council on the Environment (Va. COE),
               Richmond, VA. The results indicate that MIPS has the capabilities to
               process SAV aerial photographs and extract coverage data that are accurate
               in both size and position. Extracted coverage data may be imported into a
               variety of geographic information systems (GIS), including ARC-INFO and the
               Map Overlay and Statistical System (MOSS), for further processing and
               analysis. Results relating to specific objectives of the evaluation are
               given below.

                   1. Costs - System costs range from $16,000 for an introductory system to
                      $40,000 plus for a complete system capable of scanning, processing,
                      storing, and exporting natural resource digital image and geographic
                      data. Data acquisition and processing times are comparable to those
                      for manual processing systems, such as the College of William and
                      Mary / Virginia Institute of Marine Science (W&M / VIMS) SAV GIS.
                      Additional time spent for data entry in MIPS (scanning aerial
                      photographs for digital image acquisition) or geographic
                      rectification of scanned photographs is offset by time savings in
                      interactive natural resource feature identification, editing, and
                      export routines. The level of personnel required to operate MIPS is
                      comparable to that required for manual analysis of natural resource
                      coverage data.

                   2. Accuracy - Data accuracy is comparable and consistant with the source
                      geographic data sets examined in the study, namely 9" by 9", 1:24,000
                      vertical panchromatic (black and white) and color aerial photographs
                      and 7.5 minute, 1:24,000 United States Geological Survey (USGS)
                      topographic quadrangle maps. MIPS map rectification routines were
                      used to fit SAV coverage data derived from scanned aerial photographs
                      to scanned images of associated 7.5 minute quad maps. Positional And
                      areal differences between MIPS processed data, and similarly
                      processed VIMS SAV GIS data were examined. Average positional
                      differences were on the order of 30 meters or less for known
                      geographic landmarks as well as for SAV bed outlines appearing on
                      both maps and aerial photographs. Average areal differences between
                      MIPS, VIMS SAV GIS, and pc ARC-INFO were on the order of 17,250
                      square meters (2 - 5 percent of the corresponding areas) for known
                      geographic test areas, and 25,000 square meters (30 - 31 percent of
                      the corresponding VIMS SAV GIS areas) for actual SAV bed areas.

                   3. Data Portability - Natural resource features, whether point or
                      polygon, in gridded (raster) or coordinate (vector) format, are
                      easily exported to external data files for subsequent entry into
                      various GIS's. MIPS can export data in formats compatible with
                      popular GIS's (e.g. MOSS, ERDAS, ARC-INFO, GRASS, etc.).

                   4. Requirements for Aerial Photographic Source Data - The most critical
                      and fundamental step in the entire process of determination of SAV





                                                    -7-



    is                distribution and abundance is the source data acquisition phase. For
                      SAV aerial distribution, low level (altitude), vertical, aerial
                      photography is the current standard by which SAV bed images are
                      obtained. The acquisition phase is governed by strict guidelines
                      restricting windows of opportunity to certain season, tidal stage,
                      atmospheric, and water quality conditions, and time of day.
                      Unfavorable conditions associated with any one of these can easily
                      mask SAV bed features, rendering MIPS and any other automated
                      processing system unusable due to lack of sufficient feature
                      information in the source imagery. Decreasing the altitude currently
                      flown for SAV data acquisition (12,000 feet, 3660 meters) would
                      increase windows available for acceptable photography. However,
                      potential cost savings by MIPS would be offset by increased costs in
                      the acquisition phase (lower altitude would require more flights and
                      increased number of photographs per flightline). In addition,
                      reducing the altitude would generate additional problems in certain
                      regions of the Chesapeake Bay (e.g. Susquehanna Flats, Tangier and
                      Smith Island) where SAV beds are either very large or so far from the
                      shoreline, that adequate ground control points necessary for proper
                      scale rectification of maps and photographs would be lacking.
                      Possible solutions would be acquisition of SAV at variable altitudes
                      or low level video. Because SAV is one of the most difficult
                      resources to photograph and map, problems identified here in the
                      acquisition phase would not necessarily apply for tidal or non-tidal
                      wetlands.


                      MIPS worked well when using 911 by 911, 1:24,000, panchromatic or
                      color, vertical, aerial, positive, photographic prints as the input
                      data source. The evaluated MIPS workstations were configured with
                      Howtek Color Scanmasters for acquiring digital image data from
                      various sources, e.g. scanned photographs, maps, drawings, etc. The
                      Howtek Scanmaster has user selectable scanning resolutions, with a
                      maximum resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi). The 300 dpi maximum
                      closely approximates the resolving power of the unaided human eye.
                      For 1:24,000 scale photography, 300 dpi scans produced images with
                      resolution cells, or rasters, of 2 m by 2 m. At this resolution
                      there was no noticeable loss of spatial information apparent in
                      scanned photographic or map images. The MIPS workstations employed a
                      graphics device capable of displaying 1280 horizontal (H) by 1024
                      vertical (V) rasters with up to 256 unique hues per raster. The gray
                      tones of scanned panchromatic images closely matched those of the
                      originals, with no detectable loss of tonal information.

                      For color images, MIPS has options for storing each primary color as
                      an independent image (band) or optimally assigning color values to
                      the resultant scanned color image. The user also has the option to
                      interactively control color assignments. This was useful in scanning
                      areas with SAV, as subtle differences in hues of dark brown,'green,
                      and blue-green contain critical information relating to SAV
                      distribution and abundance. Even with the interactive control of
                      color assignments, there were instances where subtle changes and
                      gradations in hue, apparent in the original image, were not captured
                      and displayed in the scanned image using the color optimizing option.
                      Because the original photographs were available for immediate





                                                   -8-



   is                 reference, this did not present serious problems when interactively
                      tracing SAV coverages with a manually controlled screen pointing
                      drawing device ("mouse") on the 1280 H by 1024 V high resolution
                      color monitor. This could present problems when using semi or fully
                      automated feature identification routines which use color as a basis
                      for feature classification. It should be noted that MIPS
                      workstations can be configured with graphics boards with greater
                      color display capabilities - 256 intensity levels for each primary
                      color. This mode of color image processing requires each color image
                      be stored and processed as three separate primary color images
                      covering the same identical area. The degree of difficulty in
                      identifying and classifying significant image features and the
                      accuracy requirements of the particular application would be deciding
                      factors in determining whether the advantages of higher color
                      fidelity outweigh the corresponding increased storage and processing
                      requirements.

                      The Howtek film scanner was not designed to scan 91' by 9" color film
                      transparencies, and test aerial film transparencies had to be
                      physically trimmed to 8.5" in width. The scanned images produced
                      from the trimmed film transparencies had problems with color
                      sensitivity and separation, with the displayed color images having
                      noticeable color plateaus and contours, not evident in the original
                      images. It should be noted that the evaluated photographic film
                      transparencies had low inherent contrast, thus exacerbating the
                      problem. Physical size limitations on input photographs and color
                      problems encountered with film transparencies limits use of this data
                      source with the current Howtek scanning system.

                      Air Video - MIPS was able to easily digitize aerial images of SAV
                      acquired by video camera. For this study color, vertical, aerial
                      video recordings of SAV beds located in nearshore regions of the
                      lower York River, VA, from altitudes of 2200 feet and 4400 feet, were
                      evaluated. The images were recorded in flight on a standard 0.5 inch
                      VHS video cassette tape. Video data were entered into MIPS using a
                      standard video'cassette recorder (VGR) whose video signal cables were
                      connected to the MIPS workstation. The recording was replayed on a
                      medium resolution color monitor, suitable for display of the standard
                      television images produced by the video system. Image selectiQZ is
                      accomplished by viewing recorded moving images on the monitor and
                      "freezing" or capturing the desired image by means of the mouse
                      buttons. The inherent low spatial resolution of digitized video
                      images (512 H by 485 V) is offset by low cost per image and
                      continuous coverage capabilities that make acquisition of low
                      altitude, large scale images affordable. Acquisition of complete,
                      detailed, low cost coverage of SAV beds may be improved by the use of
                      aerial video images, as long as adequate ground control points are
                      available in the video imagery for proper map rectification and
                      processing costs per image remain reasonable.

                  5.  Clarity and Ease of Interpretation of Final Mapping Product - In the
                      case of SAV distribution and abundance analysis, the final mapping
                      products are outlines (polygons) of SAV beds, uniquely identified by
                      geographic coordinates (latitude / longitude, UTM, etc.), user





                                                   -9-






                      defined labels, and associated information relating to species
                      composition, distribution, abundance, and other items. For other
                      natural resource applications, the final mapping product might be
                      quite different, such as scanned and rectified aerial photographs   or
                      satellite images. Focussing on SAV applications, the outlined SAV
                      beds were very easy to identify, delineate, and edit. The mouse
                      driven cursor was smooth and precise. MIPS is very "user friendly"
                      and has emulated elements of popular personal computer (pc) graphics
                      / paint software routines to make the outlining process easy and
                      natural.


                      There are a variety of methods for rectifying MIPS derived SAV
                      outlines to a map base, thereby transforming the outlines from
                      relative screen coordinates to absolute geographic coordinates. This
                      process involves the use of maps that are either scanned into the
                      system or available as archived scanned images. MIPS map
                      rectification routines were used to accomplish the coordinate
                      transformation. Transformations were accurate within the displayed
                      resolution of 1 minute of latitude (approximately 34 meters). Images
                      containing SAV outlines were rectified and transformed to a base map
                      .coordinate system by identifying a number of evenly distributed
                      geographic point features (typically 6 - 10 features - bridges, road
                      intersections, prominent shorelines, streams, etc.), visible in both
                      the scanned image and scanned   rectified map of each particular
                      area. This map registration    rectification approach has the
                      advantage of correcting for problems associated with scale
                      differences between aerial photographs and base maps, and oblique
                      aerial photograph geometries resulting from off-vertical camera
                      angles during photograph exposure. Comparisons between MIPS ,
                      identified SAV features and corri-sponding VIMS SAV GIS identified
                      features resulted in average positional differences of 34 meters.
                      Polygon statistics, including area, perimeter, roughness, centroid,
                      and type, were produced in user selected measurement units and
                      displayed on the monitor and / or written to disk file as character
                      data for subsequent analysis. The geographic, lat. / Ion., SAV
                      vector files produced by MIPS were easily written to floppy diskette
                      in either MOSS or ARC-INFO format, and subsequently entered into the
                      W&M / VIMS.Prime minicomputer and pc ARC-INFO system for visual
                      display and analysis.

                  6.  Usefulness of Final Mapping Product - Timely, accurate, digital SAV
                      coverage data produced by MIPS will be very useful to the continued
                      operation and development of SAV distribution and abundance studies,
                      and similar natural resource studies. Third party systems, such as
                      MIPS, ARC-INFO, and others, have inherent advantages of economies of
                      scale over user designed systems, provided the user's needs are
                      compatible with third party products. If this is the case,
                      processing improvements and expanded capabilities provided by MIPS
                      will provide scientists and managers with increasingly economical and
                      powerful tools to assist in the analysis and management of critical
                      natural resources.

                  Conclusions - The feasibility study has demonstrated that MIPS is
              capable of being used as a device for the accurate collection and display of





                                                   _10-




   0           information on the distribution and abundance of SAV from aerial
               photographs. MIPS supports on-screen delineation of SAV, thereby
               eliminating the need for tracing SAV outlines on translucent base maps. Map
               rectification procedures used in MIPS operate independently of photograph
               and map scale, making MIPS amenable to analysis of,current or historical
               photographic data at a variety of scales. For SAV, this scale independent
               feature provides a great deal of flexibility in planning and execution of
               aerial photographic surveys by broadening the range of available flight
               altitudes, so that adjustments can be made to compensate for adverse haze
               effects experienced during summer periods of peak SAV growth. Comparisons
               of areal statistics indicate relatively small (5 percent) systematic
               differences between similar geographic test areas processed by MIPS, VIMS
               SAV GIS, and pc ARC-INFO. Comparisons of areal statistics for SAV beds
               served to determine combined systematic and individual photo-interpretive
               differences. The combined differences were on the order of 30 - 31 percent.
               Systematic differences, therefore, accounted for 13 - 17 percent of the
               areal differences, with individual photo-interpretive differences accounting
               for the remaining 83 - 87 percent of the observed areal differences among
               the three systems. This indicates that most of the areal differences can be
               attributed to individual photo-interpretive skill and judgement, and
               supports the conclusion that a skilled SAV photo-interpreter would be able
               to produce accurate and consistent SAV areal statistics using MIPS.

                  MIPS has also demonstrated its utility in delineation of spatial
               features that have distinct color characteristics, such as tidal and non-
               tidal wetlands. In particular, wetlands have unique color characteristics
               which are amenable to MIPS manual or automated feature delineation routines.

                  Construction of photographic and map mosaics using MIPS may present
               problems when used in large, comprehensive studies with regard to the amount
               of data processing and storage associated with this operation. MIPS may
               present certain "bottlenecks" in the processing of large data sets, as
               processing operations are centered on each particular workstation, and not
               distributed for multi-user use. Multiple MIPS workstations would alleviate
               this situation by supporting simultaneous data processing.

                  Recommendations - Based on the favorable results of the feasibility
               study, it is recommended that the MIPS evaluation be continued on site at
               W&M / VIMS, in order to assess its incorporation and performance in   -
               operational SAV distribution and abundance studies. Through constant use,
               procedural development, and periodic assessment, during an annual inventory,
               the strengths and weaknesses of MIPS, in an operational setting, will become
               apparent.

                  The objective of continued operational evaluation of MIPS would be to
               develop a set of standard operating procedures (SOP's) for the use of MIPS
               in identification and extraction of natural resource coverage data (SAV,
               wetlands, shoreline features, etc.) from source imagery (photographic,
               video, or satellite). SOP's would cover source data requirements, system
               input methods, feature delineation routines, map transformation methods,
               quality control and assurance, incorporation of existing data sets (e.g.
               USGS DLG's), quantitative and qualitative feature attributes, data
               management, output data requirements, and interface with other GIS's.





                                                  _11-






                  A potentially valuable component of continued operational evaluation of,
              MIPS would be detailed study of the incorporation of low altitude, video
              imagery in SAV and other natural resource inventories. If this medium is
              practical for use, it offers potential for increasing the range of
              acceptable atmospheric conditions for conduction of aerial surveys, thereby
              widening flight "windows", facilitating real-time data acquisition for
              critical environmental situations, and reducing collection costs. Another
              potential benefit from continued MIPS evaluation would be a thorough
              investigation of MIPS map registration and rectification routines as they
              relate to highly detailed natural resource feature mapping, such as tidal
              and non-tidal shorelines. Current rectification technology is not
              automated, and while very accurate, is slow and labor intensive.

                  Results of an operational evaluation of MIPS would provide scientists
              and managers with decisive information regarding advantages / disadvantages
              of the incorporation of MIPS in extensive natural resource inventory,
              assessment, and management projects.

                  A potentially valuable component of continued operational evaluation of
              MIPS would be detailed study of the incorporation of low altitude, video
              imagery in SAV and other natural resource inventories. If this medium can
              be used in a manageable, practical way, it offers the potential of
              increasing the range of acceptable atmospheric conditions for conduction of
              aerial surveys, thereby widening flight "windows", facilitating data
              acquisition, and reducing collection costs. Video also has the advantage of
              being an economical, real-time, remote sensing, image medium that is
              amenable to near real-time data collection, analysis, and response to
              critical environmental situations.


                  Another valuable component of continued MIPS evaluation would be a
              complete investigation of MIPS map registration and rectification routines
              as they relate to highly detailed natural resource feature mapping, such as
              tidal and non-tidal shorelines. Current instrumentation used for this
              purpose is manual, and while very accurate, the process is slow and.labor
              intensive.





                                                   -12-






                                            Acknowledgements

                  We would like to acknowledge and thank the Virginia Council on the
              Environment (Va. COE), the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (Md.
              DNR), and the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) for
              their financial support in this evaluation. Thanks are also extended to
              Peter Lade of Salisbury State University, Salisbury, MD and Sylvia Terziotti
              of Virginia Council on the Environment, Richmond, VA for their gracious
              hospitality and assistance with the hands-on evaluation of MIPS software and
              hardware located at their respective facilities.

                  Lee Miller, Mike Unv erferth, and the staff of MicroImages Inc. were most
              helpful in providing MIPS documentation and assisting with processing
              approaches, questions, and problems.

                  Our thanks are extended to the following individuals at William and Mary
                Virginia Institute of Marine Science (W&M / VINS) who assisted in the
              study evaluation-and preparation of the report: Gary Anderson, Carrollyn
              Cox, Pat Hall, and David Boughan - Computer Center, Judy Nowak, Jennifer
              Whiting, and Leah Nagey - Wetlands, Ruth Hershner, Valise Jackson, and Janet
              Walker - Word Processing, and Bill Jenkins    Photo Lab.





                                                   -13-







                                                Section 1


                                               Introduction



                  This is a report of the results of an evaluation of the feasibility of
              the Map and Image Processing System (MIPS) as a device for collection and
              display of information on the distribution and abundance of submerged
              aquatic vegetation (SAV) from aerial photographs. The evaluation was
              directed to specifically address the tasks of collection, storage, and
              processing of high resolution environmental resource coverage data. As this
              was a feasibility study and no MIPS workstations were available on site at
              William and Mary / Virginia Institute of Marine Science (W&M / VIMS),
              initial evaluations of the capabilities and performance of MIPS were
              conducted during visits to the Image Processing Lab of Salisbury State
              University, Salisbury, MD, under the direction of Dr. K. Peter Lade. Final
              evaluations of MIPS were conducted during visits to the Virginia EcoMAP
              program (formerly the Virginia Rivers Inventory (VRI) program), Virginia
              Council on the Environment (Va. COE), Richmond, VA, under the direction of
              Dr. Adam A. Frisch.

                  Dr. Lade has been developing estuarine research and management
              applications using MIPS. He has assisted in the implementation of a MIPS
              based map / aerial photograph real-time indexing system for the Maryland
              Department of Natural Resources (Md. DNR) and has conducted SAV distribution
              and abundance studies of Maryland waters with MIPS, using SPOT satellite
              data as input. Visits to Salisbury State were made on 6 February, 14 - 15
              March, 18 - 19 May, and 6 - 7 July 1989.

                  The evaluation was also based on results viewed during a working
              demonstration of MIPS given by Dr. Lee Miller - MicroImages, Inc. in
              Richmond, VA on 25 May 1989. Dr. Miller is the founder and distributor of
              MIPS, and his presentation covered many processing routines necessary for
              implementation of SAV distribution and abundance studies using MIPS.

                  Dr. Frisch is manager of the Virginia EcoMAP program. In support of
              that and other state programs, he is managing the installations of a
              minicomputer version of ARC-INFO and a network of MIPS microcomputer
              workstations. Due to the close proximity of Va. COE, final elements of this
              evaluation were conducted using the Va. COE MIPS during visits on 21 - 23
              and 25 August,.8 and 18 September, 6 and 13 November, 6, 15, and 21 December
              1989, and 3 and 4 January 1990.

