Thanks to the Reviewers of the Journal in 2021

We would like to thank everyone who has helped us by peer reviewing articles submitted to the Ukrainian Journal of Remote Sensing in 2021. By way of thanks here is a list of everyone who has given their time to write a review.

Software and technological complex of identification of sea vessels based on the use of radar space images Sentinel 1

The paper considers the problem of using images from SAR satellites for the identification of seagoing vessels. It describes the main functions of software and technological complex of the automated monitoring. The system is operated with utilizing space images of SAR satellites Sentinel 1A (B). The algorithmic part, which implements the detection on the sea surface the marks associated with ships, is described in details. To reduce the impact of speckle-noise, the image is pre-processed with the improved Lee-filter. Further processing lies in using an adaptive threshold algorithm that provides detection for each local background fragment of the image the unusually bright pixels, at the same time the algorithm provides a constant probability of error. By solving a nonlinear equation, for each position of the background window the algorithm finds the threshold brightness value and then all pixels above this value are considered vessels. In advance the evaluation of parameters of statistical distribution of pixels’ brightness is performed for each position of the background window. K-mean is used for such distribution. The selected bright pixels are combined into compact groups and their size and coordinates are being determined. The obtained results are compared with the data of the AIS, Automatic Identification System of ships, and the results are displayed on a cartographic basis.

Data combination method in Remote Sensing tasks in case of conflicting information sources

Nowadays technologies of UAV-based Remote Sensing are used in different areas, such as: ecological monitoring, agriculture tasks, exploring for minerals, oil and gas, forest monitoring and warfare. Drones provide information more rapidly than piloted aerial vehicles and give images of a very high resolution, sufficiently low cost and high precision.Let’s note, that processing of conflicting information is the most important task in remote sensing. Dempster’s rule of data combination is widely used in solution of different remote sensing tasks, because it can processes incomplete and vague information. However, Dempster’s rule has some disadvantage, it can not deal with highly conflicted data. This rule of data combination yields wrong results, when bodies of evidence highly conflict with each other. That’s why it was proposed a data combination method in UAV-based Remote Sensing. This method has several important advantages: simple calculation and high accuracy. In this paper data combination method based on application of Jaccard coefficient and Dempster’s rule of combination is proposed. The described method can deal with conflicting sources of information. This data combination method based on application of evidence theory and Jaccard coefficient takes into consideration the associative relationship of the evidences and can efficiently handle highly conflicting sources of data (spectral bands).The frequency approach to determine basic probability assignment and formula to determine Jaccard coefficient are described in this paper too. Jaccard coefficient is defined as the size of the intersection divided by the size of the union of the sample sets. Jaccard coefficient measures similarity between finite sets. Some numerical examples of calculation of Jaccard coefficient and basic probability assignments are considered in this work too.This data combination method based on application of Jaccard coefficient and Dempster’s rule of combination can be applied in exploring for minerals, different agricultural, practical and ecological tasks.

The results of the study of spatio-temporal changes in surface temperatures of Zaporizhya based on satellite data

Zaporizhzhia is one of the largest industrial cities located in the central steppe part of Ukraine on both banks of the Dnieper. The presence of a large number of metallurgical, mechanical engineering, chemical and construction industrial facilities forms a powerful thermal island (UHI) which size varies in space and time. The distribution of surface temperatures within the thermal anomaly is influenced by the landscape-functional use of the territory and the established changes that occurred during the 33-year period according to the data obtained from the thermal channels of the Landsat series. The average increase in the land surface temperatures (LST) calculated for this period was 0.149 оС per year for July. The analysis of LST temperature curves according to the data of July and August has been carried out for three profiles that cross the majority of the landscape-functional areas of the city (residential, industrial and post-industrial). The landscape characteristics expressed in the satellite image as land cover are divided on the surface with a decreasing and increasing effect of temperature compared to the mean. Over time, a decrease in contrast between different land cover has been observed due to greater heating of the entire surface over the city and the establishment of a stable effect of UHI with an excess up to 14 оС in industrial areas. The annual increase in LST is in the range from 0.15 to 0.30 оС for the majority of the city. The maximum increase in temperature to 0.6 оС per year has been observed in the densely built-up Pivdennyi residential area and in the zones of industrial facilities in the Factory district of Zaporizhya. Only landscapes of water surfaces and separate agricultural croplands have a reducing thermal effect while the natural cover under meadows, wastelands and even wood vegetation within the city warms up to the mean values. Comparisons of the mean for the whole city of July and August LST has showed the rate of July to be 8 оС higher and temperature fluctuations in August become less amplitude by 2–3 оС.

Vadim Ivanovich Lyalko (on the occasion of his 90th birthday)

A brief review of the biography and scientific achievements of Academician of the NAS of Ukraine V.I. Lyalko on the occasion of the 90th Аnniversary.

Experimental study on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for the prediction of oil and gas facilities

The article is devoted to the topical problem of forecasting oil and gas promising objects using the latest remote sensing technologies. The proposed new approach to obtaining field verification data is an essential component of the methodology for solving oil and gas prospecting problems on land (satellite technology).Experimental field studies were carried out using the Ocean Optics STS-VIS Developers kit spectroradiometer installed on a quadcopter. Using the example of the Vostochnorogintsevska area, which is part of the Talalaevska-Rybaltsy oil and gas region of the Dnieper-Donetsk oil and gas region, the main stages of the developed method are demonstrated: a model of the fault-block structure was created, the neotectonic features of this area and its local blocks were estimated, photometric measurements of a multispectral satellite image along the route were carried out, birch leaves were sampled again along the same route for spectrometry using the ASD FieldSpec 3 FR instrument.The main objective of the experiment was to carry out field measurements with the Ocean Optics STS-VIS Developers kit spectroradiometer along a route that repeats the routes of measurements with spectrometers carried out earlier. The results showed that the optical anomaly, which is identified with a hydrocarbon accumulation, along the profile at the Vostochnorogintsevska area corresponds to the segment between points 15-26.The same anomaly has been established with the spectrometry device ASD FieldSpec 3 FR (2009 and 2021), the instrument SF-18 (1999 and 2004). Sufficiently accurately allocated transition from object to background, which corresponds to the boundary of the deposit on the drilling data (point 16 on the profile), i.e. has been confirmed in principle the possibility of allocating a low-intensity optical anomalies over hydrocarbon reservoirs using spectroradiometer STS-VIS Developers kit, mounted on quadrocopter.

