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Natural Resources Research, Vol. 9, No. 4, 2000

Evaluation of Landsat-7 ETM+ Panchromatic Band

for Image Fusion with Multispectral Bands
Jian Guo Liu1
Received and accepted 10 September 2000

The Landsat-7 ETM+ panchromatic band is taken simultaneously with multispectral bands
using the same sensor system. The two data sets, therefore, are coregistered accurately and
the solar illumination and other environmental conditions are identical. This makes ETM+
Pan advantageous to SPOT Pan for resolution fusion. A spectral preserve image fusion technique, Smoothing Filter-Based Intensity Modulation (SFIM), can produce optimal fusion data
without altering the spectral properties of the original image if the coregistration error is minimal. With TM/SPOT Pan fusion, the technique is superior to HSI and Brovey transform
fusion techniques in spectral fidelity, but has slightly degraded edge sharpness as a result of
TM/SPOT Pan coregistration error because SFIM is sensitive to coregistration accuracy and
temporal changes of edges. The problem is self-resolved for ETM+ because there is virtually
no coregistration error between the panchromatic band and the multispectral bands. Quality
fusion imagery data thus can be produced.
KEY WORDS: ETM+; fusion; spectral preserve; spatial improvement.

INTRODUCTION

color composite fusion. By replacing the intensity

component of a lower resolution color composite
image (e.g., a TM color composite) with a coregistered higher resolution image (e.g., a SPOT Pan) after RGBHSI transformation and then transforming
the image back to RGB, a color composite with improved apparent spatial resolution can be produced
(Chavez and Bowell, 1988; Carper, Lillesand, and
Kiefer, 1990).
The Brovey transform based on the chromaticity transform (Gillespie, Kahle, and Walker, 1987) is
a simpler technique and can be performed on individual bands. It is based on the following intensity
modulation:

A significant improvement to Landsat-7 ETM+

is the 15-m resolution panchromatic band and the
60-m resolution thermal band. In particular, the
ETM+ Pan is an obvious replacement to SPOT
Pan for image fusion to improve apparent spatial
resolution of multispectral bands. This paper presents
the results of a comparative study of ETM+ Pan and
SPOT Pan data fusion using Smoothing Filter-Based
Intensity Modulation (SFIM); Hue, Saturation, and
Intensity (HSI) and Brovey transforms in terms of
spatial resolution and spectral fidelity. Southeastern
Spain was selected as the study area for interpretation
of spectral and textual features relating to geology,
soil/vegetation, and urban areas. ETM+ and SPOT
Pan images taken on 24 July 1999 and 12 April 1988,
respectively, have been used for the study.
The HSI transform (Haydan and others, 1982)
has been used widely for RGB (red, green, and blue)
1

Rb = R P/I
Bb = B P/I

Gb = G P/I
(1)

where R, G, and B are the spectral band images displayed in red, green, and blue, P is a higher spatial
resolution image for intensity modulation, and I =
(R + G + B)/3.
Both techniques can cause color distortion if
the spectral range of the intensity replacement (or

T. H. Huxley School of Environment, Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Prince
Consort Road, London SW7 2BP, UK; e-mail: jgliu@ge.ic.ac.uk

269
C 2000 International Association for Mathematical Geology
1520-7439/00/1200-0269$18.00/1

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Liu

modulation) image is different from the spectral range

covered by the three bands used in a color composite. This problem is inevitable in the color composites not using consecutive spectral bands. Considering
that the main purpose of image fusion is to aid visual
analysis, the spectral distortion introduced by these
techniques may result in unreliable interpretation for
applications.
To achieve an image fusion with high fidelity to
the original spectral information, the SFIM technique
was developed (Liu, 2000). The SFIM is defined as:
IMAGESFIM =