                  In addition to "hands-on" evaluations and presentations of MIPS, the
              authors drew on their professional knowledge and experience in the fields of
              marine biology and botany as they relate to SAV distribution and abundance,
              and image processing and GIS as they relate to natural resource feature
              identification and mapping. Scientific tools are ever evolving, and this is
              particularly true with electronic / computer based analytical systems. With
              this in mind, the authors strove to temper the many "high-tech" elements of
              MIPS with the knowledge and experience gained during years of natural
              resource research and application studies. The result is an evaluation that
              benefits from careful review and consideration during the evaluation of





                                                   -14-






               optimal methods to determine SAV distribution and abundance, using available
               resource imagery and processing systems.

                   Project Description - This project evaluated MIPS software and hardware
               for use in environmental resource monitoring. The evaluation specifically
               addressed the collection, storage, and processing of high resolution
               environmental resource coverage data. Evaluations were also made as to the
               suitability of the data collected by MIPS for use by the ARC-INFO CIS.

                   The environmental resource used in the evaluation was SAV (Orth and
               Moore, 1983, Orth et al, 1987, Orth et al, 1989). The sources of SAV
               information were 9" by 9", 1:24,000 scale aerial photographs taken in 1987.
               The photographs provided a good basis for comparison, as they were
               previously used for annual mapping of SAV by the W&M / VIMS SAV program.

                   Evaluations were performed on sites in the Chesapeake Bay region that
               covered a broad range of environmental conditions and SAV plant species
               compositions. Evaluations were made by comparing MIPS methods of data
               collection to methods currently employed by the W&M / VIMS SAV program.

                   Rationale - There is an expanding need for high resolution digital
               environmental monitoring data. Before a resource such as SAV can be
               properly managed, monitoring programs need to be established and inventory
               data collected. Under existing methods these data are extremely expensive
               and difficult to obtain. Aerial photographs must be taken at specific
               altitudes and scales in order to achieve suitable correspondence with base
               maps. The necessary cameras, equipment, and aircraft required for this are
               very expensive. The resource information on these photographs must then be
               hand transferred into one of many geographical information systems before
               processing and analysis can be completed. All these steps require large
               amounts of time from a large group of highly trained and closely supervised
               technicians. The end result of the mapping effort is a digital data set
               comprised of polygons defining SAV coverages as well as a data record of SAV
               bed attributes. The polygons are used to producea series of computer
               generated line map overlays.

                   To enhance monitoring of SAV and other environmental resources, such as
               wetlands, shorelines, and natural resource features included in the Virginia
               EcoMAP program, new methods are needed for streamlining the data acquJ.6ition
               phase, while maintaining or improving the same level of spatial resolution,
               quality control, and quality assurance. One tool showing promise as an
               environmental resource data collection device is the Map and Image
               Processing System. MIPS would allow the use of a much wider range of aerial
               photographic types and scales, without the use of physical magnification.
               This is especially important in examining historical trends when using old
               photography taken at non-standard scales. In addition, the use of lower
               altitude photography would significantly broaden the range of atmospheric
               conditions suitable for SAV data collection, such as reducing atmospheric
               haze effects which can obscure SAV boundaries. MIPS would allow the
               digitizing of resource boundaries directly on a video screen without the
               manual transfer of resource coverage from photograph to base map. This
               video screen digitizing process removes the need for separate data transfer
               and digitizing steps, thereby reducing the time and cost of data collection





                                                     -15-






                and at the same time reducing transposition errors resulting from multiple
                transfers of information from one media to another.

                    New methods and technologies need to be developed which will enhance the
                usefulness of the f inal mapping product to the environmental science
                community. Rather than simple line plot overlays, MIPS can produce ortho-
                photograph maps from the original aerial photographs. These ortho-
                photograph maps allow for much easier map reference point recognition as
                opposed to overlays on USCS topographic quadrangle maps.

                    Of the many possible resources that could be used to test MIPS,
                submerged aquatic vegetation is the most suitable for three reasons:

                    1. SAV has been and will be the focus of intensive bay-wide studies
                       because of its overall ecological importance as well as its high
                       degree of yearly variability.

                    2. SAV is one of the most difficult habitats to photograph and map, and
                       as such, whatever procedures developed for SAV data collection and
                       analysis could also apply to the monitoring of other marine resources
                       such as wetlands and shorelines.

                    3. Digital SAV coverage data as well as the original aerial photographs
                       used by the W&M / VIMS SAV monitoring program were available for the
                       MIPS evaluation. Using the same aerial photographs is extremely
                       important in order to conduct an unbiased comparison of data
                       collection systems.

                    MIPS has been used extensively by the Maryland Department of Natural
                Resources for analysis and archival of large numbers Of aerial photographs
                and for mapping wetland vegetation for zoning and Environmental Protection
                Agency (EPA) compliance.. In addition the state of Delaware has contracted
                with Salisbury State University to use MIPS in tidal wetlands studies.
                University of Maryland's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL) is using
                MIPS as a general purpose image processor as well as a tool for spatial
                modelling. The Virginia Council on the Environment is using MIPS to assist
                in implementation of the Virginia EcoMAP program as well as to provide a
                means for incorporation of environmental data within state and local GIS's.

                    As expected in a state-of-the-art system, long term experience, even by
                current MIPS users, is limited. Therefore, it is important that state
                agencies review and evaluate the system before investing additional
                resources in its implementation. MIPS has the potential for greatly
                improving the use of GIS for resource monitoring, inventory, and analysis.
                Allowing the rapid input of a wide range of images, data, and maps into
                these geographic systems will greatly facilitate geographic studies
                conducted by organizations like Virginia EcoMAP, where a variety of
                different data sources are required. In addition, MIPS will allow for the
                convenient input of satellite and other remote sensing information that
                otherwise might not be easily managed and therefore available to these
                studies.

                    Objectives - Specific objectives addressed in the evaluation were
                determination of:





                                                    -16-






                        1. Data acquisition costs in terms of:
                             o Personnel hours of work required.
                             o Level of personnel expertise required.

                        2. Digital data quality and assurance with regard to:
                             ï¿½  Systematic methods for error assessment.
                             ï¿½  Recognition of spurious or missing data points.
                             ï¿½  Spatial error of replicate measures of coverage boundary
                                and area.


                        3. Data suitability and portability to other environmental analysis
                           and geographical information systems.

                        4. Source aerial photographic requirements with respect to:
                             0 Photographic clarity and scale.
                             o Ability to use historical photography.

                        5. Clarity and ease of interpretation of final mapping product.

                        6. Usefulness of the final mapping product to:
                             ï¿½ Environmental scientists.
                             ï¿½ Environmental managers on a federal, state, and local
                                level.
                             ï¿½ Interested lay individuals.





                                                  -17-







                                               Section 2


                                               Evaluation



                  Description of HIPS - The Map and Image Processing System (MIPS) is a
              microcomputer based, map-oriented, image processing system marketed by
              MicroImages, Inc., of Lincoln, Nebraska. Microlmages was founded in 1986 by
              Dr. Lee D. Miller, a university professor with more than 20 years of
              experience in the fields of cartography and remote sensing, gained while
              serving on the faculty of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Texas A&M
              University, and Colorado State University. In addition, Dr. Miller was a
              Senior Visiting Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center during a 2
              year sabbatical. MicroImages currently employs a staff of 18 and has sold
              approximately 100 systems to federal, state, and local agencies, educational
              institutions, and private individuals.

                  MicroImages has focussed on designing a system that is compatible with
              the needs, requirements, and methods of natural resource scientists and
              managers. Efforts have concentrated on building a system that automates the
              process of remote sensing data input, feature identification, and output of
              natural resource features. MIPS processes both grid (raster) and coordinate
              (vector) based data, and can transform and integrate the two. Standard
              geographic digital data formats such as Earth Resources Data Analysis System
              (ERDAS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers GRASS, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
              Digital Line Graphs (DLG), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&WS) Map and
              Statistical Overlay System (MOSS), and Environmental Systems Research
              Institute's.(ESRI) ARC-INFO are supported. Research and development efforts
              are focussed on software development and systems design, using available
              geographic, graphics, and imaging components.

                  MIPS hardware configurations are shown in Figures 1. and 2. MIPS
              operates on International Business Machines (IBM) Personal Computer (pc)-AT
              computers and other compatible microcomputers under the Microsoft Disk
              Operating System (MS-DOS). A schematic diagram of a complete MIPS
              workstation, with associated input, processing, and output units'is given in
              Figure 3. As the software is brand and model independent, MIPS has
              capabilities for upward expansion as hardware and software systems improve.
              This was demonstrated recently, when MIPS upgraded to the recently
              introduced 32 bit pc-AT computers, based on the Intel 80386 processing unit
              ("386" pc's). MIPS utilizes dual screens, a high resolution 1280 horizontal
              (H) by 1024 vertical (V) color monitor for image display and a pc graphics
              monitor for program control. MIPS also employs a manually controlled
              "mouse" device which is electronically linked to the high-res color monitor
              for interactive identification and processing of features appearing on the
              screen.

                 Maps, graphics" and aerial photographs can be scanned into MIPS, in
              black and white or color, using a high resolution, 300 dot per inch (dpi),
              Howtek Scanmaster. Images and other geographical data sets are stored
              internally during processing on high capacity magnetic hard disk drives with
              storage capacities in the range of 150 million bytes (Mbytes). The disk
              drives are capable of storing approximately 100 optimized screen-sized color
              images per drive. Digital data from aerial, satellite, or other sensors, as





                                                   -18-






              well as data such as USGS DLG's, can be transferred to and from the system
              via 9 track magnetic tape, optical laser disk (write once, read many (WORM)
              or erasable), magnetic floppy disk, or telephone modem. Image, graphical,
              statistical, and operational output is accomplished via a 240 dpi, Howtek
              color printer or standard pc printer.

                  Processing under MIPS is conducted using a suite of hierarchal, pop-up,
              menus. The menus are used to direct users from general high level areas to
              more specific low level areas containing sets of tasks relating to the
              overlying high level functions. A brief outline of MIPS processing
              functions is given in Appendix A. A "Guide to MIPS" (Miller et. al, 1989)
              and "Basic Systems Operations" (Ghormley, 1989) are available from
              MicroImages as further system descriptions. MIPS processing functions can
              be regarded as a set of powerful tools that may be used in a variety of ways
              to achieve desired results. Depending on the application, certain functions
              will be called into play at various processing steps. MIPS also has
              available a set of file management, graphics, and image processing functions
              that may be called from virtually any point in the menu hierarchy using pc
              functional keys. Raster and vector data are grouped in a hierarchal file
              structure, that assists in file management by minimizing the number of
              independent files on the pe, while providing for full identification of file
              contents, and logical storage and placement of associated file components.

                  A fundamental aspect of MIPS processing is the interactive aspect of
              map, image, and geographic data processing. The system is designed so that
              the user is able to control, via the mouse and keyboard, each processing
              step. Results are viewed on the color monitor in real-time as they occur,
              thus facilitating immediate correction and improvement of each particular
              operation. This continuous feedback during operations reduces cumulative
              and systematic errors by enabling the user to assess the accuracy and
              correctness of each processing step by visual comparisons of the processed
              data with the original input image.


                  Plan of Work - The plan of work to accomplish the evaluation of MIPS,
              with regards to SAV research, included the following steps.

                  1. Familiarization with the Map and Image Processing System and its
                     capabilities.

                  2. Development of MIPS methodologies for:

                       ï¿½  Scanning-aerial photographs into MIPS
                       ï¿½  Rectification and map registration of aerial photographs.
                       ï¿½  Recognition and definition of SAV boundaries on the video
                          screen.
                       ï¿½  Export of digital SAV boundaries from MIPS using standardized
                          file formats.

                  3. Development of ARC-INFO methodologies for acquisition of MIPS SAV
                     export files.

                  4. Collection and analysis of SAV coverage data using MIPS on two study
                     sites.





                                                  _19-






                  5. Importation of MIPS coverage into ARC-INFO.

                  6. Digital comparisons of SAV locations and areas as determined by RIPS,
                     ARC-INFO (using imported MIPS data sets), and by the independent VIMS
                     SAV GIS.


                  7. Production of a final report delineating all points of comparison
                     defined in the objectives including map overlays for the study sites
                     of SAV coverages produced by MIPS, ARC-INFO, and the VIMS SAV GIS.

              Detailed descriptions of each step follow.


                  MIPS Familiarization - Familiarization with MIPS was accomplished during
              test and evaluation sessions on MIPS workstations at Salisbury State
              University and Virginia Council on the Environment, demonstrations given by
              MicroImages, and reviews of MIPS documentation and articles. Tests and
              evaluations of MIPS performance using MIPS workstations took place
              throughout the study period and comprised a total of 20 daily sessions. As
              the study was directed at obtaining map coordinate based, SAV coverage data,
              the working sessions focussed on those functions necessary to accomplish
              this task. During the last few sessions, when the methodologies for SAV
              coverage extraction had been determined and the necessary coverages
              obtained, other complimentary features of MIPS were evaluated.

                  Dr. Miller and Mr. Mike Unverferth of MicroImages gave a working
              demonstration of MIPS to state and local agency personnel on 25 May 1989 in
              Richmond, Va. at a presentation sponsored by the Virginia Council on the
              Environment. The demonstration covered many of the areas addressed by this
              evaluation. It served to demonstrate how operations are accomplished, the
              processing times involved, and the quality of the results. Due to time
              constraints, data preparation and input were not included as part of the
              demonstration. In the absence of available instructional or reference
              material, the demonstration proved useful in determining whether or not
              certain operations were possible using MIPS.

                  It should be noted that MIPS is a rapidly evolving system. Only
              recently has MicroImages been able to provide detailed, hard copy,
              instructional material. Soft copy descriptions of various MIPS processing
              routines were provided on the pc monitor by means of "help screens" relating
              to processing steps or options. These were up to date and helpful as a
              memory aide during actual processing. Written documentation and
              instructions consist of:

                       1. A series entitled "MIPS Memo", published periodically to inform
                          users of new features and capabilities and to address commonly
                          asked questions.
                       2. A "Guide to MIPS" containing general descriptions of the various
                          MIPS processing capabilities and procedures involved with
                          conducting typical map and image processing operations.
                       3. A "Basic System Operations" instructional manual describing the
                          rationale and specific use of all the MIPS functions.
                       4. Descriptions of available software and hardware configurations.





                                                   -20-






               The "MIPS Memo" series and "Guide to MIPS" are helpful in describing the
               system, its development, and capabilities. For the new or occasional user,
               the "Basic System Operations" manual explains the operation of MIPS
               functions and provides detailed instructions on their use. As this study
               commenced before publication of detailed instructional manuals, the MIPS
               processing strategy was based on Dr. Lade's considerable experience with
               MIPS, suggestions from the staff at MicroImages, and trial and error.


                  MIPS Methodologies for SAV Data Processing - Methods were devised for
               using MIPS for the identification of SAV on scanned aerial photographs,
               registration and rectification of the SAV coverage data to a map based
               coordinate system, and export of the SAV coverage data in a standard file
               format. The methods were based on the input data medium, characteristics of
               SAV features, and desired output data format. Dr. Lade was of great
               assistance in piecing the individual processing steps necessary to achieve
               the desired results. The steps were as follows:

                       1.  Quad Map Scanning - SAV coverage data derived from scanned
                           aerial photographs require registration to known geographic
                           locations in order to transform the coverage data into absolute
                           geographic coordinates. To accomplish this, 7.5 minute USGS
                           topographic quad maps of the two evaluation sites were scanned
                           into MIPS at resolutions ranging from 150 - 200 dpi using MIPS
                           "Prepare > Raster > Scan > Parameters" option to scan 11" by 17"
                           portions of quad maps with the Howtek Scanmaster. The quad maps
                           were scanned in color and stored as optimized color images
                           Figure 4.).

                       2.  Quad Map Registration - The scanned quad map images were
                           registered to latitude / longitude geographic coordinates by
                           means of MIPS "Prepare > Raster > Register > Manual" option.
                           This option lets--the user point to known geographic locations on
                           the image, using the mouse, and then key in the geographic
                           location in terms of latitude*/ longitude. In this case the 2.5
                           minute tick (fiducial) marks, visible on the quad map image,
                           were identified (Figure 5.).

                           Typically, a 4 or 6 point fit was employed and the result4ut
                           accuracies were within the tolerance of the displayed results
                           1 second latitude / longitude (about 34 meters). once 3 or more
                           control points had been entered, MIPS was able to immediately
                           display the geographic position of the cursor in lat. / Ion. as
                           it was dragged along the image. This could prove useful for
                           immediate geographic location of point features on maps and
                           images. At the conclusion of the Register routine, the
                           transformation coefficients.and associated control point lists
                           were stored as part of the quad map file. These values remained
                           available for later operations or for further refinement of the
                           registration process, if so desired.

                       3. Aerial Photograph Scanning - Aerial photographs were scanned
                           into MIPS using MIPS "Prepare > Raster > Scan > Parameters"
                           option. This function allows the user to perform a fast, low





                                                   -21-






                           resolution, preliminary preview of the image so that final image
                           resolution, size, and color qualities may be selected (Figure
                           6.). The available resolutions vary incrementally from 75 - 300
                           dpi. Scanned image sizes may range up to 11 by 17 inches. The
                           quality and scale of the evaluated SAV aerial photographs was
                           suitable for scanning 1280 H by 1024 V screen sized images at
                           resolutions ranging from 120 - 200 dpi, with most images scanned
                           at a resolution of 150 dpi. Once final scanning parameters were
                           selected for the scanned photographs, the images were either
                           scanned and written directly to the pc hard disk, or scanned,
                           displayed, then written to the pc hard disk using the "Save
                           Load" functional key facility.

                           The system default for color scanning applies a logarithmic
                           gamma correction to the scanned input color radiance values and
                           then (based on the sampled color range) assigns 240 distinct
                           color values to be used throughout the image. This worked very
                           well for the Alexandria, VA, Mount Vernon, VA areas, considering
                           the large number of colors assigned to urban areas outside the
                           field of interest (Figure 7.)*  Attempts to improve upon the
                           default color optimizing techniques by utilizing user selectable
                           color transformation options were partly successful. Color
                           separation and delineation of large SAV beds in mid-river were
                           slightly improved. There is potential for refinement and
                           progress here that requires further study. It is important to
                           note that image acquisition operations can be controlled and
                           optimized, since this permits optimal extraction of information
                           from images whose features of interest have low contrast (either
                           natural or resulting from problems in image acquisition).

                           Panchromatic positive contact prints and color positive contact
                           film transparencies were also scanned into MIPS. Features in
                           evaluated panchromatic photographs of the Alexandria, VA area
                           and the Bloodsworth Island, MD area had high spatial and
                           radiometric fidelity and SAV beds were easily identified by eye
                           (Figures 8. and 9.),.

