Multisensor Image Fusion for Enhanced Coastal Wetland Mapping

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the potential utility of multisensor remotely sensed data for improved coastal wetland mapping. Five data fusion models, three algebraic models (Multiplicative (MT), Brovey (BT) and Wavelet transform (WT)) and two spectral domain models (Principals component transform (PCT) and Intensity-Hue-Saturation (IHS)) were implemented and tested over the multisensor data. The fused images were then compared based on visual and statistical approaches. The results show that the wavelet transform provides greater flexibility for combining optical data sets and has good potential for preserving the spatial and spectral content of the original images . However, this model yields poor information when combining optical and microwave data. Brovey transform is more reliable for fusing optical and microwave image data and yields improved information about different wetland features of the coastal zone.