Spatial pattern alterations from JPEG2000 lossy compression of remote sensing images: Massive variogram analysis in high performance computing

We evaluate the implications of JPEG2000 lossy compression of remote sensing images for spatial analytical purposes. The main issue is to identify which cases and conditions in geostatistical studies are suitable for using lossy compressed images. For these purposes, an extensive test using Landsat, compact airborne spectrographic imager (CASI), and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) image series has been analyzed, through applying and comparing two-dimensional and three-dimensional (spectral and time domains) compression methods with a wide range of compression ratios for several dates, different landscape regions, and spectral bands. Due to the massive test bed and consequently to the high time consuming executions, a parallel solution was specifically developed. Variogram analyses showed that all the compression ratios maintain the variogram shapes, but high compression ratios (>20:1) degrade the spatial patterns of the remote sensing images. These alterations are lower for the three-dimensional compression method, which was a considerable improvement (25%) on the two-dimensional method for large three-dimensional series (CASI, MODIS). However, the two methods behave similarly in the Landsat case. Finally, the parallel solution in a distributed environment demonstrates that high performance computing offers a suitable scientific platform for highly demanding time execution applications, such as geostatistical analyses of remote sensing images. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.