                           Features in evaluated color positive contact transparencies had
                           problems with color thresholding, as is evidenced by color
                           contour plateaus radiating out from the center of the scanned
                           image (Figure 10.). These features were not present on the
                           original photographs and may have resulted from the relatively
                           low contrast of these photographs:

                           Air Video - By virtue of image processing oriented design and
                           use of standard computer graphics processing components, MIPS
                           was able to easily digitize aerial images of SAV acquired by
                           video camera. The use of this technique for remote sensing
                           studies is described in Meisner (1986) and Sidle and Ziewitz
                           (1990). For this study color, vertical, aerial video recordings
                           of SAV beds located in nearshore regions of the lower York
                           River, VA, taken on 26 October 1988, from altitudes of 670 and
                           1340 meters (2200 and 4400 feet), were evaluated. The images
                           were recorded in flight on a standard 0.5 inch VHS video





                                                   -22-






                           cassette tape. The MIPS workstation at the Virginia Council on
                           the Environment was used for input of the video data.

                           Video data were entered into MIPS using a standard video
                           cassette recorder (VCR) whose video signal cables were connected
                           to the MIPS workstation. The MIPS "Prepare > Video > Capture"
                           function was used to replay the video on a medium resolution
                           color monitor, suitable for display of the standard television
                           images produced by the video system. For video, 30 images per
                           second are acquired. The Video function allows the user to
                           select images for entry into the system by viewing recorded
                           moving images on the monitor and capturing the desired image by
                           means of the keyboard. Video may be processed as either black
                           and white or color images (Figure 11.). The inherently low
                           spatial resolution of digitized video images (512 H by 485 V) is
                           offset by low acquisition cost per image and continuous
                           coverage, making this medium well suited for low altitude, large
                           scale photography. Acquisition of complete, detailed, low cost
                           coverage of SAV beds may be enhanced by the use of aerial video
                           images, as long as adequate ground control points are available
                           in the video imagery for proper ground registration and map
                           rectification of the resultant images.

                       4.  SAV Delineation - SAV areas appearing on scanned images were
                           typically clear and distinct. SAV was also the only feature
                           being delineated in this study. Because of these factors, a
                           decision was made to delineate SAV directly on the raster image
                           and to transfer the delineated raster SAV outlines to vector
                           coordinates in a subsequent step. This approach had the
                           advantage of retaining the photograph image and SAV outline in
                           one raster data set, ensuring that both would always be
                           available for inspection and modification. The MIPS "Draw >
                           Draw" functional key facility was used to delineate SAV areas as
                           well as fixed geographic test areas appearing on high-res screen
                           images of the scanned aerial photographs. The geographic test
                           areas provided a basis for distinguishing systematic processing
                           differences from individual photo-interpretive differences in
                           comparisons of MIPS with VIMS SAV GIS and pc ARC-INFO. The Draw
                           function enables the user to interactively color points, ljjies,
                           or areas on displayed images, using the pc mouse as a
                           "paintbrush". For outlining SAV areas, a "reserved" numerical
                           color value, not present in any part of the displayed image, was
                           chosen for the outline (in this case 254) and assigned a bright,
                           contrasting color (yellow) (Figure 12.). Under this function,
                           portions of the displayed image may be enlarged 2, 4, or 8 times
                           while outlining, by means of a real-time, raster replication,
                           zoom function.

                           Errors detected during outlining were immediately corrected by
                           pressing one of the mouse buttons. This had the effect of
                           gradually erasing the most recent points entered. Once an area
                           was complete, MIPS automatically closed (connected) the area and
                           permitted the user to inspect it by panning and zooming
                           throughout the image (Figure 13.). The user then had the option





                                                   -23-






                           to accept, correct, or reject the resulting outline. At any
                           time during the Draw function, outlined areas could be examined
                           and modified as necessary. This was a very easy and natural
                           tool to use, emulating the best elements of manual delineation
                           of.features on maps and photographs.

                           SAV beds were also delineated using an automated feature
                           extraction routine operating under MIPS "Interpret > On-Screen >
                           Feature Map". This function incorporates useful elements from
                           manual and automated classification methods to produce a
                           realistic identification of natural resource features (in this
                           case SAV) (Figure 14.). This particular feature mapping routine
                           is based on color and contiguity. In this case, the identified
                           features (colored yellow on the screen) may be considered more
                           as estimates of actual SAV plant cover within the bed area
                           (plant and estuary bottom) than as estimates of the bed as a
                           whole. This differentiation between SAV plat cover and bed area
                           may be useful in growth and productivity analysis.

                           In addition to outlining or identifying SAV areas, evenly
                           distributed known geographic points, appearing both in scanned
                           images and quad maps of the area, were delineated by means of
                           drawing overlying ticks or outlines on the raster image for
                           later use in geographic transformations of images and derived
                           vector data sets. Typically 6 to 10 control points were
                           selected, e.g. road intersections, stream confluences, prominent
                           shorelines, etc.

                        5. Raster to Vector Processing - The MIPS "Prepare > Raster > Rast
                           -> Vect" suite of functions were used to transform SAV outline
                           'and delineated geographic ground control points from raster to
                           vector format. The transformation was accomplished by running
                           the following subfunctions under "Rast -> Vect":

                             ï¿½  "Threshold" - A raster image co py function that only copies
                                cells within user selected values (in this case 254) and
                                creates a "binary" raster image of outline and non-outline
                                areas. This had the effect of copying only the SAV bed and
                                geographic test area outlines and geographic ground control
                                points to a temporary raster image.

                             ï¿½  "Define Type" - A function that creates polygon type lists
                                for use in labeling polygons in the raster to vector
                                conversion. Polygon type lists are stored as sub-objects
                                of the raster file that are carried along throughout
                                subsequent processing. In this case, labels were entered
                                that corresponded to SAV beds or geographic test areas.

                             ï¿½  "Label Areas" - A function that assigns labels to polygons
                                within thresholded raster images. Polygons are identified
                                by the user via the mouse, with the appropriate label being
                                selected from the polygon type list associated with the
                                raster image. Like polygon type lists, polygon labels are





                                                   -24-






                               also stored as sub-objects, carried along throughout
                               subsequent processing.

                            ï¿½  "Thin Raster" - A raster function that automatically
                               operates on binary raster images to reduce point, line, and
                               polygon outlines to widths of one raster cell, so that the
                               data is suitable for conversion to screen coordinates.
                               Output is stored in a temporary raster image file.

                            ï¿½  "Auto-Line" - A function that automatically converts
                               thinned raster data to vector data, based on relative
                               screen coordinates ranging from I - 1280 horizontally, I -
                               1024 vertically. For SAV, the resultant vector data sets
                               were quite small compared to their raster counterparts, as
                               the SAV outlines made up a very small portion of the entire
                               raster image (Figure 15.). It should be noted, however,
                               that every raster cell was converted to vector coordinates
                               by this function, regardless of its position in the
                               outline. Further point reduction and smoothing was
                               accomplished by MIPS "Thin-Vect" function.

                          The "Threshold", "Thin-Raster", and "Auto-Line" functions run
                          automatically in a matter of minutes. Temporary files produced
                          by threshold and thin-raster may be deleted once a vector file
                          has been produced by "Auto-Line".

                          At this point in processing, the point, line, and polygon
                          outlines in the derived vector data set may be modified by means
                          of MIPS "Prepare > Vector > Edit Vector" suite of functions.
                          The user can add, modify, or delete labels relating to vector
                          features appearing on the high-res color monitor, by means of
                          the mouse and keyboard. The labels are recorded as a sub-object
                          in the resultant vector file and are carried along throughout
                          subsequent processing as identifiers in statistical and output
                          operations.

                       6. Thinning,of SAV Vector Data Sets - The outlined SAV vector sets
                          required additional "thinning" to reduce redundant points and to
                          smooth outlines by eliminating artifacts resulting from tb4ir
                          origin as rectangularly gridded raster cells. As, mentioned in
                          Step 5. above, the MIPS "Auto-Line" function converted every
                          raster cell to vector coordinates, regardless of its position.
                          This resulted in many redundant points occurring on straight
                          line or gradually curving line segments, in instances where only
                          the end points or a few intermediate points were necessary to
                          accurately describe the shape of the feature. Also, due to the
                          discrete, rectilinear nature of the raster display, all non-
                          horizontal, non-vertical lines or features appeared to have
                          jagged, step-like edges ("jaggies"), as MIPS assigned the
                          nearest rasters to approximate their shape.

                          The MIPS "Prepare > Vector > Thin-Vect" function was used to
                          interactively thin and smooth the vector data sets by selecting,
                          via pc mouse, minimum allowable vector line lengths. The





                                                   -25-






                          results were displayed in real-time over normal or enlarged
                          displays of SAV vectors data sets. Jagged edges were eliminated
                          by selecting minimum vector lengths greater than typical
                          individual raster step lengths (Figure 16.). This function
                          typically reduced the number of vector data points by 60 - 80
                          percent, while retaining the essential shapes of the outlines,
                          eliminating Jagged artifacts, and improving the overall
                          appearance of the vectors (Figure 17.).

                       7. Map Registration of SAV Vector Data Sets - The MIPS "Prepare >
                          Vector > Map Proj > Overlay" function was used to register the
                          SAV vector sets (obtained in Steps 5. and 6. above) to a raster
                          quad map of the area, with known geographic properties (obtained
                          during quad map scanning and registration, Steps 1. and 2.
                          above). The SAV vector data sets were capable of being
                          displayed on registered raster images of scanned quad maps. The
                          vector outline and points appeared as white or colored lines on
                          the scanned map (Figure 18.). The pc mouse was used to "drag"
                          or link ground control points appearing in the overlaid vector
                          data set with those present in the screen image of the map
                          (Figure 19.). Transformation options include "linear least-
                          squares", "piecewise linear least-squares", and "polynomial
                          least-squares" fit.   As the selected ground control points on
                          the SAV vector files  were fairly evenly distributed throughout
                          the image and as the  photographs were nearly vertical, the
                          linear least-squares  transformation and the piecewise linear
                          least squares transformation produced the most accurate fits
                          between the vector and map data sets, as determined by visual
                          inspections of the resultant screen images (Figure 20.).
                          Control points could be added, modified, or deleted until an 1
                          accurate fit was achieved. Upon exiting the function, the map
                          transformation coefficients and control point lists were stored
                          with the vector file as sub-objects for use in subsequent
                          processing.

                       8. Length and Area Measurements    Currently, MIPS computes vector
                          scale factors from calibrated linear distances entered on the
                          source raster image rather than from transformation coefficients
                          derived from the vector map registration process. In order to
                          derive scale factors, the MIPS "Meas > Calipers" functional key
                          facility was used to delineate known linear distances on the
                          raster image that produced the vector data set. Geographic
                          landmarks appearing on both quad map and image were identified
                          and tagged with the cursor. The intervening distance,
                          previously measured on the associated quad map, was entered into
                          MIPS using the nCali" sub-functional key. MIPS then computed a
                          cell size for the image which was stored as a sub-object in both
                          the raster and vector image data sets using the "SvSc" sub-
                          functional key.

                          Area measurements of SAV and test area vector polygons were made
                          using the MIPS "Interpret > Vector > Polygon" function. This
                          function used the cell size derived in "Meas > Cali" to compute
                          and display areas of polygons selected via the mouse or compute





                                                   -26-






                           (without displaying) areas of all polygons. Results were stored
                           in readable American Standard for Character Information
                           Interchange (ASCII) text files and included polygon number,
                           perimeter, area, area to perimeter ratio, roughness, centroid
                           locations, and polygon type label with measurements in user
                           selected units.


                        9. Export of Registered Vector Data Sets - HIPS "Prepare > Export >
                           Vector" suite of functions were used to "export" or transfer
                           calibrated and labeled SAV polygon data sets to disk files in
                           standard GIS data formats. This study employed both the "MOSS"
                           option for exporting data in USEW&S MOSS "Export" format and the
                           "ARC-INFO" option for exporting data in ESRI's ARC-INFO
                           "Generate" format. MIPS accomplished this by applying map
                           transformation coefficients, obtained during the vector
                           registration process (Step 7. above), to the SAV vector data to
                           transform the data to units of decimal degrees of longitude and
                           latitude and then writing the data to file in standard character
                           format. The SAV files in MOSS and ARC-INFO format were written
                           to floppy diskettes for subsequent entry and display in the W&M
                           / VIMS Bayplot mapping, station, and trackline plotting program
                           and PC ARC-INFO GIS.


                  ARC-INFO Methodologies for MIPS Data Acquisition - Both the minicomputer
              and microcomputer versions of ESRI's ARC-INFO GIS support data conversion of
              MOSS Export and ARC-INFO Generate files. For this study, the microcomputer
              version, PC ARC-INFO, was employed using PC ARC-INFO workstations at W&M
              VIMS. The "MOSSARC" command, operating under PC ARC-INFO's PC Data
              conversion suite of commands, and the "Generate" command, operating under PC
              ARC-INFO's Starter Kit suite of commands, were used to read the appropriate
              SAV files from floppy diskette files and perform the conversion from
              latitude / longitude based SAV vector file format to PC ARC-INFO vector file
              format (ESRI, 1989). The data were then transformed to Universal Transverse
              Mercator (UTM) Coordinates, using PC ARC-INFO's "Projec" command, and
              plotted at a scale of 1:24,000 for comparison with the MIPS SAV and VIMS SAV
              data sets (Figure 21.).

                  SAV Coverage Data Collection Using HIPS - Preliminary analysis anT
              evaluation of study areas suitable for SAV data collection and analysis
              using MIPS resulted in emphasis placed on the following study areas - the
              upper Potomac River in the vicinity of Alexandria, VA and Mount Vernon, VA
              and the middle reaches of the Chesapeake Bay in the vicinity of Bloodsworth
              Island, MD. The Alexandria, VA and Mount Vernon, VA sites were highly
              urbanized areas, with SAV species and distribution patterns typical of those
              found in the upper reaches of estuaries. The aerial photographs used for
              these areas were 9" by 9", 1:24,000, vertical, color, positive contact
              prints taken on 2 September 1987 for the annual SAV survey - photograph
              numbers: 129-4, 129-6, and 129-7. In addition, 9" by 90, 1:24,000,
              vertical, panchromatic (black and white), positive contact prints taken on
              25 September 1987 used for comparison of color and panchromatic photographs
              - photograph numbers 130-04 and 130-05. The SAV was clearly discerned on
              these photographs both by eye and when scanned into MIPS in color and black





                                                   -27-






              and white. Ground control points used for map rectification of SAV coverage
              data for these areas consisted primarily of road intersections clearly
              visible on scanned quad maps and photographs of the sites.

                  The USCS Alexandria, VA - DC - MD, 1965 (Photorevised 1971,
              Photoinspected 1972), 7.5 minute (topographic), 1:24,000, paper base, quad
              map edition and the USCS Mount Vernon, VA - MD, 1966 (Photorevised 1971),
              7.5 minute (topographic), 1:24,000, paper base, quad map edition were used
              in this area for geo-referencing and map rectification. The paper quad map
              products were selected due to their suitability for scanning into MIPS and
              because shrinkage and expansion due to humidity posed no difficulties for
              MIPS since positional adjustments were made for these factors when resultant
              digital image data were mathematically rectified to standard map base. The
              analysis of 1987 SAV distribution conducted by W&M / VIMS using the VIMS SAV
              CIS and used for comparison in this study employed the USGS Alexandria, VA -
              DC - MD, 1965 (Photorevised 1979), 7.5 minute (topographic), 1:24,000, mylar
              base quad map edition (Figure 22.) and the USCS Mount Vernon, VA - MD, 1966
              (Photorevised 1983, Bathymetry Added 1982), 7.5 minute (topographic -
              bathymetric), 1:24,000, mylar base, quad map edition (Figure 23.) as base
              maps for manual delineation of SAV beds (Orth et. al, 1989).

                  The Bloodsworth Island, MD site was a U.S. Naval Reservation wilderness
              area located in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. SAV species and
              distributions patterns were typical of those found in more open, haline
              regions, with beds occurring in protected embayments along the shore, and in
              large shallow flats located between several small islands to the south. The
              aerial photographs used for Bloodsworth Island were gn by 9n, 1:24,000,
              vertical, panchromatic, positive contact prints taken on 5 October 1987 for
              the annual SAV survey - photograph numbers 06-05, 06-03, 06-02, 05-01, and
              05-03. Due to favorable environmental conditions and the proper choice of
              film and camera type, areas with SAV were clearly discernable on both the
              photographs and scanned images of the photographs. Ground control points
              for this area consisted primarily of stream confluences, natural features
              within the island, and promenant shoreline features.

                  The USGS Bloodsworth Island, MD, 19739 7.5 minute, orthophotomap
              (topographic), 1:24,000, paper base, quad map edition was used in this area
              for map input, geo-referencing, and map rectification. SAV beds analyzed in
              the W&M / VIMS study of 1987 SAV distribution were delineated on the USCS
              Bloodsworth Island, MD, 1973, 7.5 minute, orthophotomap (topographic),
              1:24,000, mylar base, quad map edition (Figure 24.).

                  Results of preliminary analysis of another study site, located in the
              lower York River, determined that further analysis of this area would add
              little of significance to the evaluation. Upon review of aerial photographs
              of the area taken on 28 June 1987 - photograph numbers 93-08 and 95-04, it
              was evident that the surface waters in certain critical locations were
              noticeably turbid, and that these unfavorable environmental conditions would
              preclude detection of known underlying SAV beds, complicating an essential
              element of the evaluation. In addition, this area had little potential for
              offering additional significant information to the study, as the photographs
              were color positive contact prints (evaluated in the Alexandria, VA, Mount
              Vernon, VA areas) and the area was rural, but with sufficient numbers of
              roads and natural features for adequate selection of ground control points.





                                                     -28-






               The Alexandria, VA, Mount Vernon, VA and Bloodsworth Island, MD study areas
               spanned the range of resources and environments that would reasonably be
               encountered in SAV distribution and abundance studies. Accordingly, these
               areas were sufficient and appropriate for further analysis and evaluation.

                   It should be noted that it was during the processing of the study areas
               that the methodologies for SAV data collection using MIPS were developed and
               refined. Thus the site evaluation process was valuable in providing a
               practical model on which to develop methods and techniques.

                   Intermediate data sets and plots produced during processing of each area
               included:


                        ï¿½   Scanned quad maps of each study area, used for map
                            rectification.
                        ï¿½   Scanned raster images of aerial photographs in each area, with
                            SAV coverage outlined in a unique color value (cover figure).
                        ï¿½   Plots of SAV bed and geographic test polygons and ground control
                            points (Figures 25. - 32.).
                        ï¿½   Vector coordinate files containing edited SAV coverage files,
                            registered to a geographic coordinate system. ,
                        ï¿½   Statistic files containing area and length measurements for each
                            SAV and test area polygon.

