Comparison of classification schemes for MSS and TM data

The launch of the Landsat-4 satellite in July 1982 provided the first full coverage from space of the .4-12 µm spectrum of the earth scene. In addition to the green, red, and near IR bands of the MSS, the TM provides a band in the blue, two in the middle IR, and one thermal IR. The paper describes spectral class analysis of coincident MSS and TM data to evaluate the contribution of the additional TM bands. In addition, various classifiers are available which were applied to the TM data. In the spectral class analysis, twice the number of separable classes was found in the TM data compared to the MSS data.