IMAGElow IMAGEhigh
IMAGEmean

(2)

where IMAGElow is a pixel of a low-resolution

image coregistered to a high-resolution image of
IMAGEhigh and IMAGEmean is a simulated lowresolution pixel derived from IMAGEhigh using an
averaging filter for a neighborhood equivalent to the
resolution of IMAGElow .
The ratio between IMAGEhigh and IMAGEmean
in Equation (2) cancels the spectral and topographical contrast of the higher resolution image, but retains its high-resolution textures. The SFIM thus can
be understood as a low-resolution image modulated
directly by high-resolution textures, and the result is
independent of the contrast and spectral properties of
the higher resolution image used for modulation. The
SFIM, therefore, is faithful to the spectral properties
as well as the contrast of the original lower resolution image. It can be proved that a pixel DN of an
SFIM image is the product of the lower resolution
reflectance of IMAGElow and the higher resolution
irradiance of IMAGEhigh (Liu, 2000):
DN()s f im =
=

DN()low DN( )high

DN( )mean
()low E()low ( )high E( )high
(3)
( )low E( )low

= ()low E( )high
()low E()high
where DN()low represents a DN value in a lower resolution image of spectral band and DN( )high is the
DN value of the corresponding pixel in a higher resolution image of spectral band ; denotes reflectance
and E irradiance.
For a given solar radiation, irradiance upon
a land surface is controlled by topography. If the
two images are quantified to the same DN range,

it can be presumed that E() E( ) for any

given resolution because both differ with topography in the same way (Liu, Moore, and Haigh,
1997). It also can be presumed that ( )low
( )high , if there is no significant spectral variation
within the neighborhood for calculating DN( )mean .
Thus in [()low E()low ( )high E( )high ]/[( )low
E( )low ], E()low and E( )low cancel each other,
( )low and ( )high also cancel each other; E( )high
can be replaced by E()high . The final simple solution
is then Equation (3).
The SFIM can enhance apparent spatial resolution by integrating the textural information of topography and contrast edges in a higher resolution image
to a lower resolution image without altering its spectral properties and contrast. The technique performs
the fusion based on simple operations on individual
band images. However, the SFIM is sensitive to the
accuracy of coregistration. The improved texture features can be blurred by slightly mismatched edges as a
result of minor coregistration errors. This may be the
situation for TM/SPOT Pan fusion. The edge blurring
can be reduced easily by using a smoothing filter with
a larger kernel than the resolution ratio between the
two images for fusion (Liu, 2000), but the sharpness
is slightly lower than the fusion products of the HSI
and Brovey techniques. The HSI and Brovey transform fusion techniques are less sensitive to the coregistration accuracy than the SFIM, because the topographic/textural features are replaced totally by the
intensity replacement (or modulation) image. This is
not necessarily an advantage. The possible displacements between spectral (color) features and textural
edges are not apparent in HSI and Brovey transform
fusion images and may be overlooked by users.
The edge-blurring problem of SFIM is mainly
self-resolved for the fusion between ETM+ Pan
(15-m resolution) and ETM+ multispectral (30-m
resolution) band images, because there is virtually
no coregistration error between these simultaneous
products from the same sensor system.
FUSION METHOD COMPARISON ON
SPECTRAL FIDELITY
The ETM+ Pan and ETM+ multispectral images are taken simultaneously with identical imaging conditions (solar illumination, season, etc.),
and therefore, the spectral distortion introduced by
image fusion between the two is less significant
than in the situation of TM/SPOT Pan fusion. In

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Landsat-7 ETM+ Panchromatic Band for Spectral Preserve Fusion

271

Figure 1. Fusion results of 30-m resolution ETM+ bands 5, 3, 1 RGB color composite with 15-m resolution ETM+ Pan band image of
field area nearby Almeria, SE Spain. Images are quantitatively stretched to achieve maximum resemblance in color. A, Original color
composite; B, SFIM fusion image; C, HSI fusion image; D, Brovey transform fusion image.