               The final MIPS data products for each scanned aerial photograph were MOSS
               Export and pe ARC-INFO Generate files containing SAV outlines in longitude
               latitude units. As the files were written in ASCII format, the files for
               each area were post-processed at W&M / VIMS using a standard text editing
               program to concatenate the individual vector files produced for each aerial
               photograph into one large master file for the area.

                   Further processing and editing of SAV coverage data, such as connecting
               SAV coverage areas that overlap from one vector file to the next, could be
               accomplished using ARC-INFO. ARC-INFO would be an appropriate system to
               produce complete SAV coverage data sets for areas of quad size dimensions or
               larger.


                   Importation of MIPS SAV Coverages into ARC-INFO - MIPS SAV coverage data
               in MOSS Export and ARC-INFO Generate format were imported into pc ARC-INFO
               for further processing and analysis as described in the "ARC-INFO
               Methodologies for MIPS Data Acquisition Section" section above. For ease of
               processing, the SAV vector data units were converted to the UTM coordinate
               system, which has the advantage of being a map coordinate system with equal
               distance units along the orthoganal north / south axes. The SAV coverage
               data for each study area were plotted at a scale of 1:24,000 for comparisons
               with the SAV coverages produced by MIPS before entry into pc ARC-INFO, and
               similar SAV coverage data produced by the VIMS SAV GIS.


                   Comparisons of MIPS, ARC-INFO, and VINS SAV GIS - Comparisons of MIPS,
               ARC-INFO, and VIMS SAV GIS were conducted by comparing the procedural
               processes by which SAV coverage data were collected by the three systems,.
               and by comparing the qualitative SAV coverage plots and quantitative SAV





                                                   -29-






              aerial statistics produced by each system. HIPS features and processing
              capabilities have been described in detail elsewhere in this report.
              Summary features of the VIMS SAV GIS and ARC-INFO are given below.

                  Regarding procedural processing, the VIMS SAV GIS was in many respects
              both the least and most flexible system. This system relies on manual
              transfer of SAV coverage data from aerial photographs to 1:24,000 mylar quad
              maps (Orth, R. J., K. Moore, and R. Byrne, 1987, Orth et. al, 1987, Orth et.
              al, 1989). To facilitate the transfer of data from photograph to map,
              vertical aerial photographs of nominal scale 1:24,000 have been used as the
              input photographic medium. Photography at this scale has the advantage of
              closely approximating the scale of the base quad maps, so that SAV features
              may be traced directly onto maps by simple manual overlaying methods. SAV
              beds extending from one photograph or map to the next, may be accommodated
              by manually registering the adjacent photographs or maps until a
              satisfactory fit is achieved, then tracing the associated SAV features onto
              the base quad map.

                  Selecting a scale of 1:24,000 for aerial photographs limits the number
              of photographs necessary.to cover large areas, such as the Chesapeake Bay,
              to manageable numbers, and ensures that sufficient ground control
              information will be present in each photograph to permit map registration.
              In order to obtain 1:24,000 photographs with proper geometric properties,
              the photographs must be taken at altitudes of 3660 meters (12,000 feet). At
              this altitude, intervening atmospheric haze between water surface and
              aircraft often becomes a limiting factor, especially during summer months
              when SAV is photographed. Larger scale photographs, taken at lower
              altitudes would have the benefit of reducing summer haze conditions to
              acceptable levels, while at-the same time providing more detailed
              information on SAV. At present, however the only way the VIMS SAV GIS can
              accommodate larger scale photographs is to employ a laborious, optical
              tracing system, such as the Bausch and Lomb Zoom Transfer Scope (ZTS) or by
              selecting base maps at scales similar to the larger scale photographs.

                  The lack of interactive visual image feedback during the process of
              digital data entry of SAV outline data into the VIMS SAV GIS, necessitated
              implementation of a quality control process which requires three entries of
              each SAV outline be made, in order to identify and eliminate spurious data
              points by inter-comparisons of the triplicate outlines. Once the data is in
              an edited digital vector format, the VIMS SAV CIS performs well. It is,
              however, dependent on slower, more traditional methods of data display for
              review and editing processes. Pen plots are made of the digitized SAV beds
              to ensure that they were entered correctly. The custom nature of the
              software enables it to be tailored to meet individual research needs and
              requirements. A marked disadvantage  of the VIMS SAV GIS software is that a
              knowledgeable programmer is required to maintain, modify, or improve the
              system. There is little chance that  this specialized system could approach
              the degree of sophistication offered by commercially available systems, that
              are able to spread their development costs over a large user base. None the
              less, given the available resources, the VIMS SAV GIS has been able to
              produce useful and appropriate SAV distribution and abundance data annually.

                  ARC-INFO and its pc subset, pc ARC-INFO, have traditionally focussed
              their efforts on analysis and processing of environmental coverage data,





                                                  -30-





              !hose type and extent have previously been determined. In this respect, it
              is similar to the automated elements of the VIMS SAV GIS. ARC-INFO does,
              however, have the capability of entering, via digitizing tablet,
              environmental coverage data directly from source photography. The resultant
              vector data can be rectified to map coordinate systems by map rectification
              routines, similar to those employed by MIPS. ARC-INFO does not provide the
              level of interactive feedback during digitizing that MIPS does. Rather, it
              provides a two dimensional, real-time display of the digitized features, as
              opposed to the scanned image with digitized features overlayed, as in MIPS.
              ARC-INFO's strengths lie in its abilities to combine, process, and analyze a
              variety of pre-determined environmental data sets. It has been employed by
              the EPA Chesapeake Bay Liaison Office (CBLO), Annapolis, MD as the system to
              process SAV coverage data as well as other Chesapeake Bay environmental data
              sets. It is also the system used to process and analyze Virginia EcoMAP
              data at the Virginia Department of Conservation and Historic Resources,
              Richmond, VA.

                  SAV coverage data for the Alexandria, VA, Mount Vernon, VA, and
              Bloodsworth, MD areas produced by the VIMS SAV GIS, pc ARC-INFO, and MIPS
              were plotted at W&M / VIMS at a scale of 1:24000 and compared for similarity
              (Figures 33. and 34.). It should be mentioned that for these small areas,
              positional differences arising due to use of UTM or mercator map projections
              did not adversely impact map comparisons. In general, the plotted outlines
              overlayed well, with differences arising mainly from initial photo-
              interpretive factors, rather than systematic processing errors. Most
              important, the fixed, ground control points identified in MIPS and
              transferred over to pc ARC-INFO had a high degree of correspondence between
              the individual plots and their mapped locations as determined by the master,
              mylar quad maps, with average positional differences on the order*of 30.
              meters.


                  Areal statistics compiled for 1987 SAV beds in the Alexandria, VA, Mount
              Vernon, VA, and Bloodsworth Island, MD areas using VIMS SAV GIS, MIPS, and
              pe ARC-INFO have been compared using standard statistical comparison
              routines run using the W&M / VIMS Prime Computer version of the SPSS
              statistical program (SPSS, 1988). In order to isolate systematic errors
              from photo-interpretive differences, areal statistics for a number of known
              geographic test areas, visible on both maps and aerial photographs, were
              analyzed (Figures 25. - 32.). Areal statistics for these sites were 41so
              computed using the VIMS SAV GIS. Since geographic test area outlines were
              distinct and unambiguous, areal differences between KIPS, VIMS SAV GIS, and
              pc ARC-INFO for these sites related to systematic processing errors (map
              rectification errors, numerical errors, etc.) as opposed to differences in
              placement of SAV bed boundaries, related to individual photo-interpretive
              judgement and skill.

                  Areal data for 1987 SAV beds and geographic test areas in the study
              sites computed by MIPS, VIMS SAV GIS, and pc ARC-INFO are given in Table 1.
              Comparisons between areas measured by the three systems were produced by
              deriving both absolute and relative differences between each associated area
              pair as follows (Note: subtraction (-) and division

                       o VIMS and MIPS comparison:





                                                  -31-






                            o Absolute Difference: absolute value ((VIMS area) - (MIPS
                                                   area)).

                            o Relative Difference: absolute value ((VIMS area) - (MIPS
                                                   area)) / (VIMS area).

                      ï¿½ VIMS and pc ARC-INFO (ARC) comparison:

                            o Absolute Difference: absolute value ((VIMS area) - (ARC
                                                   area)).

                            o Relative Difference: absolute value ((VIMS area) - (ARC
                                                   area)) / (VIMS area).

                      ï¿½ MIPS and pc ARC-INFO (ARC) comparison:

                            o Absolute Difference: absolute value ((MIPS area) - (ARC
                                                   area)).

                            o Relative Difference: absolute value ((MIPS area) - (ARC
                                                   area)) / (MIPS area).

             Standard statistical measurements (mean, standard deviation, and correlation
             coefficients) were then computed (Table 2. and 3.).

                 Because of the large range in individual area sizes (thousands to
             millions of square meters), the results of statistical measurements of
             absolute area differences are not as easily interpreted as are those of
             relative area differences. For the geographic test areas for all three
             systems, mean absolute differences ranged from 10,151    17,250 square
             meters, mean relative differences ranged from 2 to 5 percent, with
             associated standard deviations ranging from 1 to 3 percent. For SAV bed
             areas, mean absolute difference for the MIPS and pc ARC-INFO comparison was
             6,272 square meters; mean relative difference.for the MIPS and pc ARC-INFO
             comparison was 2 percent, with standard deviation of.1 percent. This is
             consistent with the results for the geographic test areas, as area polygon
             coordinate sets for both test and SAV areas were generated by MIPS. Mean
             absolute differences for the SAV bed comparisons of VIMS with MIPS and VIMS
             with pc ARC-INFO were 23,320 and 27,648 square meters respectively; mean
             relative differences for SAV bed comparisons were 30 and 31 percent
             respectively, with associated standard deviations of 29 percent.

                 Scatterplots of VIMS and MIPS area measurements were constructed for
             both geographic test areas and SAV bed areas (Figures 35. and 36). The test
             areas displayed a high degree of linearity and association. The SAV bed
             areas also displayed high levels of association, with greatest similarity in
             regions less than 10,000 or greater than 100,000 square meters, and greatest
             differences in the 10,000 - 100,000 square meter range. Correlation
             coefficients were computed for test areas and SAV bed areas (Table 3.) The
             test area correlation coefficient was 0.999 and the SAV bed area correlation
             coefficient was 0.998, both at the 0.001 significance level.





                                                      -32-






                    Results of Test and Evaluation Trials of HIPS - In summary, MIPS was
                easy to use, being menu driven with appropriate pop-up menus to direct one
                in a logical hierarchical manner through various operations. Aerial
                photographs and maps were easily scanned into MIPS in either color or black
                and white. Rectification of aerial photographs and maps to geographic
                coordinates (latitude / longitude) was accomplished with accuracies on the
                order of I second latitude / longitude (34 meters). The resolution and
                color fidelity of the image scanner was such that all SAV beds in the aerial
                photographs were easily identified.

                    As SAV was the sole coverage feature being extracted for this study,
                MIPS interactive manual outlining functions were employed. The 1280 H X
                1024 V high resolution color monitor made the manual delineation of SAV beds
                with a mouse extremely easy. If a number of different features were to be
                identified and extracted from digital images,.then MIPS automated feature
                classification routines would have combined the best elements of automated
                and interactive systems, maximizing the likelihood of correct feature
                identification. Conversion of grid-based raster boundary data to
                corresponding vector data was fairly straightforward and automatic
                resulting in optimal numbers of geo-referenced, coordinate pairs to
                .accurately delineate SAV polygons. Computation of SAV bed and geographic
                test area statistics was performed with results output to ASCII text tiles.
                Export of SAV vector polygon files in standard MOSS or ARC-INFO formats was
                accomplished, the output medium being floppy disk.

                 Both color and black and white photographs provided adequate information
                for detection and delineation of SAV. Environmental conditions, such as
                atmospheric and water clarity, tidal stage, presence of surface waves, sun
                glint, and biological conditions, such as peak growing season, appeared to
                be dominant factors governing the detection of SAV on aerial photographs.
                The urban and suburban areas in the Alexandria, VA and Mount Vernon, VA
                study sites had many geographically fixed features that appeared on both
                aerial photographs and base maps, necessary for use as ground control points
                in map rectification routines. Surprisingly, the wilderness areas of
                Bloodsworth Island, MD also provided sufficient numbers of geographically
                fixed natural features for adequate map registration. The critical factor
                appeared to be the amount and relative location of land features in the
                photographs, regardless of state of development.

                    Comparisons of SAV areas identified both by MIPS and conventional photo-
                interpretive methods at W&M / VIMS have been conducted, by overlaying
                corresponding 1:24000 plots on same scale mylar quad maps containing
                manually photo-interpreted outlines of identical SAV beds. The SAV beds
                identified by MIPS, and the ground control points used in geographic
                transformations, conformed with those found on VIKS SAV GIS plots and USGS
                mylar base maps, with average point positional differences on the order of
                30 meters. Statistical analysis of geographic test areas and SAV bed areas
                showed high degrees of 'association between the VIMS SAV CIS and MIPS, with
                correlation coefficients of 0.999 for test areas and 0.998 for SAV bed
                areas.   Relative differences between VIMS SAV GIS, MIPS, and pe ARC-INFO,
                identified systematic differences (test areas) on the order of 5 percent,
                and systematic plus photo-interpretive differences (SAV bed areas) on the
                order of 30 - 31 percent.





                                                   -33-






                   Processing times and level of personnel expertise required for MIPS
              identification and extraction of SAV distribution and abundance data
              appeared to be comparable to those of the VIMS SAV CIS. Time savings
              occurred primarily in SAV delineation and registration / rectification of
              aerial photographs to base maps. For MIPS, the aerial photograph - map
              registration process is independent of scale, as automated analytical
              fitting routines are used in the registration process. As long as features
              of interest are discernable on the photographs and / or maps, the scale of
              the source photographs and maps may differ significantly. This feature
              facilitates the selection of optimal scales for aerial photographs by
              eliminating requirements for photographs and map to be at similar scales.
              Other more appropriate criteria, such as minimum ground resolution, maximil
              photographic coverage, and optimal atmospheric conditions, can become
              deciding factors when determining aerial photographic scale.

                  As MIPS typically operates on an image by image basis, each scanned
              aerial photograph or map was, for the most part, processed separately. MIPS
              is able to construct image or map mosaics by means of MIPS "Prepare > Raster
              > Merge > Mosaic > Mosaic" function. This function requires that each image
              be geo-referenced and transformed to a common geographic reference
              framework, using a linear or polynomial resampling process, based on image
              ground control points delineated in a map registration process. The
              creation of mosaic data sets is somewhat lengthy, due to the large number of
              calculations involved (e.g MicroImages estimates construction of a mosaic of
              a full 7.5 minute USCS quad map, from scans of each quadrant, would take
              about 1 hour). The geometry of MIPS mosaic images would most likely be
              superior to those of manually produced mosaic images. For this study, the
              decision was made to treat each photograph and map as a separate entity, and
              to resolve problems of SAV overlap and contiguity with a coordinate based
              CIS, such as ARC-INFO.

                  Throughout the study, it was apparent that MIPS was designed for natural
              resource applications. Photographs and maps were scanned at resolutions
              appropriate for feature identification. Image and map operations were
              oriented towards the research needs and methods of photographic
              interpreters, geographers, and naturalists. This was very encouraging as it
              reflects a commitment by MIPS to direct their efforts towards the field of
              natural resource research and management.





                                                    -34-







                                                Section 3.


                                          Discussion of Results


                   Feasibility - Traditionally, scientific and management projects have
               been constrained and directed in part by available data and associated data
               analysis and processing resources. KIPS and other modern map and geographic
               information systems have the potential for expanding these analytical
               resources, thereby providing opportunities for design and application of
               less constrained studies, better able to meet current research and
               management needs. "Feasibility", therefore, has been treated as a somewhat
               relative concept, in that MIPS's powerful analytical processing tools make
               the system capable of performing both current types of SAV analysis and more
               advanced analysis, currently not feasible with existing processing resources
               at hand.


                   The study results demonstrate that MIPS was able to accurately extract
               SAV distribution and abundance information from source aerial photographic
               data, as was previously done with the VIMS SAV CIS. Due to the fact that
               MIPS supports delineation of SAV directly on scanned images and rectifies
               the resultant SAV outlines to map coordinates by means of scale-independent,
               analytical transformation routines, very accurate and complete SAV outlines
               are produced, without the constraints of scale involved with the manual
               tracing of spatial data from image to map base, as is the case with the VIMS
               SAV GIS. With regards to areal measurements using MIPS, the comparison of
               pe ARC-INFO with VIMS SAV CIS for known geographic test areas produced the
               closest agreements. This suggests that MIPS map rectification process (used
               to produce input polygons to pc ARC-INFO) results in more accurate
               geographic fits and areal measurements than those resulting the process
               which employs MIPS nMeas > Cali" function to determine cell scale from a
               known linear distance input by the user.

                   The feasibility of using MIPS for large area, comprehensive studies,
               involvin'g'the processing of hundreds or thousands of images, as is the case
               with periodic studies of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, remains
               undetermined at present. Currently, areas covered by 7.5 minute USCS quad
               maps, are used as basic geographic reference units in the VIMS SAV GIS.   On
               the average, complete SAV processing of a quad map size area containing
               fairly extensive SAV beds, using MIPS, would take one working day, from
               initial input of source photography to production of digital SAV vector
               outlines and associated distribution, abundance, species, and location
               information. Given that Chesapeake Bay shoreline regions encompass 176 USCS
               quad maps, of those 176 quad maps areas, 100 have SAV, and most of those 100
               areas have SAV in relatively small amo*unts, it is estimated that 100 days or
               less would be required to process these areas using one MIPS workstation.

                   The study also showed that MIPS was able to easily process aerial
               photographs and maps of different scales. This feature would make it
               feasible to tailor the scale of source photography to individual study
               requirements, without being tied down to particular scales dictated by
               considerations of manual transfer of photographic data to base maps. For
               SAV, this opens the possibility of using lower altitude, larger scale, more
               economical photography than currently used, in order to compensate for





                                                    -35-






              adverse atmospheric haze conditions encountered during periods of peak
              standing crop (typically June - October, species dependent).

                  The study demonstrated that MIPS can process aerial video images
              recorded on video tape during flight and replayed into MIPS via a VCR. The
              relatively low cost of video camera, recording, and processing equipment,
              and the complete along-track coverage provided by video systems, makes low
              altitude, detailed, video studies feasible using MIPS, provided images have
              sufficient spatial data to meet geographic registration requirements.

                  As MIPS is based on popular microcomputer hardware and software, it is
              reasonable to expect that MIPS processing capabilities will improve over
              time as computer technology advances, as has been the case with ERDAS and
              ARC-INFO. As more powerful components become available, processing "snags"
              and performance problems may improve as a result of incorporation of
              advanced, improved components. If a commitment has been made to incorporate
              MIPS into areas of geographic data processing, then component upgrades may
              be all that is required to take advantage of advanced processing features.
              Granted, this is conjectural, however the explosive growth and development
              in the microcomputer field, and advances ma  'de in geographic processing
              systems in the past few years,,lend credence to this supposition. In any
              event, individualized, non-generic processing systems, such as the VIMS SAV
              GIS, have little likelihood of advancing beyond their present state of
              development, without considerable expenditures of time, effort, and other
              resources; costs that are borne solely by the users of such systems.


