Coastal debris has emerged as a salient issue due to its adverse effects on coastal aesthetics, ecological systems, and human health. In pursuit of effective countermeasures, the present study delineated the construction of a specialized image dataset for coastal debris detection and embarked on a comparative analysis between two paramount real-time object detection algorithms, YOLOv8 and RTDETR. Rigorous assessments of robustness under multifarious conditions were instituted, subjecting the models to assorted distortion paradigms. YOLOv8 manifested a detection accuracy with a mean Average Precision (mAP) value ranging from 0.927 to 0.945 and an operational speed between 65 and 135 Frames Per Second (FPS). Conversely, RT-DETR yielded an mAP value bracket of 0.917 to 0.918 with a detection velocity spanning 40 to 53 FPS. While RT-DETR exhibited enhanced robustness against color distortions, YOLOv8 surpassed resilience under other evaluative criteria. The implications derived from this investigation are poised to furnish pivotal directives for algorithmic selection in the practical deployment of marine debris monitoring systems.

Urban trees play a vital role in urban ecosystems, significantly reducing impervious surfaces and impacting carbon cycling within the city. Although previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of employing artificial intelligence in conjunction with airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data to generate urban tree information, the availability and cost constraints associated with LiDAR data pose limitations. Consequently, this study employed freely accessible, high-resolution multispectral satellite imagery (i.e., Sentinel-2 data) to estimate fractional tree canopy cover (FTC) within the urban confines of Suwon, South Korea, employing machine learning techniques. This study leveraged a median composite image derived from a time series of Sentinel-2 images. In order to account for the diverse land cover found in urban areas, the model incorporated three types of input variables: average (mean) and standard deviation (std) values within a 30-meter grid from 10 m resolution of optical indices from Sentinel-2, and fractional coverage for distinct land cover classes within 30 m grids from the existing level 3 land cover map. Four schemes with different combinations of input variables were compared. Notably, when all three factors (i.e., mean, std, and fractional cover) were used to consider the variation of landcover in urban areas (Scheme 4, S4), the machine learning model exhibited improved performance compared to using only the mean of optical indices (Scheme 1). Of the various models proposed, the random forest (RF) model with S4 demonstrated the most remarkable performance, achieving R2 of 0.8196, and mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.0749, and a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.1022. The std variable exhibited the highest impact on model outputs within the heterogeneous land covers based on the variable importance analysis. This trained RF model with S4 was then applied to the entire Suwon region, consistently delivering robust results with an R2 of 0.8702, MAE of 0.0873, and RMSE of 0.1335. The FTC estimation method developed in this study is expected to offer advantages for application in various regions, providing fundamental data for a better understanding of carbon dynamics in urban ecosystems in the future.

Land cover change due to urban population concentration and urban expansion can cause various environmental problems such as urban heat islands. In particular, New towns are considered an appropriate study site to analyze changes in urban climate due to rapid urbanization in a short period. This study used Landsat satellite imagery to compare and analyze the land cover changes before and after the development of two new towns with different plans, and the resulting changes in surface urban heat island (SUHI) phenomena. Correlation analysis was also conducted between urban structural features that may affect the SUHI intensity. The results of the analysis confirm the rapid change in land cover as new town development progresses and the direct intensification of the SUHI phenomenon. This study confirms the differences in SUHI caused by different urban plans and suggests the need for threedimensional urban planning to improve the thermal environment.

As climate change problem has recently become serious, studies are being conducted to identify carbon dioxide (CO2) emission dynamics based on satellite data to reduce emissions. It is also very important to analyze spatial patterns by estimating and mapping CO2 emissions dynamic. Therefore, in this study, CO2 emissions in the Korean Peninsula from 2013 to 2020 were estimated and mapped. To spatially estimate and map emissions, we use the enhanced vegetation index adjusted nighttime light index, an index that combines nighttime light (NTL) and vegetation index, to map both areas where NTL is observed and areas where NTL is not observed. In order to spatially estimate and map CO2 emissions, the total annual emissions of the Korean Peninsula were calculated, resulting in an increase of 11% from 2013 to 2017 and a decrease of 13% from 2017 to 2020. As a result of the mapping, it was confirmed that the spatial pattern of CO2 emissions in the Korean Peninsula were concentrated in urban areas. After being divided into 17 regions, which included the downtown area, the metropolitan area accounted for roughly 40% of CO2 emissions in the Korean Peninsula. The region that exhibited the most significant change from 2013 to 2020 was Sejong City, showing a 96% increase.

A widely used method for monitoring land cover using high-resolution satellite images is to classify the images based on the colors of the objects of interest. In urban areas, not only major objects such as buildings and roads but also vegetation such as trees frequently appear in high-resolution satellite images. However, the colors of vegetation objects often resemble those of other objects such as buildings, roads, and shadows, making it difficult to accurately classify objects based solely on color information. In this study, we propose a method that can accurately classify not only objects with various colors such as buildings but also vegetation objects. The proposed method uses the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) image, which is useful for detecting vegetation objects, along with the RGB image and classifies objects into subclasses. The subclass classification results are fused, and the final classification result is generated by combining them with the image segmentation results. In experiments using Compact Advanced Satellite 500-1 imagery, the proposed method, which applies the NDVI and subclass classification together, showed an overall accuracy of 87.42%, while the overall accuracy of the subchannel classification technique without using the NDVI and the subclass classification technique alone were 73.18% and 81.79%, respectively.

