Adaption of a Self-Learning Algorithm for Dynamic Classification of Water Bodies to SPOT VEGETATION Data

Within the ESA CCI “Fire Disturbance” project a dynamic self-learning water masking approach originally developed for AATSR data was modified for MERIS-FR(S) and MERIS-RR data and now for SPOT VEGETATION (VGT) data. The primary goal of the development was to apply for all sensors the same generic principles by combining static water masks on a global scale with a self-learning algorithm. Our approach results in the generation of a dynamic water mask which helps to distinguish dark burned area objects from other different types of dark areas (e.g. cloud or topographic shadows, coniferous forests). The use of static land-water masks includes the disadvantage that land-water masks represent only a temporal snapshot of the water bodies. Regional results demonstrate the quality of the dynamic water mask. In addition the advantages to conventional water masking algorithms are shown. Furthermore, the dynamic water masks of AATSR, MERIS and VGT for the same region are presented and discussed together with the use of more detailed static water masks.