Image Mining: Detecting Deforestation Patterns Through Satellites

Abstract

Daily, different satellites capture data of distinct contexts, which images are processed and stored in many institutions. This chapter presents relevant definitions on remote sensing and image mining domain, beyond referring to related work on this field and to the importance of appropriate tools and techniques to analyze satellite images and extract knowledge from this kind of data. The Amazonia deforestation problem is discussed, as well INPE’s effort to develop and spread technology to deal with challenges involving Earth observation resources. An image mining approach is presented and applied on a case study, detecting patterns of change on deforested areas of Amazonia. The purpose of the authors is to present relevant technologies, new approaches and research directions on remote sensing image mining, demonstrating how to increase the analysis potential of such huge strategic data.