Extraction of River Networks from Satellite Images by Combining Mathematical Morphology and Hydrology

In this paper, we propose a new methodology for extracting river networks from satellite images. It combines morphological generalised geodesic transformations with hydrological overland flow simulations. The method requires the prior generation of a geodesic mask and a marker image by applying a series of transformations to the original image. These images are then combined so as to produce a pseudo digital elevation model whose valleys match the desired networks. The performance of the methodology is demonstrated for the extraction of river networks from a single band of a Landsat image. The method is generic in the sense that it can be extended for the extraction of other types of arborescent networks such as blood vessels in medical images.

SOILLE Pierre;  GRAZZINI Jacopo; 

2008-03-12

SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN

JRC37473

0302-9743,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC37473,   

10.1007/978-3-540-74272-2_79,