Image segmentation and supervised classification techniques are widely used to monitor the ground surface using high-resolution remote sensing images. In order to classify various objects, a process of defining a class corresponding to each object and selecting samples belonging to each class is required. Existing methods for extracting class samples should select a sufficient number of samples having similar intensity characteristics for each class. This process depends on the user’s visual identification and takes a lot of time. Representative samples of the class extracted are likely to vary depending on the user, and as a result, the classification performance is greatly affected by the class sample extraction result. In this study, we propose an image classification technique that minimizes user intervention when extracting class samples by applying the histogram back-projection technique and has consistent intensity characteristics of samples belonging to classes. The proposed classification technique using histogram back-projection showed improved classification accuracy in both the experiment using hue subchannels of the hue saturation value transformed image from Compact Advanced Satellite 500-1 imagery and the experiment using the original image compared to the technique that did not use histogram back-projection.

When a satellite image has low spatial resolution, it is difficult to detect small objects. In this research, we aim to check the effect of super resolution on object detection. Super resolution is a software method that increases the resolution of an image. Unpaired super resolution network is used to improve Sentinel-2’s spatial resolution from 10 m to 3.2 m. Faster-RCNN, RetinaNet, FCOS, and S2ANet were used to detect vessels in the Sentinel-2 images. We experimented the change in vessel detection performance when super resolution is applied. As a result, the Average Precision (AP) improved by at least 12.3% and up to 33.3% in the ship detection models trained with the super-resolution image. False positive and false negative cases also decreased. This implies that super resolution can be an important pre-processing step in object detection, and it is expected to greatly contribute to improving the accuracy of other image-based deep learning technologies along with object detection.

Ground subsidence in urban areas is mainly caused by anthropogenic factors such as excessive groundwater extraction and underground infrastructure development in the subsurface composed of soft materials. Global Navigation Satellite System data with high temporal resolution have been widely used to measure surface displacements accurately. However, these point-based terrestrial measurements with the low spatial resolution are somewhat limited in observing two-dimensional continuous surface displacements over large areas. The synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) technique can construct relatively high spatial resolution surface displacement information with accuracy ranging from millimeters to centimeters. Although constellation operations of SAR satellites have improved the revisit cycle, the temporal resolution of space-based observations is still low compared to in-situ observations. In this study, we evaluate the extraction of a time-series of surface displacement in Incheon Metropolitan City, South Korea, using the small baseline subset technique implemented using the commercial software, Gamma. For this purpose, 24 COSMO-SkyMed X-band SAR observations were collected from July 12, 2011, to August 27, 2012. The time-series surface displacement results were improved by reducing random phase noise, correcting residual phase due to satellite orbit errors, and mitigating nonlinear atmospheric phase artifacts. The perpendicular baseline of the collected COSMO-SkyMed SAR images was set to approximately 2–300 m. The surface displacement related to the ground subsidence was detected approximately 1 cm annually around a few Incheon Subway Line 2 route stations. The sufficient coherence indicates that the satellite orbit has been precisely managed for the interferometric processing.

The escalating demands for high-resolution satellite imagery necessitate the dissemination of geospatial data with superior accuracy. Achieving precise positioning is imperative for mitigating geometric distortions inherent in high-resolution satellite imagery. However, maintaining sub-pixel level accuracy poses significant challenges within the current technological landscape. This research introduces an approach wherein upsampling is employed on both the satellite image and ground control points (GCPs) chip, facilitating the establishment of a high-resolution satellite image precision sensor orientation. The ensuing analysis entails a comprehensive comparison of matching performance. To evaluate the proposed methodology, the Compact Advanced Satellite 500-1 (CAS500-1), boasting a resolution of 0.5 m, serves as the high-resolution satellite image. Correspondingly, GCP chips with resolutions of 0.25 m and 0.5m are utilized for the South Korean and North Korean regions, respectively. Results from the experiment reveal that concurrent upsampling of satellite imagery and GCP chips enhances matching performance by up to 50% in comparison to the original resolution. Furthermore, the position error only improved with 2x upsampling. However, with 3x upsampling, the position error tended to increase. This study affirms that meticulous upsampling of high- resolution satellite imagery and GCP chips can yield sub-pixel-level positioning accuracy, thereby advancing the state-of-the-art in the field.

Accurate field crop classification is essential for various agricultural applications, yet existing methods face challenges due to diverse crop types and complex field conditions. This study aimed to address these issues by combining support vector machine (SVM) models with multi-seasonal unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images, texture information extracted from Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM), and RGB spectral data. Twelve high-resolution UAV image captures spanned March–October 2021, while field surveys on three dates provided ground truth data. We focused on data from August (-A), September (-S), and October (-O) images and trained four support vector classifier (SVC) models (SVC-A, SVC-S, SVC-O, SVC-AS) using visual bands and eight GLCM features. Farm maps provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs proved efficient for open-field crop identification and served as a reference for accuracy comparison. Our analysis showcased the significant impact of hyperparameter tuning (C and gamma) on SVM model performance, requiring careful optimization for each scenario. Importantly, we identified models exhibiting distinct high-accuracy zones, with SVC-O trained on October data achieving the highest overall and individual crop classification accuracy. This success likely stems from its ability to capture distinct texture information from mature crops. Incorporating GLCM features proved highly effective for all models, significantly boosting classification accuracy. Among these features, homogeneity, entropy, and correlation consistently demonstrated the most impactful contribution. However, balancing accuracy with computational efficiency and feature selection remains crucial for practical application. Performance analysis revealed that SVC-O achieved exceptional results in overall and individual crop classification, while soybeans and rice were consistently classified well by all models. Challenges were encountered with cabbage due to its early growth stage and low field cover density. The study demonstrates the potential of utilizing farm maps and GLCM features in conjunction with SVM models for accurate field crop classification. Careful parameter tuning and model selection based on specific scenarios are key for optimizing performance in real-world applications.