                  Costs    Costs can be broken down into three broad categories:

                       o-  System.acquisition costs.
                       ï¿½   Operating costs.
                       ï¿½   Maintenance costs.


                  System acquisition costs range from $16,000 to $40,000 per MIPS
              workstation. Essential components required for processing of aerial
              photographic or video SAV data and their related costs (including device
              specific MIPS software) are:

                            ï¿½   High resolution, 1280 H by 1024 V, workstation - $16,200.
                            ï¿½   High resolution, 11" by 17", photographic / map scanner -
                                $7,900.
                            ï¿½   High capacity mass storage device for off-line storage of
                                image data:
                                  o 100 Mbyte plus tape cartridge unit - $1,500.
                                     or,
                                  o 800 Mbyte plus optical disk drive unit - $5,000.
                            ï¿½ Color plotter:
                                  ï¿½ High resolution for image plotting     $9,520.
                                  ï¿½ Low resolution for image plotting     $1,800.
                            ï¿½ Video image acquisition system:
                                  ï¿½ Video camera system - $3,200.
                                  ï¿½ Graphics board    $3,500.
                                  ï¿½ Color monitor    $1,000.





                                                   -36-






                                  o VCR (super VHS, with red, green, blue (RGB) inputs -
                                     $1,000.

               Additional MIPS units would most likely only require the high-res
               workstation, with the necessary circuit boards to support attachment of
               external peripheral devices, such as scanners and plotters. The most
               essential external device, apart from the MIPS workstation itself, would be
               the high-res photographic / map scanner, which would be in constant use in
               large studies that depend on scanned photographic data for image input, such
               as Chesapeake Bay SAV studies.

                   Operating costs for MIPS would tend to be application dependent, varying
               with individual study requirements. Critical considerations are the level
               of spatial resolution and accuracy required to achieve desired results, the
               number of different features under analysis, and the geographic extent of
               the study. In this regard, MIPS processes image data in a standardized
               manner, producing accurate feature and geographic information. It is not as
               amenable to modification and easing of accuracy constraints, in favor of
               operational considerations, as is the case with manual systems,    en
               qualitative, as opposed to quantitative, information is sought. For
               example, MIPS processing of 1:24,000 SAV imagery would require about the
               same level of effort, would produce results of about the same accuracy,
               regardless of relaxation of study requirements. This may present problems
               when MIPS is unable to take full advantage of manual "short cuts", such as
               rapid construction of image or map mosaics for analysis of features
               extending across borders, and must proceed in a more time consuming,
               standard fashion.

                   For large study areas, such as the Chesapeake Bay, estimated operating
               costs using MIPS are unknown. The sheer volume of data and the many
               intertwined and concurrent operations that are currently managed by the VIMS
               SAV GIS, may prove problematic for MIPS. Unexpected bottlenecks or
               breakthroughs could occur using MIPS in such an application. Typically,
               processing and component design for such studies evolve and develop until
               satisfactory results are achieved, given the available needs and resources.

                   Maintenance costs for MIPS are currently $800 per year for software
               maintenance. This includes quarterly updates and improvements to the
               software, correction of problems ("bugs") when possible, and telephone-
               consultation with the staff at MIPS. Hardware maintenance costs are covered
               under the manufacturers' warranties and then must be borne by the user. The
               evaluated equipment at Salisbury State and Virginia Council on the
               Environment had reasonably good records of reliability. Typical annual
               hardware maintenance contracts run about 10 percent of product purchase
               price.


                   Quality - With regard to MIPS, considerations of quality apply to the
               system itself and resultant products. MIPS software is well designed and
               efficient. It is written in the "C" programming language, which was
               designed by American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) to support high level,
               interactive, screen-oriented operations. "C" has become a popular language,
               widely used for intensive, interactive processing, such as imaging or
               graphics applications. MIPS software is modular, based on a variety of task





                                                   -37-






               specific programs or routines. This design enables modules to be corrected
               or improved with minimal effect on other modules or larger routines that
               utilize them. Based on fairly extensive trials of MIPS, the software is a
               well designed, quality product.

                  MIPS hardware is manufactured and marketed by third parties for imaging,
               graphics, scientific, and business applications. The user has a great deal
               of latitude in selecting the generic pc-AT microcomputer with regards price,
               performance, and quality. With regard to peripheral devices, the selection
               narrows to the smaller set of devices supported by MIPS. The graphics
               boards supported by MIPS, such as Presto, and AT&T's Targa, are popular in
               computer graphics / imaging and appear to be fairly reliable. The Howtek
               Scanmaster is not as well known, but its performance during the evaluations
               was impressive and flawless. It appears to be a well designed, rugged
               device. Performance and quality of other peripherals, such as the 35 mm
               slide scanner, color printer, and optical disk drives have been harder to
               determine. The slide scanner will always be limited by the inherent
               quality of the slide, and thus its performance is difficult to ascertain,
               without in-depth analysis of input slide quality. Research and development
               in the popular areas of color printing and optical mass storage devices is
               still being driven by the need to produce systems that meet user
               requirements. For color this amounts to high resolution (300 - 400 dpi),
               low cost, real-time color copies. For optical storage, the requirements are
               for high capacity (800 plus Mbytes), rapid access, read / write devices.
               Currently these requirements have been only partially met. Economical color
               printers have only marginally met the requirement for high spatial
               resolution, and economical optical disk drives have only become available
               within the last year.


                  Suitability and Portability to Other Geographic Systems - MicroImages
               designed MIPS primarily for entry and analysis of geographic spatial data
               and exchange of geographic data between popular geographic processing /
               information systems. To that end, MIPS supports  third party raster formats
               (ERDAS, GRASS, IDIMS, ELAS, TERRA-MAR, DTM, DEM, TARGA, TIFF, SPOT, LANDSAT,
               etc.), vector formats (MOSS, ARC-INFO, DLG, etc.), and computer aided design
               (CAD) formats (AutoCAD, VersaCAD, and CADkey). During the evaluation, MIPS
               produced MOSS and ARC-INFO files that were easily entered into a pc ARC-INFO
               workstation by means of floppy disks. The MIPS produced vector files
               imported into pc ARC-INFO worked well, and data plots produced by pc ARC-
               INFO corresponded well with the MIPS originals. All indications are that
               MIPS can and will produce data suitable for use on other geographic systems.


                  Source Data Requirements - MIPS provides a great deal of flexibility in
               the selection of source photographic or video data. The resolving power of
               the Howtek Scanmaster is comparable to that of the un-aided human eye.
               Accordingly, photographs that are amenable to direct visual interpretation
               are also suitable data sources for the scanner. The Howtek Scanmaster
               worked well with positive photographic contact prints but had problems with
               color thresholding when using color positive photographic'transparencies.
               Utilization of separate storage for each primary color, as opposed to color
               optimization as was done routinely in the evaluation, may alleviate this
               problem. As designed, however, the Scanmaster can only accept 8.5 inch wide





                                                   -38-






              transparencies, and this excludes conventional 9 inch wide aerial
              photographic transparencies, unless the film has been physically trimmed.
              MIPS has recently announced support for a new flatbed scanner that will
              support transparencies in a full 11" by 17" mode, with 300 dpi or greater
              spatial resolution. Incorporation of this device into MIPS should greatly
              facilitate film transparency data input.

                  For SAV, atmospheric conditions, spatial resolution, and water clarity
              are controlling factors in the quality and usefulness of acquired SAV
              photography. During periods of peak SAV growth in summer, haze becomes a
              limiting factor in the selection of suitable conditions for the acquisition
              of SAV photography. As summer haze is fairly uniformly distributed in lower
              altitudes and is not concentrated just above the water, like surface fog,
              adverse haze effects can be reduced by lowering flight altitude, thereby
              reducing the atmosphere path length between water surface and aircraft.
              With conventional aerial camera systems, such as those currently used for
              acquisition of SAV aerial photography in Chesapeake Bay, reduction in flight
              altitude results in enlargement of photographic scale. The VIMS SAV GIS
              relies on photography and base maps at similar scales, in this case
              1:24,000. If significantly different map and photographic scales are
              employed, a manual, optical transfer device, such as Bausch and Lomb's ZTS,
              must be used to accurately transfer features from photographs to maps. This
              is a time consuming and laborious process, and has not been considered
              feasible for past SAV studies.

                  On the other hand, MIPS, by virtue of its independence from base map
              scale, facilitates selection of optimal aircraft altitude as a means of
              reducing the effects of adverse atmospheric conditions. aerial photographic
              scale to meet requirements of each particular study. By the same token,
              MIPS supports selection of optimal photographic scale for each particular
              application. Controlling factors in the determination of scale of source
              photography are coverage extent, number of source images required,
              acquisition / processing costs, and available resources. MIPS facilitates
              the utilization of historical aerial photography by accommodating a variety
              of scales and film formats in individual studies.



                  Interpretation of Final Mapping Product - MIPS is capable of producing a
              variety of final mapping products, ranging from vector outlines of covarage
              data, to critical area statistics, to archived photographs and maps for use
              in environmental data management systems or periodic geographic analysis.
              Initial, intermediate, and final mapping data sets produced by MIPS were
              easily interpreted, as they were always presented in a two-dimensional image
              or graphical format on the high-res monitor. In fact, MIPS has a distinct
              advantage over systems that primarily display character data in the course
              of operation. With MIPS, the spatial characteristics of the data displayed
              on the high-res monitor assist in identifying the data set and the stage of
              processing associated with it.

                  MIPS is very amenable to corrections and modifications of the final
              mapping products. This is especially true, when production of the final
              product involves a number of steps, as desired adjustments may affect only a
              few steps, and intermediate data sets and routines developed during





                                                   -39-






              unaffected processing steps may be re-deployed in construction of revised
              products with little additional intervention.

                  Relative areal differences between VIMS SAV CIS, MIPS, and pc ARC-INFO,
              identified systematic differences (test areas) on the order of 5 percent,
              and systematic plus photo-interpretive differences (SAV bed areas) on the
              order of 30 - 31 percent. Systematic differences, therefore, accounted for
              13 - 17 percent of the areal differences, with individual photo-interpretive
              differences accounting for the remaining 83 - 87 percent of the observed
              areal differences among the three systems.

                  Usefulness of Final Mapping Product - In the case of SAV, the final
              mapping products are geo-based, SAV outlines with associated distribution,
              abundance, species, date, and other specific information, in a format
              amenable to analysis and interpretation by the user and other interested
              agencies. These data are used in assessment of the vitality of SAV based on
              distribution and abundance, and its variability over time and space. These
              assessments are critical in formulating natural resource management and
              protection programs in estuarine areas.

                  In a more general context, the digital spatial data acquired and
              processed by MIPS in the course of environmental studies, such as SAV
              distribution and abundance analysis, can be regarded as "final mapping
              products" also. Spatial data sets that will be used in future studies, such
              as scanned USCS quad maps used in map rectification, may be written to an
              off-line mass storage device (cartridge tape or optical disk) for re-use in
              future studies. The use of previously prepared digital data sets, whether,
              created by the user or third parties, could result in significant savings in
              study design and processing costs.





                                                   -40-




   0                                            Section 4.

                                               Conclusions



                  This feasibility study has demonstrated that MIPS is capable of being
              used as a device for accurate collection and display of information on the
              distribution and abundance of SAV from aerial photographs. Systematic areal
              differences between MIPS, VIMS SAV GIS, and pc ARC-INFO for similar
              geographic test areas were small, on the order of 5 percent. Comparisons of
              areal statistics for SAV beds served to determine combined systematic and
              individual photo-interpretive differences. The combined differences were on
              the order of 30 - 31 percent. Systematic differences, therefore, accounted
              for 13 - 17 percent of the areal differences, with individual photo-
              interpretive differences accounting for the remaining 83 - 87 percent of the
              observed areal differences among the three systems. This indicates that
              most of the areal differences can be attributed to individual photo-
              interpretive skill and judgement, and supports the conclusion that a skilled
              SAV photo-interpreter would be able to produce accurate and consistent SAV
              areal statistics using MIPS.

                  MIPS offers many advantages over current systems used for processing and
              analyzing SAV data. MIPS supports on-screen delineation of SAV, thereby
              eliminating the need for tracing SAV outlines on transparent or translucent
              base maps. Map rectification procedures used in MIPS operate independently
              of photograph and map scale, making MIPS amenable to analysis of
              photographic data at a variety of scales. For SAV, this scale independent
              feature provides a great deal of flexibility in planning and execution of
              aerial photographic surveys by broadening the range of available flight
              altitudes, so that adjustments can be made to compensate for adverse haze
              effects experienced during summer periods of peak SAV growth. MIPS's scale
              independence also supports incorporation in studies of historical
              photography at a variety of scales.

                  Intermediate data sets produced by MIPS, such as scanned maps and aerial
              photographs, may be stored for future use, thus reducing processing time and
              effort in periodic or similar studies.

                  MIPS also offers the prospects of potential benefits accruing from.
              periodic updates and improvements by MicroImages that are included in
              software maintenance agreements. Third party geographic data sets are also
              amenable to incorporation in MIPS for use in particular geographic
              applications. Some of these data sets are in the public domain, such as.
              USGS DLG data (shorelines, transportation networks, rivers / streams data,
              etc.), and thus MIPS provides the user a means of accessing and utilizing
              useful, economical data sets.

                  MIPS costs in terms of software and hardware are in line with other
              similar microcomputer systems. Its reliance on pc components is
              appropriate, as this type of image / GIS work is typically done at a one
              user workstation, and no particular advantage is gained by networking to a
              distributive processing system, such as a minicomputer. The use of pe
              components allows MicroImages to keep development costs to a minimum, while





                                                  -41-






              at the same time taking advantage of a very broad-based, rapidly developing
              market.

                  The construction of photographic and map mosaics using MIPS may present
              difficulties when used in large, comprehensive studies with regard to the
              amount of data processing and storage associated with this operation.
              Mosaics are useful when natural features extend beyond the boundaries of
              photographs or maps, or when artifacts, such as sun glint, preclude
              delineation of features in one of a series of overlapping photographs.
              Manual construction of mosaics is fairly straightforward and rapid, as
              photographs are aligned by eye and overlayed by hand until an adequate
              composite fit is achieved. Typically, there is some mismatch from one
              photograph to the next, but this is usually negligible. Automatic,
              analytical construction of mosaics using MIPS requires geo-referencing and
              map transformation of each component image. The creation of resampled
              mosaic data sets is relatively lengthy, due to the large number of
              calculations involved. The geometry and map accuracy of MIPS mosaic images
              would most likely be superior to those of manually produced mosaic images.
              However, the extra time, storage requirements, and associated costs of MIPS
              mosaic construction may make this process unfeasible when dealing with large
              numbers of photographs.

                  Image storage requirements may present some difficulties, when using
              MIPS for large, comprehensive studies, such as SAV inventories in Chesapeake
              Bay. The current inventory requires the acquisition and processing of about
              2,000 aerial photographs, at a scale of 1:24,000, and taken at 3660 meters
              (12,000 feet). At half the altitude, 3 to 4 times more photographs would be
              required. For optimized color images, approximately 1 Mbyte of storage is
              required per image. Thus, if all the scanned images are to be stored, 2,000
              plus Mbytes of storage would be required. This would require three 800
              Mbyte optical disks. For SAV inventories, the final products are SAV
              coverage outlines, statistics, and associated information, as opposed to
              processed images. Digital image storage requirements would therefore relate
              to storage of permanent image data, such as scanned and rectified quad maps,
              and storage of temporary image data, such as scanned photographs currently
              in the process of SAV delineation. Whereas, it may be appropriate to store
              permanent image data on either erasable or "write-once" optical media, it
              would be more economical to store temporary image data on eraseable media,
              such as erasable optical disks, magnetic hard disks, or magnetic tape
              cartridges, that could be used again for the storage of subsequent data.

                 MIPS may present certain "bottlenecks" in the processing of large data
              sets, as processing operations are centered on each particular workstation,
              and not distributed for multi-user use. This presents little difficulty
              when all operations are done serially for each image or area. If, however,
              operations are to be done in parallel, with a large set of images scanned
              and processed at once, then corresponding amounts of temporary image storage
              capacity must be available. For example, SAV delineation requires that a
              highly trained and experienced individual perform the actual coverage
              delineation. To make optimal use of this person's time, results of all
              prior processing performed by other individuals must be available before
              delineation begins, and results of delineation must be stored for use by
              others in subsequent processing steps. Multiple MIPS workstations would
              facilitate workflow by allowing two or more processing functions to occur





                                                   -42-






               simultaneously. The additional workstations would only require those
               peripherals necessary to conduct their particular function.

                   There are situations which present particular problems with regards to
               data collection and processing, and ideal solutions may not yet be
               available. Delineation of SAV in large, open water expanses presents a case
               of conflicting needs. On one hand, small scale, large area imagery
               containing ground control points would be useful for map registration
               purposes. On the other hand, low altitude, large scale, high resolution
               imagery might be necessary to compensate for adverse atmospheric conditions
               and provide sufficient information for detection of SAV. The abundance of
               SAV in such areas may be such that requirements for map registration could
               be eased without introducing significant error in coverage statistics. If
               this were the case, accurate position information (latitude, longitude,
               altitude, flight direction, aircraft attitude) might be sufficient to
               accurately estimate coverage in areas where there are insufficient ground
               control points for use in map registration.

                  KIPS is particularly well suited for delineation of features that have
               strong, distinct, multispectral (color, color-infrared) characteristics,
               such as tidal and non-tidal wetlands. Wetlands are typically small, linear
               features located along the shores of estuaries and small tributaries. Their
               small size requires the use of large scale, low altitude imagery to achieve
               adequate spatial resolution for detection. Results of the study demonstrate
               that MIPS has the capabilities for processing such high resolution imagery.
               In addition, wetlands have unique color characteristics that make them
               amenable for MIPS manual or automated feature delineation, based on multi-
               spectral properties.





                                                  -43-







                                               Section 5


                                            Recommendations



                  Based on the favorable results of the feasibility study, it is
              recommended that the MIPS evaluation be continued on site at W&M / VIMS, in
              order to assess its incorporation and performance in operational SAV
              distribution and abundance studies. Through constant use, procedural
              development, and periodic assessment, during an annual inventory, the
              strengths and weaknesses of MIPS, in an operational setting, will become
              apparent. Determination of workflow, processing steps, optimal workstation
              design, necessary modifications / extensions to MIPS routines, and
              interfaces with other GIS's would be components of the study.