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particular, for a standard false color composite of
ETM+ VNIR bands 4, 3, and 2 in RGB, an ETM+
Pan fusion using either of the three techniques does
not affect the spectral properties because the spectral range of ETM+ Pan is exactly the same as the
total spectral range of the three VNIR bands (0.52
m0.90 m). In this case, the HSI fusion technique
is favored for obtaining the sharpest textural features.
For an ETM+ color composite of bands with different spectral ranges from the ETM+ Pan, the HSI and
Brovey transform fusion techniques introduce spectral distortion whereas the SFIM does not.
Figure 1 presents the color composites of ETM+
Bands 5, 3, and 1 in RGB of an agricultural, area
and its ETM+ Pan fusion products using the three
different techniques. The fusion images show more
spatial detail than the original, benefiting from
the 15-m resolution of the ETM+ Pan. The images
have been stretched finely to achieve the best spectral
similarity to the original (Fig. 1A). The SFIM fusion
image (Fig. 1B) is nearly identical spectrally to the
original without spectral distortion. The HSI and
Brovey transform fusion images (Fig. 1C, 1D) are
similar to the original with respect to the colors, but
show subtle spectral distortion. Close observation
reveals significant spectral distortion in crop fields.
The fields are in dark blues and browns in Figure 1A
because of vegetation absorption in the three bands
used. These fields become brighter in the HSI and
Brovey transform fusion images. This is because the
spectral range of ETM+ Pan covers the vegetation
reflection peaks in green and nearer infrared. The
spectral properties of ETM+ Pan thus are baised
considerably toward the vegetation in the crop fields.
The intensity replacement and modulation in the
HSI and Brovey transforms using ETM+ Pan have
boosted the intensity level in these vegetated fields. In
particular, crop fields with fine soils may have high reflectance in both spectral ranges, equivalent to bands
4 and 5 of ETM+. The vegetation signature in ETM+
Pan has increased the intensity level of these crop
fields whereas the soil gives the red signature through
band 5. As a result, fields with dense vegetation
become a distinctive reddish brown in the HSI fusion
image and purple in the Brovey transform fusion
image. Although it may be argued that the spectral
bias could be regarded as an extra enhancement of
vegetation, rock outcrops with thin vegetation may
be subject to high intensity levels and spectral shifts of
an unknown degree, making spectral interpretation
unreliable. The uncontrolled spectral change caused
by the fusion process, therefore, should be eliminated.

Liu
Figure 2 presents the color composites of ETM+
VNIR bands 4, 3, and 2 in RGB and the SPOT Pan
fusion products relating to a horticultural area adjacent to the area in Figure 1. The ETM+ and the SPOT
Pan images have more than 11 years temporal separation and were taken in different seasons (SPOT Pan
in spring and ETM+ in summer). There are significant long-term temporal changes and considerable
seasonal differences between the two images. For instance, the motorway across the middle of the ETM+
image, taken on 24 July, 1999, did not exist when the
SPOT Pan was taken on 12 April, 1988. The agriculture on the major alluvial fan has been transformed
from open-field cultivation to plastic-greenhouse horticulture. As a result, the HSI and Brovey transform
fusion images (Fig. 2C, 2D) show significant spectral
differences from the original (Fig. 2A) in crop fields,
horticultural area, and uncultivated dissected alluvial
fans. Because of seasonal differences and possible
land use changes during the 11 years, dense vegetation in the valley, on the left side of the image, appears in subdued pinkish reds in Figure 2C instead of
saturated reds in Figure 2A. The horticultural area is
characterized by white patches caused by plastic roofs
of greenhouses in Figure 2A. These white patches become dark in both Figure 2C and 2D because they
were bare fields with dark soils in the spring of 1988
when the SPOT Pan was taken. In sharp comparison, the SFIM image (Fig. 2B) again shows its advantage of spectral fidelity. Figure 2B is spectrally similar
to Figure 2A without nonnegligible differences and
with improved apparent spatial resolution. In particular, textural patterns on the dissected alluvial fan in
the upper-right part of the image have been improved
significantly without spectral distortion. This example
has demonstrated that the SFIM is independent of
the spectral properties of the SPOT Pan used for fusion. It only introduces 10-m resolution texture to the
fused image. However, edges of manmade features
have changed significantly during 11 years, resulting
in many noisy mismatches between spectral patches
and edges in Figure 2B (although this is not obvious
in Fig. 2C, 2D).

