FALSE COLOUR COMPOSITE

False color composites are images created by assigning different bands of satellite imagery to the
red, green, and blue channels of an image display. This technique is commonly used in remote
sensing to enhance specific features or phenomena that may not be readily visible in natural color
imagery.

IRS-LISS3

The Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) series, particularly the Linear Imaging Self-Scanning Sensor-
3 (LISS-3), is commonly used for various remote sensing applications due to its moderate spatial
resolution and multispectral capabilities. Here's a comprehensive explanation of how false color
composites can be prepared from IRS LISS-3 imagery:

1. Understand LISS-3 Bands: The LISS-3 sensor typically captures imagery in multiple spectral
bands. It's crucial to understand the characteristics of each band before creating false color
composites. LISS-3 generally has four bands:

• Band 1 (0.52-0.59 μm): Green

• Band 2 (0.62-0.68 μm): Red

• Band 3 (0.77-0.86 μm): Near-Infrared (NIR)

• Band 4 (1.55-1.70 μm): Shortwave Infrared (SWIR)

2. Select Bands for Composite: Depending on the specific objectives of the analysis, select the
appropriate bands for the false color composite. Common combinations include:

• NIR-Red-Green (3-2-1): Enhances vegetation, as healthy vegetation reflects strongly

in NIR.

• SWIR-NIR-Red (4-3-2): Useful for geological applications, as SWIR can help detect
mineral composition.

• NIR-SWIR-Red (3-4-2): Highlights vegetation health and water bodies.

• Other combinations based on specific study goals.

3. Image Registration and Pre-processing: Ensure all images are properly georeferenced and
aligned to each other. Perform any necessary pre-processing steps such as radiometric
calibration, atmospheric correction, and geometric correction.

4. Assign Bands to RGB Channels: Once the images are pre-processed, assign each selected
band to the appropriate RGB channel. For example, if using the NIR-Red-Green combination,
assign the NIR band to the red channel, the red band to the green channel, and the green
band to the blue channel.

5. Image Enhancement: Apply contrast adjustments and other enhancement techniques to

improve the visual quality of the composite. This step involves adjusting brightness, contrast,
and gamma correction to bring out the desired features more clearly.

6. Interpretation and Analysis: Interpret the false color composite to extract information
relevant to the study objectives. Vegetation, water bodies, urban areas, and other features
will appear differently depending on the band combination used.
 7. Documentation: Document the procedures followed, including the band combinations used,
any pre-processing steps, and the interpretation of the composite. This documentation is
crucial for reproducibility and scientific integrity.

By following these steps, you can prepare false color composites from IRS LISS-3 imagery to
effectively analyze and interpret various features on the Earth's surface for a wide range of
applications, including agriculture, forestry, land cover mapping, and environmental monitoring

LANDSAT TM

Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data is often utilized for this purpose due to its multi-spectral
capabilities. The process of creating false color composites involves assigning different bands of
Landsat TM data to different color channels in order to highlight various features on the Earth's
surface. Here's a comprehensive explanation of the preparation of false color composites from
Landsat TM data:

1. Understand Landsat TM Bands: Landsat TM sensors capture data across several spectral
bands ranging from visible light to infrared. These bands include:

• Band 1: Blue (0.45 - 0.52 µm)

• Band 2: Green (0.52 - 0.60 µm)

• Band 3: Red (0.63 - 0.69 µm)

• Band 4: Near Infrared (0.76 - 0.90 µm)

• Band 5: Mid Infrared (1.55 - 1.75 µm)

• Band 6: Thermal Infrared (10.40 - 12.50 µm)

• Band 7: Mid Infrared (2.08 - 2.35 µm)

2. Select Bands for Composite: Depending on the application and features of interest, specific
bands are chosen for creating the false color composite. Common combinations include
using near-infrared, red, and green bands.

3. Preprocessing: Landsat TM data often undergoes preprocessing steps to correct for various
distortions and artifacts. This may include radiometric calibration, geometric correction,
atmospheric correction, and masking of clouds or other unwanted features.

4. Band Combination: The selected bands are assigned to different color channels. The choice
of bands determines the appearance of various features in the composite image. For
example:

• Red band data is often assigned to the red color channel.