                  The objective of continued operational evaluation of MIPS would be to
              develop a set of standard operating procedures (SOP's) for the use of MIPS
              in identification and extraction of natural resource coverage data (SAV,
              wetlands, shoreline features, etc.) from source imagery (photographic,
              video, or satellite). SOP's would cover source data requirements, system
              input methods, feature delineation routines, map transformation methods,
              quality control and assurance, incorporation of existing data sets (e.g.
              USGS DLG's), quantitative and qualitative feature attributes, data
              management, output data requirements, and interface with other GIS's.

                  A potentially valuable component of continued operational evaluation of
              MIPS would be detailed study of the incorporation of low altitude, video
              imagery in SAV and other natural resource inventories. If this medium can
              be used in a manageable, practical way, it offers potential for increasing
              the range of acceptable atmospheric conditions for conduction of aerial
              surveys, thereby widening flight "windows", facilitating data acquisition,
              and reducing collection costs. Video also has the advantage of being an
              economical, real-time, remote sensing, image medium that is amenable to near
              real-time data collection, analysis, and response to critical environmental
              situations.

                  Another valuable component of continued MIPS evaluation would be a
              thorough investigation of MIPS map registration and rectification routines
              as they relate to highly detailed natural resource feature mapping, such as
              tidal and non-tidal shorelines. Current instrumentation used for this
              purpose is manual, and while very accurate, the process is slow and labor
              intensive.

                  Results of an operational evaluation of MIPS would provide scientists
              and managers with decisive information regarding advantages / disadvantages
              of the incorporation of MIPS in extensive natural resource inventory,
              assessment, and management projects.





                                                   -44-







                                               Section 6


                                            Literature Cited



              ESRI. 1989. PC Data Conversion Users Guide. Environmental Systems
                  Research Institute, Inc., Redlands, CA. 196 p.

              Chormley, K. 1989. MIPS: Basic Systems Operations. Microlmages, Inc.,
                  Lincoln, NB. 99 p.

              Meisner, D. E. 1986. Fundamentals of airborne video remote sensing.
                  Remote Sensing of Environment 19:63-79.

              Miller, L. D., M. Unverferth, K. Chormley, and M. Skrdla. 1989. A Guide to
                  MIPS. Microlmages, Inc., Lincoln, NB. 97 p.

              Orth, R. J. and K. Moore. 1983. Submerged vascular plants: techniques for
                  analyzing their distribution and abundance. MTS Journal 17:38-52.

              Orth, R. J., J. Simons, J. Capelli, V. Carter, A. Frisch, L. Hindman, S.
                  Hodges, K. Moore, and N. Rybicki. 1987. Distribution of submerged
                  aquatic vegetation in the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries and
                  Chincoteague Bay - 1986. U.S.E.P.A. Final Report. 180 p.

              Orth, R. J., K. Moore, and R. Byrne. 1987. Quality assurance project plan
                  for the 1987 submerged aquatic vegetation distribution and abundance
                  survey of the Chesapeake and Chincoteague bays. Project Documentation
                  (unpublished), Va. Inst. of Marine Science, Gloucester Pt., VA. 47 p.

              Orth, R. J., A. Frisch, J. Nowak, K. Moore. 1989. Distribution of
                  submerged aquatic vegetation in the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries and
                  Chincoteague Bay - 1987. U.S.E.P.A. Final Report. 247 p.

              Sidle, J. G. and J. Ziewitz. 1990. Use of aerial videography in wildlife
                  habitat studies. Wildlife Society Bulletin, spring edition. (in
                  press).

              SPSS. 1988. SPSS-X User's Guide, 3rd Edition. SPSS Inc., Chicago,
                  1072 p.





                                                           -45-







                     Table 1. Area measurements for 1987 SAV beds and geographic test areas
                                 computed by MIPS, VIMS SAV GIS, and pe ARC-INFO (units: square
                                 meters)


                            AREA LABEL              SAV Bed Area (square meters)

                          MIPS     VIMS              MIPS        VIMS       pc ARC

                          Alexandria SAV Bed Areas


                          MP07   -   AA            352439      306400       330786
                          MP06   -   BA             18959       24670        18479
                          SP04   -   BA             19823       24670        20203
                          MP05   -   CA             62061       61170        60458
                          SP03   -   CA             62898       61170        64277
                          MP03   -   DA            1589579     1779000      1548280
                          MP04   -   EA             82067       37650        79904
                          MP08   -   FA             37613       42970        36637
                          MP09   -   GA             10672       18100        10399
                          MP09   -   HA              2187        4778         2130
                          NP11   -   IA              3369        3285         3362
                          NPIO   -   JA              5434       14430         5389
                          NP10   -   KA              2091        1864         2074
                          NP08   -   IA & MA        11115        9250        11027
                          NP06   -   QA              3717        7181         3679
                          NP05   -   RA             16653       19590        16455
                          NPOI   &   MP01 -  TA 1329565        1475000      1306591
                          NP03   -   UA             38573       43150        38233
                          NP04   -   VA              3653        5149         3612
                          MP02   &   NP02 -  WA    812293      803900       791219


                          Mt. Vernon SAV Bed Areas


                          SP05 -     AA            824387      820400       829859
                          SP01 -     MA           1968320      1933610     2101136

                          Alexandria Geographic Test Areas

                          NPA1   -   00            148833      135913       147532
                          NPA3   -   00            294838      298145       292007
                          NPA2   -   00            621254      592906       615638
                          MPA1   -   00            146806      135913       142945
                          MPA2   -   00            596958      569208       581484
                          MPA4   -   00            348727      330801       339746
                          MPA3   -   00            257644      231622       250972
                          SPA2   -   00            533092      569208       544522
                          SPA4   -   00            335776      330801       343040
                          SPA3   -   00            233089      231622       238072





                                                          -46-






                     Table 1. (continued)


                            AREA LABE               SAV Bed Area (sguare meters)

                          MIPS     VIMS              MIPS        VIMS      Re ARC

                          Mt. Vernon Geographic Test Area

                          SPAI -     00           603473       579708      616637


                          Bloodsworth   SAV Bed Areas


                          0503-7   - AA              6124        8513         6106
                          0503-6   - BA             11308       15190        11261
                          0602-4   - CA             31672       23440        32070
                          0602-5   - DA              6699       20300         6759
                          0501-5   - DB           116822       159100      114524
                          0602-6   - EA              3530       12220         3580
                          0501-6   - EB             16427       24730        16083
                          0602-1   - FA           297797-      358200      301741
                          0503-1   - FB             48963       53660        48487
                          0503-5   - GB             17222       26310        17074
                          0602-3   - HA & GA      132770       126813      134612
                          0503-4   - HB           116785       165500      115581
                          0602-2   - IA             75272       35130        76238
                          0503-3   - IB             33134       73810        32719
                          0603-6   - JA           2381007      2492000     2247513
                          0603-8   - JB             10248       36950         9986
                          0503-2   - JB             11161       36950        11045
                          0603-7   - KA           101132        64730        98376
                          0603-2   - KB           207206       201600      201386
                          0603-5   - IA             57915       69290        56316
                          0603-1   - LB              4760        5107         4635
                          0603-4   - MA              5133       10740         4964
                          0603-3   - OA             28689       12820        27848
                          0605-8   - PA           203186       270200      197609
                          0605-7   - QA           173561       185000      168758
                          0605-6   - RA              6803       15720         6640
                          0605-5   - SA           269192       311000      261745
                          0501-4   - SA           385227       311000      377687
                          0605-4   - TA             58374       67890        56771
                          0501-3   - TA             62909       67890        61694
                          0605-2   - VA             41815       54490        40577
                          0501-2   - VA             40174       54490        39411
                          0605-1   - WA              2087        2428         2000
                          0501-1   - WA              2820        2428         2767






                                                     -47-







                   Table 1. (continued)


                         AREA LABEL             SAV Bed Area (sQuare meters)

                        MIPS    VIMS              MIPS       VIMS     Pc ARC

                        Bloodsworth  Geographic Test Areas
                             
                        0605-Al - 00            385666     383890      374634
                        0605-A2 - 00           1720824    1676505     1673152
                        0603-Al - 00             69429      67514       67629





                                                          -48-






                    Table 2. Results of statistical comparisons of geographic test areas and
                               SAV bed areas measured by MIPS, VIMS SAV GIS, and pc ARC-INFO.
                               (units: square meters)

                              Abbreviations used:      ADFI    absolute  diff.  VIMS  & MIPS
                                                       RDF1    relative  diff.  VIMS  & MIPS
                                                       ADF2    absolute  diff.  VIMS  & pc ARC
                                                       RDF2    relative  diff.  VIMS  & pe ARC
                                                       ADF3    absolute  diff.  MIPS  & pc ARC
                                                       RDF3    relative  diff.  MIPS  & pc ARC
                                                       MEAN  - Mean or average value
                                                       SD    - standard deviation
                                                       N     - number of samples

                          Geographic Test Areas

                          MEANMIPS  MEANVIMS MEANARC
                            449744    438125     444860


                          MEANADF1  MEANRDFl   MEANADF2 MEANRDF2 MEANADF3 MEANRDF3
                             17250        .05     12935       .04      10151       .02


                            SDMIPS    SDVIMS      SDARC
                            407563    398345     396901


                            SDADF1    SDRDFl     SDADF2     SDRDF2    SDADF3   SDRDF3
                             14060        .03       9851      .03      11629       .01


                             NMIPS      NVIMS       NARC
                                  14        14        14



                          Sav Bed Areas


                          MEANMIPS  MEANVIMS MEANARC
                            218311    229875     214085


                          MEANADF1  MEANRDFI   MEANADF2 MEANRDF2 MEANADF3 MEANRDF3
                             23320        .30     27648       .31       6272       .02


                            SDMIPS    SDVIMS      SDARC
                            489093    510551     477992


                            SDADFI    SDRDFl     SDADF2     SDRDF2    SDADF3   SDRDF3
                             36125        .29     49576       .29      19485       .01


                             NMIPS      NVIMS       NARC
                                  56        56        56





                                                        -49-






                    Table 3. Results of statistical analysis of correlation between
                              geographic test areas and SAV bed areas measured by VIMS SAV
                              CIS and MIPS


                              Abbreviations used:      N   - number of samples
                                                       SIG - significance level


                            SAV Potomac-Test Area Correlations


                            VIMS          .9946
                            with      N(    11)
                            MIPS      SIG .000


                            SAV Potomac Bed Correlations


                            VIMS          .9971
                            with      N(    22)
                            MIPS      SIG .000



                            SAV Bloodsworth Test Area Correlations


                            VIMS        1.0000
                            with      N(      3)
                            MIPS      SIG .001



                            SAV Bloodsworth Bed Correlations


                            VIMS          .9979
                            with      N(    34)
                            MIPS      SIG .000



                            SAV Potomac & Bloodsworth Test Area Correlations



                            VIMS          .9991
                            with      N(    14)
                            MIPS      SIG .000


                            SAV Potomac & Bloodsworth Bed Correlations


                            VIMS          .9975
                            with      N(    56)
                            MIPS      SIG .000





                                                   -50-
































                   Figure 1. MIPS workstation at Salisbury St. Univ., with (1-r) 11386" pc-
                              AT with monitor, mouse, 512 H by 480 V medium-res color
                              monitor, WORM optical disk drive, and 300 dpi color scanner.


























                                                                                   f-4-4 -4


                   Figure 2.  MIPS Workstation at Va. Council on the Environment, with (1-
                              r) 1280 H by 1024 V high-res color monitor, 512 H by 480 V
                              medium-res color monitor, 800 Mbyte optical disk drive, "386"
                              pc-AT with monitor.




                                                              -51-



                                   COMPLETE MIPS WORKSTATION


                               INPUT          DISPLAY / PROCESSING         STORAGE-1/0          OUTPUT
                             I
                              VID 0
                              CAMERA
                                                   HI-RES COLOR

                                                   IMAGE MONITOR
                            VCR                                                REEL TO

                                                                              REEL TAPE
                       SLIDE SCANNER          MOUSE                             DRIVE            COLOR

                                                                                                PLOTTER
                         DIGITIZING                  Vc MONITOR
                          TABLET
                                                                         --FCASSETTE
                                                               SK               DRIVE
                                                   PC
                        FLATBED                             DR VES
                        SCANNER                                                OPTICAL           COLOR
                                                     KEVBOARD                   D SK            PRINTER


                      Figure 3. Schematic of complete          MIPS workstation.













                                                                      V












                      Figure 4. Portion of USGS Alexandria, VA - DC                MD, 1965   (Photorevised
                                    1971 and Photoinspected 1972), 7.5 minute quad map scanned
                                    into MIPS at 200 dpi and displayed on a high-res color
                                    monitor.
                                                   01  A T                   LILI V @E
                                                            DRI


                                                        V
                                                    @KE B@OARD
                                                                                  I





                                                     -52-











                                                       ,goo-























                                                4M



                                                  7@:

                   Figure 5.   Fiducial mark for N  38 deg. 45 min., W 77  deg. 2.5 min. on a
                               scanned portion of the USCS Mount Vernon,  VA -  MD, 1966
                               (Photorevised 1971), 7.5 minute quad map selected as a ground
                               control point for MIPS quad map registration.






















                   Figure 6. First step of color scanner input - scanning entire color
                               positive, 9" by 9", 2 September 1987 aerial photo contact
                               print of the Alexandria, VA area in low-res mode for
                               positioning.
                                          03q





                                                  -53-


































                  Figure 7. Color positive, 9" by 911, 2 September 1987 aerial photo
                             contact print of the Alexandria, VA area scanned into MIPS at
                             approximately 75 dpi and displayed on the hi-res color
                             monitor.






                                          IN         '4,


                                                         jr










                                                         44,





                  Figure 8. Black and white, 9" by  9", 25 September 1987 positive aerial
                             photo contact print of the Alexandria, VA area, scanned by
                             MIPS at approximately 100 dpi and displayed on the hi-res
                             color monitor.





                                                     -54-







   10



                                                                                            V








                                                                                   "lei







                   Figure 9.   Black and white, 9" by  9", 5 October 1987, positive aerial
                               photo contact print of  the Bloodsworth Is., MD area, scanned
                               by MIPS at approximately 100 dpi and displayed on the hi-res
                               color monitor (SAV areas outlined  in yellow using mouse).







                                                          -7'









                                                                        I-A





                                         V
                                         W7W,

                   Figure 10. Color positive, 9" by 9", 28 June 1987 aerial photo color
                               film contact transparency of the lower York River area
                               scanned into MIPS at approximately 100 dpi and displayed on
                               the hi-res color monitor.
                                                   '1 14





                                                  -55-




                                                          1992_@@
                                                             17@         -K:q';'. 77t

                                                                                   -J,

                                                    =E'g


                                                                  7"




                                              @g


                                      4%
                                          :
                                           R-,
                                          'W RE
                                       2  5





                                                                              T'@




                                                         .. . ..... . ..



                                          4
                                                                             0









                                                                        @.V
                                                                                   j@:@


                                                                          T-f

            f                                                                         00!





                                                                                    J    "i i







                 Figure 11. Color hardeopy print of a captured aerial video image of the
                            Gloucester Pt., VA area, taken at 670 meters (2200 feet) on
                            26 October 1988. An SAV bed is visible extending from lower
                            right to just below the pier.





                                                  -56-











                                                       MIT

















                                                                           41










                  Figure 12. SAV beds in the Alexandria, VA, Mount Vernon, VA area,
                             manually delineated in yellow, using a mouse.

























                  Figure 13. "Zoomed" view of SAV areas in the Bloodsworth Island, MD
                             area, manually delineated using a mouse. The yellow outline
                             is completed. The white is still under construction.





                                                     -57-
















                                                           -y*















                   Figure 14.  SAV areas (yellow) in the Alexandria, Va area, delineated by
                               MIPS feature mapping routine. Blanked areas, not included in
                               the analysis, appear dark on the image.





                                                4













                                                        A







                   Figure 15. SAV vector outlines in the Alexandria, VA, Mount Vernon, VA
                               area, created by MIPS "Auto-Line" function.





                                                  -58-



































                  Figure 16. "Zoomed" view of an SAV vector outline in the Bloodsworth
                             Island, Md area, displaying typical jagged effect, resulting
                             from the direct raster to vector transformation, with no
                             thinning or smoothing applied.























                  Figure 17. "Zoomed" view of an SAV outline in.the Bloodsworth Island, MD
                             area, before (white) and after (green) applying MIPS "Thin-
                             Vect" function to thin and smooth jagged artifacts created in
                             raster to vector transformation.





                                                      59-





























                   Figure 18. SAV vector outlines in the Bloodsworth Island, MD area
                              displayed in white over portion of a scanned USGS Bloodsworth
                              Island, MD, 1973, 7.5 minute quad map of the area.


                                    7











                                             @J,




                                         7.








                                                 TY


                                    A




                  Figure 19. 'Zoomed" view  of  vector ground control  point 33" (white
                              cross) in the process of being 'dragged', via mouse, to the
                              corresponding  feature on the scanned USGS Bloodsworth Island,
                              MD, 1973, 7.5 minute quad map.



















                               'tit,








                                         C 0V








                                                                   C"







                                          4,
                                         4.




                  Figure 20.  Linear least-squares  ma? transformation of SAV vector
                              outlines (white) in the 3loodsworth Island, MD area overlayed
                              on a scanned portion of the USGS Bloodsworth Island, MD,
                              1973, 7.5 minute quad map. Note close correspondence of
                              ground control points.





                                                  -61-







                                                                   @9603-1



                                                             603-2







                             0



                                                                                    03-




                                  603-

                                                           3 1




                                          0603-6




















                 Figure 21. SAV polygons in the Bloodworth Island, MD area, created by
                            MIPS, imported and plotted by pc ARC-INFO.
                                                  ;3 61
                                             3 @-




                                                                    -62-








                                                          MERG D AQUATIC VEGETATION - 1987

                                                                                                               V.


                                                                          b.4









                                                                                                    T,






























                                                                                   044





                                                                                                   kL       V"I:"


                                                                                                           DATE FLOWN
                                                     SPErAES                                                   92-87
                                     7'.                  w                            SURVEYSTAnM    ALEXANDRI.@,
                                     Wn                                                                  VA-DC-MD
                                     Po                   Cd
                                     P5.                  P1.                                                  034
                                                          149.                          v*t5Fw&-"
                                     N                    NW                            U-'LGZ. a 14.V.CC. SLOM
                                     F.                   c
                                     v.
                                     Tn r-t-




                         Figure 22. USGS Alexandria, VA             DC     MD, 1965 (Photorevised 1979), 7.5
                                       minute (topographic),         1:24,000, mylar base quad map edition
                                       with SAV beds and geographic test areas labeled and outlined
                                        in bold ink (after Orth et. al, 1989).