Methodology for determining the physical parameters of ground plane by the results of the optical and radar data fusion

The methodology of multispectral optical and dual-polarized radar satellite data fusion for soils physical parameters estimation is developed. In particular, the methodology comprises relative permittivity estimation based on the Integral Equation Model (IEM) by using high resolution Sentinel-1 GRDH radar data. The calibration of ε was provided based on the compensation of soil acidity and temperature destabilizing effects. High-resolution multispectral images PlanetScope were used for vegetation indices and thermal emissivity estimation. Both, low-resolution MODIS and medium resolution Landsat-7/8 ETM+/TIRS thermal infrared images were processed in order to estimate ground plane thermodynamic temperature. An investigated approach for the radar signal depolarization compensation is based on local signal deviations and surface roughness estimation. The relief heterogeneity is restored based on the medium-resolution digital terrain elevation model ALOS AWD3D. Aiming to evaluate the accuracy of a soil moisture estimation model designed based on the presented methodology, ground truth measurements were carried out. Specifically, they included soil samples retrieving for the gravimetric soil moisture. In addition, the soil acidity and temperature were measured by applying the GM1312 differential thermometer and WALCOM multifunction device. The estimated parameters and ground truth data were used in order to retrieve the soil moisture based on the multivatiative regression dependence. Root mean square error of soil moisture retrieving was estimated as 4,73 %. Such accuracy is completely acceptable for the soil moisture monitoring of natural-reserved fund territories

Detailed investigation algorithm for hydrocarbons deposits exploration in terms of the Shebelynske gas-condensate field

In order to elaborate the neotectonic structure and improve the searching algorithm of new hydrocarbon traps at prospective areas, detailed airspace geological investigation has been carried out. For this study, the selected cross-section Dniprovsko-Donetska depression is the regional seismic profile Lozova-Shebelinka-Staropokrovka within the Shebelinska structure zone.In particular, the investigations consisted of structural and geomorphological analysis, analysis of the hourly seismic profile Lozovaya-Shebelinka-Staropokrovka and analysis of thermal anomalies and structural interpretation by using satellite images. This approach allowed to explore the Shebelinska structure zone and the East-Shebelinska depression for hydrocarbon traps feature properties detecting in Paleozoic sediments.Based on the results of the initial data processing, we established that Paleozoic complex cannot create hydrocarbon deposits, both due to low reservoir properties and due to insufficiently studied structure. Neotectonically, the Shebelinskaya structure looks like a dome-shaped uplift. This uplift is divided by a ravine-gully network into neotectonic blocks. Productive wells are located within the most active blocks.

The Experience in Conducting a Training Course for Teachers, "Fundamentals of Remote Sensing: History and Practice"

This article describes the results of a training course for teachers, "Fundamentals of Remote Sensing: History and Practice", which was organized by the "GIS and Remote Sensing" Laboratory of the National Center "Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine." The article discusses the preconditions for the training course organization and ways of remote sensing data application in the educational process. It also provides examples of individual research by training course participants, which were presented at the closing conference.

A method of quasi-continuous image formation in observation devices with discrete receivers

The article proposes a new method of quasi-continuous image formation in observation devices with discrete receivers. The increase in the number of spatial sampling points in the object image is provided by intraframe scanning. Scanning is carried out by a photosensitive matrix with a regularly changed (controlled) density of the elementary receivers (CDR-matrix). The CDR-matrix contains identical elementary receivers. They are regularly distributed over the matrix surface. The vertical and horizontal distance between adjacent receivers is a multiple of the size of the elementary receiver. The CDR-matrix becomes equivalent in pixel dimensions to a larger photosensitive matrix. The magnitude of the multiplicity placement of the receivers is chosen by the developer when designing the light-sensitive matrix. The image of the object by the CDR-matrix (a separate frame) is composed of a series of snapshots. Each snapshot is formed by signals coming from all elementary receivers of the CDR-matrix. The number of snapshots in the frame is set by the multiplicity of the size of the elementary receivers vertically and horizontally. While using intraframe scanning, the CDR-matrix with a pixel size of the video format can operate in the mode of a photosensitive matrix with a pixel size of 2.5 MP. A CDR-matrix with a pixel size of 6 MP can operate as a 48 MP matrix of a conventional design. A mechanism for storing a frame with observation results when using a CDR-matrix is proposed. It assumes the use of the matrix addition operation. The signal matrix of the observed frame is considered as the sum of the signal matrices of all the snapshots in the frame. Application of the developed method will make it possible to multiply the pixel size of the image relative to the pixel size of the controllable photosensitive matrix. The advantages of the proposed method also include the absence of a mandatory decrease in the effective area of an elementary receiver with an increase in their number in the photosensitive matrix; simplification of hardware measures to reduce the effect of image shift on its quality; absence of information losses in the intervals between adjacent elementary receivers.