• Near-infrared band data is assigned to the green or blue color channel.

• Green band data may be assigned to the blue color channel.

5. Stretching: Histogram stretching or contrast enhancement may be applied to improve the

visual appearance of the composite image. This helps in better distinguishing different land
cover types and features.
 6. False Color Composite Interpretation:

• Vegetation appears in shades of red or bright green, as healthy vegetation strongly

reflects near-infrared light.

• Water bodies appear dark or black, as they absorb most of the visible and near-
infrared light.

• Urban areas may appear as shades of gray or blue-green, depending on the materials
and structures present.

• Bare soil or rocky surfaces often appear in varying shades of brown or tan.

7. Analysis and Interpretation: False color composites are analyzed to extract information
about land cover, land use, vegetation health, urban development, and other environmental
features. Various image processing and analysis techniques can be applied to extract
quantitative data from the composite imagery.

8. Documentation and Reporting: Results of the analysis are documented and reported, often
in the form of maps, charts, or reports, depending on the intended audience and purpose of
the study.

In summary, the preparation of false color composites from Landsat TM data involves selecting
appropriate bands, combining them to create a composite image, enhancing the image for better
visualization, and analyzing the resulting imagery to extract valuable information about the Earth's
surface.

OPERATIONAL LAND IMAGERY DATA

Creating false color composites from Operational Land Imager (OLI) data involves combining different
spectral bands from the sensor to enhance specific features on the Earth's surface for various
applications such as vegetation monitoring, land cover classification, and geological mapping. Below
is a comprehensive explanation of the process:

1. Understanding OLI Data: Before proceeding with creating false color composites, it's crucial
to understand the OLI sensor on board the Landsat satellites. OLI captures images in multiple
spectral bands ranging from visible light to infrared. It has 9 bands with different
wavelengths:

• Band 1: Coastal/Aerosol (0.43 - 0.45 µm)

• Band 2: Blue (0.45 - 0.51 µm)

• Band 3: Green (0.53 - 0.59 µm)

• Band 4: Red (0.64 - 0.67 µm)

• Band 5: Near Infrared (0.85 - 0.88 µm)

• Band 6: SWIR 1 (1.57 - 1.65 µm)

• Band 7: SWIR 2 (2.11 - 2.29 µm)

• Band 8: Panchromatic (0.50 - 0.68 µm)

 • Band 9: Cirrus (1.36 - 1.38 µm)

2. Selection of Bands: False color composites are created by combining three bands from the
sensor. Typically, these bands are chosen based on the specific features or phenomena of
interest. For instance, for vegetation monitoring, near-infrared bands are often included
because they are sensitive to vegetation health.

3. Band Combination: The choice of bands and their combination determines the appearance
of the final composite image. Common combinations include:

• Natural Color Composite: Combining Red (Band 4), Green (Band 3), and Blue (Band
2) simulates how the human eye would see the landscape, producing an image
similar to a regular photograph.

• False Color Composite: This composite enhances features not readily visible to the
human eye. A common false color composite is made by combining Near Infrared
(Band 5), Red (Band 4), and Green (Band 3). In this combination, vegetation appears
bright red because healthy vegetation strongly reflects near-infrared light.

• Other Combinations: Depending on the application, different band combinations can

be used. For example, for geological mapping, SWIR bands are often included to
highlight mineral composition differences.

4. Image Enhancement: After selecting the bands, various image enhancement techniques can
be applied to improve visualization. This may include contrast stretching, histogram
equalization, and sharpening filters to enhance specific features.

5. Data Processing: Once the bands are selected and enhanced, they are combined into a single
image file, typically in formats like GeoTIFF or JPEG.

6. Interpretation and Analysis: The false color composite images generated from OLI data can
be interpreted and analyzed to extract information about land cover, vegetation health,
urban development, geological features, etc.

7. Validation and Calibration: It's essential to validate and calibrate the false color composite
images to ensure accuracy and reliability. This may involve comparing the composite with
ground truth data or other satellite imagery.

Overall, creating false color composites from OLI data involves a combination of technical knowledge,
spectral understanding, and image processing skills to generate meaningful and informative
visualizations of the Earth's surface.