                                                                                -63-






                                                  SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION-19
                                                                   *A
                                                                                                                            #-.M%Cd

                                                               1
                                                                   A:
                                                                @77Q 8 -





                                                                                              r


                                                                                                                                        x



                                                                                                                         d
                                                                                            4?.
                                                                                4- M&,VAC4oHv OA4
                                                                                            k%4



                                                                                                                    LA4
                                                                                                                                            V6
                                                                                                 IA4




                                                                                            A-A


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                                                                               t:4I
                                                                            y   n


                                                                                                                           v Z'.-Tt'




                                                 C
                                               0
                                                                                                     rv
                                                                                                   0

                                                                                                      Iv


                                                                              ir



                                                             "rA A;r
                                                         Hv."
                                                                                                           -7 -
                                                                                    5
                                                    EA
                                                                              @4
                                                        -@J Y. a          kk
                                                                            @N
                                                     M



                                                      CA4
                                                                          ;2@



                                                                                                                       Zt

                                                                  SPECIES
                                                                                                             SURVEY STATMS     MT. VERNON
                                                                                                                                      VA-M6
                                                                          CA C..Ojft@pw*
                                               ft.                                                            cft"Fk"Obunavan             00
                                               Z0                         tip                              A  V04F.W&@"
                                               "ft--0@4                   HW
                                               ft                         C                                   U.S.Oz. a N.V.C.C. S-W
                                               va
                                               T.
                                               U



                           Figure 23. USGS Mount Vernon, VA - MD, 1966 (Photorevised 1983,
                                               Bathymetry Added 1982), 7.5 minute (topographic-bathymetric),
                                               1:24,000, mylar base, quad map edition with SAV beds and
                                               geographic test areas labeled and outlined in bold ink (after
                                               Orth et. al, 1989).





                                             -65-













                                                                       cNPA















                                                           &PO6
                                           (OP07

                                          @PO8                       05

                       84PA2


                                           fPIDQ





                                                         &IPO I      OP04
                                           NO                        P03


                                           RPI I
                         6NPA                                       02
                                                                @p




               Figure 25. KIPS derived SAV and geographic test area polygon outlines
                         plus ground control points from aerial photograph 129-4, 2
                         September 1987 (northern Alexandria, VA area).





                                                                                      -66-






















                                                                                                                 &IP02






                                                                                               &TO 1

                                                                    61po




                                                          &1P03










                                       &1PA12



                                                                           P05


                                                                              06




                                                                          dip 7
                                        0
                                               &IPA3                                                                                &IPA4
                                               .PPA3
















                             Figure 26. MIPS derived SAV and geographic test area polygon outlines
                                                plus ground control points from aerial photograph 129-6, 2
                                                September 1987 (central Alexandria, VA area).





                                                                                      -67-



















                                                                       &P02

                                        8SPA2.




                                                                          c@  4




                                                                         'qP 5

                                                                                                                                    SPA4


                                                &PA3














                                                                                                                                spot











                                                                         OAI











                              Figure 27. HIPS derived SAV and geographic test area polygon outlines
                                                 plus ground control points from aerial photograph 129-7, 2
                                                 September 1987 (southern Alexandria, VA - northern Mt.
                                                 Vernon, VA area).





                                                                        -68-













                                                                                                    1@g605-1


                                                                        05-3


                                                                                                                 (9605-Al







                                                                                                        '960 -5






                                                                0605-6




                                                                                                  P605-A2













                                   ,P605-









                        Figure 28. MIPS derived SAV and geographic test area polygon outlines
                                        plus ground control points from aerial photograph 06-05, 5
                                        October 1987 (northwest section of BloQdsworth Island, MD).






                                                                -69-















                                                                                           603-1





                                                                                   ,0603-








                                       3-3
                                (2P03-4                   0603-6                                          @603-8

                                                cO6O 7



                                                                         060 Al





























                     Figure 29. MIPS derived SAV and geographic test area polygon outlines
                                    plus ground control points from aerial photograph 06-03, 5
                                    October 1987 (west central section of Bloodsworth Island,
                                   MD).





                                                   -70-












































                                                                                 E-Zog&




                                                                                       zW&











                                                                            I -Z0q&
                  SJ@












                  Figure 30. MIPS derived SAV and geographic test area polygon outlines
                             plus ground control points from aerial photograph 06-02, 5
                             October 1987 (southwest section of Bloodsworth Island, MD).





                                                   -71-


















                                2


















                              ,P501-4







                                                                  ,05 -5



























                  Figure 31. MIPS derived SAV and geographic test area polygon outlines
                             plus ground control points from aerial photograph 05-01, 5
                             October 1987 (northeast section of Bloodsworth Island, MD).




                                                   -72-























                                                            -5




                     03-2















































                                                                                      503-7





                   Figure 32. MIPS derived SAV and geographic test area polygon outlines
                              plus ground control points from aerial photograph 05-03, 5
                              October 1987 (southeast section of Bloodsworth Island, MD).





                                                  -73-





























































                  Figure 33. MIPS SAV polygons (red) and VIMS photo-interpreted outlines
                             of SAV beds (green) in the Alexandria, VA, Mount Vernon, VA
                             area, overlayed on NOS shoreline (1:24,000) (figure included
                             in plastic page insert).










         3850. D
                                                                                                         .NoType
                                                                                                        qpA3





         3849. 5












         3849. 0
                                          NPAI                       NP07              NP06
                                                                     0
                                                                   N1900pe

                                                                                          NP05



         3848.5
                                                                   NP10
                                                                                               WPO3









         3848.0                                                  NPID                         NP04
                                                              'UNP 1 1

                                                                                                          NoType

                                                                                      AP k#Fbct2

         3847.5 -                                                MP03
                                                                   04










         3847.0 -










                                                                                        01
                         MPA2               SP     MP
         3846.5



                                                             04

                                                            06






         3846.0

                                        MPA3
                             SPA3
                                                                                                      PA

                                                                                                          MPA4






         ,3845-.-5













         3845.0




                                                SPA








         3844.5













         3844.0









                                                                                                            u                  u                  u
                                                                                                            OD                 OD                 OD



                                                                                                            Ln                 0                  Ln
                                                                                                    7704. 0








                                                                                                    7703. 5








                                                                                                    7703. 0








                                                                                                    7702. 5








                                                                                                    7702. 0









                                                                                                    7701. 5









                                                                                                    7701. 0








                                                                                                    7700. 5





                                                   -74-





























































                  Figure 34. MIPS SAV polygons (red) and VIMS photo-interpreted outlines
                             of SAV beds (green) in the Bloodsworth Island, MD area,
                             overlayed on NOS shoreline (1:24,000) (figure included in
                             .plastic page insert).









       3812. 5






                                                                                                 0605-A
                                                                  0605-3


                                                                   10501-3        N
       3812. 0 -                                                    Inc       605-
                                                                                     060


                                                                                   0501







       3811. 5 -
                                                               0605-6


                                                                 05








       3811.0 -






                                         0605-8






       3810. 5









                                                                         0603-1
       3810.0 -                                                    0603-t






       3809.5 -
                                      603
                                    03-   0603-9

                                   0                        0603-



       3809.0


                                                                                                   0503-3










       3808. 5











                                  602-1
       3808.0

                                                                       0 0
                                                                      W5 2-13
                                                                         1@1@6 02-5

                                                                              0602-4


       3807.5                            +






       3807.0                             1
                                                                                 :No 06
                                                                                 @@ @05 0 10























             C)            Ln             C)           Ln            C)            U-)                         kn
                                          LO           -.Zt:         --d:          r)            pq
             C)            C)             CD           C)            Cl            CD            CD             CD
             to                           (0









        3 8 12. 5






                                            0605-A



                            No    e
        38121@       @C) 605-
                               060


                             050






                                                                       0501-5













        3811. 0











        3810. 5                                                                              0501-6





                                                                         C),5 0 3 -1

                   0603-1


        3810. 0









                                                                         0503-5


        3809. 5













        3809. 0

                                               0503-










        3808. 5












                                                                                                 0503-6
        :380@. 0                                                                              aftpIk
                 0 0
                  1 2-6
                       02-5                                                                               00 503-7

                        0602-4



        3807. 5










        3807. 0
               0               Ln             C:)            LO              C)            in             C:)            Ln

                                                                                                                         0
               0               C)                            C)              C)            C)             C)             0
               to              (D             to             LD              to            w              ED





                                                                  -75-


















                                        SAV GEOGRAPHIC TEST AREAS
                                               Alexandria, VA & Bloodsworth Is, MD Quads

                                                         (areas in square meters)


                    200000





                     1000000.

                     800000.

            0
            U_       600000.
            z

            cc       400000.


            CL
            C6
            CL       200000-
                                                                                                              LEGEND

                                                                                                                 PC WC-iREA
                     100000                                                                                      RSO - .998
                       80000.                                                                                    MIPS AREA
                      60000                                                                                      RSO - .997
                            0      0    0                                        L      L)   10              0
                            C)     C)   C:)             C)              0        CD     0    0               0
                            0      0    0               0               0        0      Q    C)              OP
                            CD     Q    C3              C)              C)       C)     0    0               n
                                   00   C@              0               0        0      0
                                                        (Xi             It       to     OD
                                                                                                             C\j

                                                              VIMS SAV GIS




                       Figure 35. Scatterplot of MIPS and pe ARC-INFO derived geographic test
                                     area measurements versus VIMS SAV CIS derived geographic test
                                     area measurements (MIPS vs. VIMS - solid box, pe ARC-INFO vs.
                                     VIMS     hollow diamond).





                                                                                         -76-
















                                                                             SAV BED AREAS

                                                                   Alexandria, VA & Bloodsworth Is, IVID Quads

                                                                                 (areas in square meters)


                                    3000000 -

                                    2000000.


                                    10000000


                                    500000.
                                    400000m
                                    300000 -
                   0                200000 -
                   LL


                                    1000006
                   6
                   cc
                   <                50000.
                   U                40000a
                                    30000a
                   U)               20000-
                   CL


                                    10000.                                                                                                               LEGEND


                                    5000
                                    4000                                                                                                                     PC-ARC AREA
                                    3000-            4F                                                                                                      RSQ - .945
                                    2000.
                                                                                                                                                                 S AREA
                                                                                                                                                             RSO -.945
                                    1000                                                                                                                     M@' PC
                                         C)       C)            c;      c;                  c;          0         c;    c;              CD        0    0
                                         C)       C)    C3 c:) 0        C@        Cp    C) c@ cnp       C)        c@    C)  C@ C)       C)        0    C)
                                                  C)    c:) c:) C)                C3    C@ CD Cp        C)        C3    C3  C) C)       C)        0@   C3
                                                  W     c) 't Ln        C)        0     C) 0 a          0         C3    0   0 0         0         0    0
                                                                                  Cki   n Nr LO         C3        C3    c@  C) c@       CD        C3   CD
                                                                                                                  ci    cn  'cr Lc)     C)        C)   0
                                                                                                                                                  cli

                                                                                        VIMSSAV GIS




                               Figure 36. Scatterplot of MIPS and pc ARC-INFO derived SAV bed area
                                                   measurements versus VIMS SAV GIS derived SAV bed area
                                                   measurements (MIPS vs. VIMS - solid box, pc ARC-INFO vs. VIMS
                                                       hollow diamond).





                                                    -77-




    0                                            Appendix A

                                             MIPS Menu Listing

                                           (after Ghormley, 1989)




















   0














   0





                                                                                  Appendix J: Menu


                                             MIPS menu listing

            This section includes a complete listing of the MIPS menus for version 2.3. Menu
            selections for the main menu show in bold and large font size. Second-level menu
            choices show in bold at the regular font size. You can print a copy of the menus
            with the external LISTMENU utility from the MIPS subdirectory at the DOS prompt.

            1   DISPLAY                      Create color or black and white displays
                I  RASTER                    Orthogonal display of 1, 2 or 3 rasters
                2  3D VIEW                   Perspective display of 2, 3 or 4 rasters
                   I RASTERS                 Select a raster and all parameters & display
                   2 BATCH                   Batch process a series of shots of the current file
                3  VECTOR                    Display vector data
                4  3D VECTOR                 Display vector data
                   1 VECTOR                  Select a vector file & viewpoint and display
                   2 METHOD                  Select a display method
                   3 VIEWPOINT               Select a viewpoint
                   4 LIGHT                   Select a lightsource
                   5 MISC                    Select miscellaneous display parameters
                   6 RECALC                  Recalculate scaling and display
                5  CONTRAST                  Perform contrast stretching and color balancing
                6  EDIT COLORS               Create and edit pseudo-color tables
                   I CREATEIEDIT             Create or edit pseudo-color table for a raster
                   2 COPY COLORS             Copy,pseudoroolor table from one raster to another
                   3 COMPRESS                Compress color table by removing duplicates
                7  COMPOSITE                 Create composite color raster from 3 rasters
                   1 8-BIT                   Create 8-bit composite color raster by optimization process
                   2 16-Brr                  Create 16-bit composite color raster using 5-5-5 method.


            2 INTERPRET                      Manual and automated Interpretation of rasters
                I RASTER STAT                Compute and display statistical Information using rasters
                   I STATISTICS              Display standard statistics about raster data
                   2 HISTOGRAM               Compute frequency of occurrence of values in a raster
                   3 CORRELATE               Compute and display coffellations between rasters
                     1 COMPUTE               Compute and display correllation between two rasters
                     2 DISPLAY               Display previously computed correlation between two rasters
                2 VECTOR                     Perform statistical Interpretations on vector date_
                   I POLYGON                 Display information about vector polygons(s)
                   2 HOME RANGE              Compute "home range* polygons using vector point data
                     1 . MIN POLYGON         Compute home range using modified rriinimurn polygon method
                     2 HARMONIC              Compute home range using harmonic mean method
                     3 FOURIER               Compute home range Fourier transform method
                   3 INTERSECT               Intersect two vector sets to create a now vector set.
                     I COMPLETE              Completely intersect two vector sets .
                     2 PARTIAL               Output only the polygons inside other polygons
                3  CONVOLVE                  Compute a convolution on a single raster
                   1 FILTER                  Filter rasters
                   2 SURFACE                 Compute s", aspect and shading for an elevation raster
                4  COMBINE,                  Perform celi-by-cell transforms and combinations of rasters
                   I USER DEFINE             Perform user-defined transformation on rasters
                   2 ALGEBRAIC               Algebraic corrbnations of rasters
                     I ADD                   Add pairs of rasters


                                                     88







                                                                                                        Appendix J: Menu


                             2   SUBTRACT                 Subtract pairs of rasters
                             3   MUL11PLY                 Multiply pairs of rasters
                             4   DIVIDE                   Divide pairs of rasters
                             5   OFFSET                   Add a constant to a raster
                             6   SCALE                    Mulliply a raster by a constant
                          3  LOGICAL                      Cell-by-cell logical combinations of rasters
                             1 THRESHOLD                  Threshold rasters
                             2 THRESH GREY                Separate colors from grey
                             3   EXTR-COLOR               Extract selected color by thresholding
                             4   RANGE                    Select values within specified range
                          4  COLOR                        Color transformations of rasters
                             I   RGB->HIS                 Transform Red-Green-Blue to Hue-Intensity-Saturation
                             2   HIS->RGB                 Transform Hue-Intensity-Saturation to Red-Green-Blue
                             3   RGB->CMY                 Transform Red-Green-Blue to Cyan-Magenta-Yellow           51d]
                             4   CMY->RGB                 Transform Cyan-Magenta-Yellow to Red-Green-Blue            rL/dj
                             5   INDICES                  Predetermined special transformations for satellite images
                                 1     IVISS              Indices specific to Landsat Multispectral Scanner imagery
                                       I  ND              Normalized Difference Index (B-A)/(B+A)*scale
                                       2  TV]             Transformed Vegetation Index
                                       3  LAI             Leaf Area Index
                                       4  KAUTH           Kauth greeness/brightn  'essindex:
                                       5  BRYANT          Jack Bryant dimensional reduction
                                 2     TM                 Indices specific to Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery
                                       I  ND              Normalized Difference Index (B-A)/(B+A)*scale
                                       2  TVI             Transformed Vegetation Index
                                       3  TASSLED CAP Kauth tassled cap (greennesstbrightnesstwetness) index
                             6 PRINC-COMP                 Perform principle components analysistreduction on rasters
                             7 CONTRAST                   Process a raster through a contrast table to make a new raster
                    5     FOURIER                         Perform cell-by-cell tran    *sforms & combinations of rasters
                          I FORWARD FFT                   Compute Fourier Transform for a raster
                          2 INVERSE FFT                   Compute Inverse Fourier Transform
                    6     ON-SCREEN                       On-screen Interpretation of images
                          1  FEATURE MAP                  Perform interactive on-screen mapping of features
                             I   SELECT AREA              Select portion of displayed image or raster to analyze
                             2   CATEGORY                 Define land use or other category overlay
                             3   CLASSIFY                 Classify areas
                             4   tRANS LABEL              Transfer labeling info from vector polygon overlay
                             5   PROCESS                  Perform final processing and store results
                             6   VECTORIZE                Convert feature map output raster to vector polygons
                             7   EDIT TEXT                Edit text files with MIPS editor
                          2  COLOR-CODE                   Color code black and white rasters
                             I CREATE/EDIT                Create or edit pseudo-color table for a raster
                             2   COPY COLORS              Copy pseudo-color table from one raster to another
                             3   COMPRESS                 Compress color table by removing duplicates
                          3  RASTER                       Interpret rasters by dravAng on screen
                          4  VECTOR                       Interpret vectors by drawing over rasters
                          5  SELECT AREA                  Select portion of currently displayed image to analyze
                    7     SEMIAUTO                        Sernlautomated Interpretation using preldent1fled features
                          I  MAX-LIKE                     Maximum likelihood classification
                             I CLASSIFY                   Maximum-Ukelihood classification
                             2 SETUP BATCH                Prepare batch classification
                             3 RUN BATCH                  Run previously created batch classification
                          2  STEPWISE                     Stepwise linear classification
                             I CLASSIFY                   StepvAse linear classification


                                                                     89






                                                                                                        Appendix J: Menu


                             2 SETUP BATCH                Prepare batch classification
                             3 RUN BATCH                  Run previously created batch classification
                        3    SUITS -                      Suits classification
                             1 CLASSIFY                   Classification by Suits! algorithm
                             2 SETUP BATCH                Prepare batch classftmdon
                             3 RUN BATCH                  Run previously created batch classification
                        4    PARIS                        Jack Pads classification
                             I CLASSIFY                   Classification by Paris's algorithm
                             2 SETUP BATCH                Prepare batch classification
                             3 RUN BATCH                  Run previously created batch classification
                    8 AUTOMATIC                           Automated Interpretation with subsequent feature labeling
                        1    SIMPLE                       Simple distance-based cluster-seeking classification
                        2    K-MEANS                      Classily-based on rninirnization of a performance index
                             1 CLASSIFY                   K-MEANS classification
                             2 SETUP BATCH                Prepare batch classification
                             3 RUN BATCH                  Run previously created batch classification
                             FZYC-MEANS                   Classify using fuzzy C-means method
                             I  'CLUSTERING               Fuzzy cLMeans. ckistering
                             2 SETUP BATCH                Prepare batch clustering
                             3 RUN BATCH                  Run previously created batch clustering
                        4    PARIS                        Jack Pads unsupervised classification
                             I CLASSIFY                   Classification by Pads' method
                             2 SETUP BATCH                Prepare batch classification
                             3 RUN BATCH                  Run previously created batch classification


                3 PREPARE                                 Prepare data from source materials
                    1 RASTER                              Perform maintenance on raster data and related Information
                        I . COPY RASTER                   Copy MIPS raster data between files
                             1  COPY                      Copy raster and related data between files
                                1    STANDARD             Copy multiple rasters Wth all related objects between files
                                2    GENERAL              Copy all or part of one raster to another
                                3    INSERT               Insert a smaller raster into a larger raster
                                4    16BIT->8BIT          Convert 16-bit (non-color) rasters to 843it rasters
                                5    COPY SCALE           Copy scale information from one raster to another
                                6    OTHER OBJS           Copy other raster-related objects between rasters
                             2  ENLARGE                   Zoom rasters by cell replication
                             3  REDUCE                    Shrirk rasters by cell sampling
                             4  RE-ORIENT                 Change raster orientation by rotating and inverting
                                1    ROT W CW             Rotate rasters 90 degrees clocl@wise
                                2    ROT 900 CCW          Rotate rasters 90 degrees counter-cloclvMse
                                3    ROTATE 180r*         Rotate rasters 180 degrees
                                4    FUP HORZ             Invert rasters horizontally
                                5    FUP VERT             Invert rasters vertically
                             5 CREATE                     Create new empty raster
                        2    EDrr-RASTER                  Edit raster data interactively on-screen
                        3    MERGE                        Merge multiple rasters into a single raster
                             I  11LE                      Tile multiple parallel rasters into a single raster
                                1 TILE                    Tile rasters
                                2 SETUP BATCH             Prepare batch file(s)
                                3 RUN BATCH               Run a previously prepared batch file
                             2  MOSIAC                    Mosaic non-parallel rasters registered to a map projection
                                1 MOSAIC                  Mosiac calibrated rasters




                                                                    90





                                                                                   Appendix J: Menu


                          2 SETUP BATCH       Prepare batch mosaic raster file(s)
                          3 RUN BATCH         Run previously created batch mosaic raster file(s)
                   4 REGISTER                 Calibrate raster to map projection, raster or vector
                      1   MANUAL              Calibrate to map projection by manually entering control points
                          1 CALIBRATE         Calibrate raster data to map projection
                          2 COPY CALIB        Copy map projction informaln f rom one raster to another
                      2   TO RASTER           Register one raster to another and trim
                      3   TO VECTOR           Calibrate to map projection by overlaying vector
                          1 CALIBRATE         Calibrate raster data to map projection
                          2 COPY CALIB        Copy map projction informatn from one raster to another
                      4   CHANGE PROJ         Change map projection for a raster
                      5   EXTRACT             Extract portion of calibrated raster using map boundaries
                          I   DISPLAY         Display single raster variable from specified coordinates
                          2 EXTRACT           Extract one or more raster variables to work file
                   5 RESAMPLE                 Geometrically after rasters by rescaling, rotating or warping
                      I   LINEAR              Perform linear rescaring and rotation of rasters to any angle
                          1 ALL-INPUT         Resample entire input raster to output file
                          2 SET-OUTPUT        Specify output size and position within input raster
                          3 SETUP BATCH       Setup parameters to run batch job later
                          .4 RUN BATCH        Run previously setup batch jobs
                      2   PIECEMSE            Warp raster to match pre-defined piecewise-fin calibr
                          I WARPRAST          Warp raster(s) by control point registration information
                          2 SETUP BATCH       Prepare batch warp rast file(s)
                          3 RUN BATCH         Run previously created batch warp raster(s)
                      3   POLYNOMIAL          Warp raster to match pre-deterrnined polynomial fit
                          I WARPRAST          Warp raster(s) by control point registration information
                          2 SETUP BATCH       Prepare batch warp rast file(s)
                          3 RUN BATCH         Run previously created batch warp raster(s)
                      4   BY MAP              Extract poriton of calibrated raster using map boundaries
                          1 DISPLAY           Display single raster variable from specified coordinates
                          2 EXTRACT           Extract one or more raster variables to work file
                   6  C04-OR                  Raster color manipulation tool
                      I   COMPOSITE           Create composite color raster from 3 separate rasters
                          1 8-BIT             Create 8-bit composite color rast by opfimization process
                          2 16-BIT            Create 16-bit composite color raster using 5-5-5 method
                      2   COMP->COMP          Reduce number of colors in 843it composite color raster
                      3   dOMP->RGB           Convert composite color raster to 3 separate rasters
                   7  GRAY VALUES             Calibrate raster cell gray levels to a user-defined scale
               2   RAST-:,,VECT               Convert MIPS mster data to vector data
                   I  THRESHOLD               Threshold 8-bit raster data to convert to binary
                      1   THRESHOLD           Threshold rasters
                      2 . THRESH GREY         Separate colors from grey
                      3   EXTR-COLOR          Extract selected color by thresholding
                      4   RANGE               Select values within specified range
                   2  DEFINE TYPE             Create polygon type list to use in raster/vector conversion
                   3  LABEL AREAS             Assign labels to polyWns within raster
                   4  EDIT-RASTER             Edit binary raster data
                   5  THIN-RASTER             Thin binary raster dala
                   6  AUTD-LINE               Automatically convert thinned raster line data to vectors
                   7  SOLID-BOIUIND           Automatic bolundary vectorization of solikWilled areas
                   8  CONTOURS                Compute vector contours from an elevation raster
               3   VECTOR                     Perform maintenance on vector data and related Information
                   1 COPY VECTOR              Copy MIPS vector data between files
                      1 COPY VECTOR           Copy an RVF vector object


                                                      91






                                                                                                               Appendix J: Menu


                               2 EXTRACT                     Extract a portion of a vector,object
                               3 COPY OTHER                  Copy sub-objects from one vector to another
                          2    MERGE VECTS                   Merge multiple vector sets into one
                          3    VECT POLYS                    Process vector One data into polygon data
                          4    FROM DBASE                    Build a vector set with a node for ea record in a database
                          5    EDIT                          Edit vector data
                               1 FULL VECTOR                 Edit all vector set data overlaying on raster if desired
                               2 NODE SYMBOL                 Create or edit symbols for vector nodes
                               3 DEFINE TYPE                 Create vector node, One and polygon type fists
                               4 LABELS                      Edit vector node/fine/polygon labels
                          6    THIN-VECT                     Thin vectors
                          7    MAP PROJ                      Calibrate raster to map projection, raster or vector
                               1   MANUAL                    Calibrate to map projection by manually entering control points
                                   I CALIBRATE               Calibrate vector data to screen, raster or map
                                   2 COPY CALIB              Copy map projection calib from one vect set to another
                               2   OVERLAY                   Calibrate vector data to by ovedaying on current display
                                   1 CALIBRATE               Calibrate vector set directly to a raster
                                   2 COPY CALIB              Copy map proj cafi@4ration from one vect set to another
                               3   WARP VECTOR               Warp vector to match pre-defined non-Onear calibration
                                   1 POLYWARP                Warp or d-warp vector(s) by polynornial transformation
                                   2 TRIWARP                 Warp or d-warp vector(s) by piecewise linear transtm
                               4   CHANGE PROJ               Change map projection for a vector set
                          8    INTERSECT                     Intersect two vector sets to create a new vector set
                               I COMPLETE                    Completely intersect two vector sets
                               2 PARTIAL                     OutptA only the polygons inside other polygons
                          9    EXTRACTLAB                    Extract labels by geographic position
                          0    FIX VECTORS                   Process vector data to remove data errors
                    4     VECT-:,-RAST                       Convert vector data to raster data
                          I    FLAT                          Convert 2-D vector data to a raster
                          2    SURFACE                       CompsAe elevation raster from 3-D vector point data
                               1 POLYNOMIAL                  Polynomial surface fidting
                               2 RECTANGLE                   Piecewise rectangle survace fitting
                               3 TRIANGLE                    Piecewise triangulation surface fitting
                    5     DATABASE                           Create and edit database Information
                          I    LINK DBASE                    Create a Or* to an existing database file (non-MIPS In)
                          2    EDIT LAYOUT                   Customize the location of database fields in the editor
                          3    BUILD                         Build a vector set with a node for evedy record in database
                          4    ATTACH                        Attach database of nodeffinelpoly types to a vector or rast
                          5    EDIT DBASE                    Display and edit an existing database (without graphics)
                          6    ANOTHER                       Create another database from an existing one
                          7    NEW                           Create a new database totally from scratch
                    6     IMPORT                             Convert non-MIPS -data to MIPS format
                          I    RASTER                        Import raster data into MIPS from other disk file formats
                               I   STANDARD                  Convert standard formats to MIPS format
                               2   GENERIC                   Perform generic format conversion
                               3   CREATE(EDIT               Create or edit generic format description
                               4   LINK RASTER               Link to external raster files
                               5   RUN SCRIPT                Run a script file defining files to be imported
                          2    VECTOR                        Import vector data into MIPS from other disk file formats
                               I   DXF                       Import from CAD DXF (Aulocad) format
                               2   DXF3D                     Import from CAD DXF. (Autocad) format
                               3   USGSDLG                   Import standard format ASCII Digital Line Graph data
                                   1 STANDARD                Import standard format ASCII Digital Line Graph data
                                   2 OPTIONAL                Import "Optional Formar ASCII Digital Line Graph data


                                                                        92






                                                                                                            Appendix J: Menu


                                   3 BINARY                 Import BINARY Digital Line Graph data
     46                      4     MOSS                     Import Map Overlay and Statistical System data
                                   1 IMPORT MOSS            Import MOSS data into MIPS
                                   2 CONV POLYS             Convert previously imported data by removing redundant lines
                                   3 DEPTH SORT             Depth-sort polygons to locate islands
                             5     ARC-INFO                 Import Arc/Info, vector formats
                                   I GENERATE               Import AwAnto gGenerate" format data
                                   2 COVERAGE               Import PC ArcAnfo "Coverage" format
                             6     GRASS                    Import GRASS vector format
                             7     TIGER                    Import U.S. Census Bureau TIGER format data
                             8     POINT DATA               Import 2-D (x,y) and 3-0 (xyz) point data into MIPS format
                         3   MISC                           Import miscellaneous data into MIPS
                             1 OPT                          hport old OPT files into MIPS
                        4    FROM TAPE                      Import MIPS rasters from magnetic tapes
                             I     FULL SCENE               Create raster(s) for entire satellite scenes on disk
                                   I  MSS-EDIPS             Create full-scene rasters from MSS-EDIPS format tapes
                                      1 COPY SCENE Copy entire MSS scene from tape to disk
                                      2 MAKE HEADER Create RVF header file for previously read scene
                                   2  TM-1600TIPS           Create 1/4 scene rasters from TM-TIPS 1600 bpi tapes.
                                      I COPY SCENE Copy entire TM 1/4 scene from tape to disk
                                      2 LINK FILES          Link to previously extracted file using original tape
                                   3  TM-1600               Create 1/4 scene rasters from TM-TIPS converted from6250 tape
                                      I COPY SCENE Copy entire TM 1/4 scene from tape to disk
                                      2 LINK FILES.         Link to previously extracted file using original tape
                                   4  TM-6250TIPS           Create 1/4 scene from TM-TIPS 1/4 scene 6250 bpi tape.
                                      1 COPY SCENE Copy entire TM 1/4 scene from tape to disk
                                      2 LINK FILES          Link to previously extracted file using original tape
                                   5  SPOT                  Create full-scene raster(s) from SPOT image tapes.
                                      I COPY SCENE Copy entire SPOT scene. from tape to disk
                                      2 MAKE HEADER Create header file for previously read scene
                             2     SATELLITE                Extract subimage from satellite scene into MIPS rasters
                                   1 MSS                    Extract from Multispectral Scanner Imagery
                                      I   STANDARD          Extract from standard LGSOWG format tapes
                                          1 LAT/LON         Extract by geographic map location
                                          2 LIN/COL         Extract by selected finetcolumn ranges
                                      2   USA-EDIPS         Extr"act from EDIPS format tapes
                                          1 LATILON         Extract by geographic map location
                                          2 LIN/COL         Extract by selected One/column ranges
                                      3   USA-X             Extract I rorn pre-1 979 X-format tapes
                                          I LATILON         Extract by geographic map location
                                          2 LIN/COL         Extract by selected fine/column ranges
                                      4   CANADIAN          Extract from Canadian forn-tat tapes
                                          I LAT/LON         Extract by geographic map location
                                          2 LIN/COL         Extract by selected finelcolumn ranges
                                   2 TM                     Extract from Thematic Mapper Imagery
                                      1   TIPS-1600         Extract from TIPS format 1600 bpi quarter scene tapes
                                          I LAT/LON         Extract by geographic map location
                                          2 LINICOL         Extract by selected Ine/column ranges
                                      2   6250-1600         Extract from tapes converted from 6250 bpi to 1600 bpi
                                          1 LAT/LON         Extract by geographic map location
                                          2 LIN/COL         Extract by selected finelcolumn ranges
                                      3   TIPS-6250         Extract from TIPS format 6250 bpi quarter scene tape
                                          I LAT/LON         Extract by geographic map location
                                          2 UN/COL          Extract by selected finetcolumn ranges


                                                                      93






                                                                                                          Appendix J: Menu


                                      4 SCROUNGE           Extract from original full-scene "scrounge" format
                                          1 LAT/LON        Extract by geographic map location
                                          2 LIN/COL        Extract by selected fine/column ranges
                               2 MEDICAL                   Import medical images into MIPS rasters
                                 1 MRI-GE                  Convert MRI images from GE archive tapes
                                 2 GE CT-9800              Extract images from GE CT model 91300 tapes
                    7 EXPORT                               Export MIPS data to other formats
                          1    RASTER                      Convert MIPS rasters to other disk file formats
                               1 STANDARD                  Export to standard raster formats
                               2 GENERIC                   Export raster data to user-defined foffnat
                               3 CREATEIEDIT               Create or edid generic format description
                          2    VECTOR                      Convert MIPS vector data to other crisk file formats
                               1 DXF                       Export to AutoCAD DXF format
                               2 DXF3D                     Export 3-D vector data to AutoCAD DXF format
                               3 DLG -OPT                  Export 'Optional Formar ASCII Digital Line Graph data
                               4 MOSS                      Export to Map Overlay and Statistical System (MOSS) format
                               5 ARC-INFO GEN              Export Arctlnfo'@Generate format data
                               6 PC ARCINFO                Export PC ArcA nto 'Coverage" format
                               7 GRASS                     Export GRASS vector format
                               8 TIGER                     Export U.S. Census Bureau TIGER format
                    8     SCAN                             Digitize raster data using hardcopy scanner
                          I PARAMETERS                     Set scanning pararriters
                          2 SCAN->DISP                     Scan and display
                          3 SCAN->FILE                     Scan and save in file
                    9     VIDEO                            Digitize video Images from camera or VCR
                          1 CAPTURE                        Display and capture images from video source
                          2 SAVE RASTER                    Save captured image as single or mufti-band raster
                          3 SAVE TARGA                     Save captured image in TARGA format
                4 SUPPORT                                  User and prograhimer utilities
                    1     MIPS                             Display and alter contents of MIPS files
                          I    NUM-RASTER                  Numerically display contents of rasters
                          2    NUM-HISTO                   Numerically fist a histogram
                          3    NUM-CONTR                   Numerically list a contrasting table
                          4    NUM-PSEUDO                  Numerically list a pseudo-color table
                          5    NU?+COLORS                  Numerically fist a color assignment table
                          6    SPLIT RAST                  Split raster datasett into multiple disk-sized pieces
                               1 SPLIT RASTER              Split a set of rasters into several pieces
                               2 RECOMBINE                 Recombine all or part of a previously split raster
                          7    EDIT-CURSOR                 Edit cursor shapes
                    2     EDIT TEXT                        Edit text files with MIPS editor
                    3     TAPE                             Tape utility functions
                          1    GENERAL                     Transfer files to and from general (unlabeled) tapes
                               I SCAN-TAPE                 Scan unknown tape for general layout
                               2 TAPE->DISK                Copy tape file(s) to disk
                               3 DISK->TAPE                Copy disk file(s) to tape
                               4 SETUP                     Set up transfer parameters
                               5 BACKUP                    Backup disk files to tape
                               6 RESTORE                   Restore disk files from tape
                               7 REWIND                    Rewind tape to beginning
                               8 UNLOAD                    Unload tape from drive
                               9 RE-TENSION                Make tape tension even, skip to end of tape, then rewind
                               0 INITIALIZE                Prepare new tape for use or erase old tape



                                                                     94





                                                                                                                  Appendix J: Menu


                            2  STD-ANSI                        Transfer files to and from ANSI standard label tapes
                               1    LIST-FILES                 List files on tape
                               2    TAPE->DISK                 Copy tape file(s) to disk
                               3    ALL->DISK                  Copy all tape files to disk
                               4    REWIND                     Rewind tape to beginning
                               5    UNLOAD                     Unload tape from drive
                            3  STD-IBM                         Transfer files to and from IBM standard label tapes
                               1    LIST-FILES                 List files on tape
                               2    TAPE->DISK                 Copy tape file(s) to disk
                               3    ALL->DISK                  Copy all tape files to disk
                               4    REWIND                     Rewind tape to beginning
                               5    UNLOAD                     Unload tape from drive
                      4 SLIDE SHOW                             Create or play back "slide shows"
                            2 RUN                              Execute a slide show
                            3 EDIT                             Create or modify a slide show definition


                 5 HARDCOPY                                    Output hardcopy
                      I     PRINT                              Dithered print of display screen or files
                            1  SCREEN                          Print the display screen
                            2  RASTER                          Print a MIPS raster file
                            3  TARGA                           Print a TARGA file
                            4  DITHERED                        Print a dithered raster saved earlier
                            5  PRF FILE                        Print a "Print File* (*.PRF) saved earlier
                      2     FILM                               Film recorder output from display -screen or files
                            1  SCREEN                          Print the display screen
                            2  RASTER                          Print a MIPS raster file
                            3  TARGA                           Print a TARGA file
                            4  DITHERED                        Print a dithered raster saved earlier
                            5  PRF FILE                        Print a *Print File* (*.PRF) saved earlier
                      3     PLOT                               Plot vector data
                            I PLOT RVF                         Plot a MIPS vector file
                            2 FROM FILE                        Plot a Plot file
                      4     ANNOTATE                           Add predefined annotations to print rasters


                 6 RETRIEVE                                    Retrieve previously prepared data sets
                      1     HYPER-BASE                         Access the hyper-Index database
                      2     LATILON                            Select area by manually specifying map boundefles;
                            1 DISPLAY                          Display single raster variable from specified coordinates
                            2  EXTRACT                         Extract one or more raster variables to work file
                      3     DATABASE                           Retrieve Information from external database by lat/lon















                                                                          95





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