ETM+ PAN AND SPOT PAN FUSION

COMPARISON ON SPATIAL RESOLUTION
From Figures 1 and 2, it becomes obvious that
all the fusion techniques under comparison improve
apparent spatial resolution effectively. In the situation
of fusion between ETM+ and SPOT Pan, the SFIM

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Figure 2. Fusion results of 30-m resolution ETM+ bands 4, 3, 2 RGB color composite with 10-m resolution
SPOT Pan of field area nearby Almeria, SE Spain. A, Original color composite; B, SFIM fusion image; C, HSI
fusion image; D, Brovey transform fusion image.

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Figure 3. Fusion resolution comparison in Almeria urban area. A, ETM+ bands 5, 3, 1 RGB color composite; B, SFIM fusion
image with ETM+ Pan; C, HSI fusion image with ETM+ Pan; D, Brovey transform fusion image with ETM+ Pan; E, SFIM
fusion image with SPOT Pan; F, HSI fusion image with SPOT Pan; G, Brovey transform fusion image with SPOT Pan.

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Landsat-7 ETM+ Panchromatic Band for Spectral Preserve Fusion

produces some noisy edges in the horticultural areas,
whereas the HSI and Brovey transforms present significantly misleading spectral distortion as a result
of dramatic changes in textural patterns and spectral features between the two images because of the
11-year temporal separation. The SPOT Pan is accurately coregistered with the ETM+ image (<1 30-m
pixel RMS), which enabled SFIM to produce fine textures nearly as sharp as those in the HSI fusion images,
as shown in dissected alluvial fans in the upper-right
part of the images in Figure 2. Texture will be blurred
in the SFIM fusion image if the accuracy of coregistration between ETM+ and SPOT Pan is not high
enough. The accuracy of coregistration will degrade
in a high relief area as a result of topographic shadow
shift caused by different solar illumination angles (because of different imaging times of day and season)
between ETM+ and SPOT Pan.
A small subscene of the city of Almeria is used
for further comparison of spatial resolution. Figure 3
shows an ETM+ 531 RGB color composite and its fusion results with ETM+ Pan and SPOT Pan using the
SFIM, HSI, and Brovey transform fusion techniques.
With 30-m resolution, Figure 3A can only show major
streets in the city. The ETM+ Pan fusion results using
the SFIM, HSI, and Brovey transform (Fig. 3B, 3C,
3D) demonstrate significant improvements in spatial
detail, showing all minor streets defining major building blocks clearly. With a 5 5 smoothing filter used,
the SFIM fusion image is as sharp as the HSI and
Brovey transform fusion images. The SPOT Pan fusion results using the three techniques (Fig. 3E, 3F,
3G) show further improvements in spatial detail, but
these are not significant. Edge-blurring effects along
streets become more significant in the SFIM fusion
image (Fig. 3C). Possible factors for edge burring are
registration error, building shadow shift as a result
of different solar illumination angles, and modification of streets during the 11-year interval (such as
widening). HSI and Brovey transform fusion techniques are not sensitive to these factors, as the intensity component of the color composite is replaced
simply by the SPOT Pan. Figure 3F of HSI fusion
is particularly sharper than Figure 3E of SFIM fusion. However, the street texture shown in Figure 3F
and 3G correspond to 12 April 1988 when the SPOT
Pan was taken, rather than the situation on 24 July
1999 when the ETM+ was taken. For this example,
the fusion using ETM+ Pan is obviously more desirable than using a SPOT Pan image, which is 11 years
older. The comparison would be more fair if a simultaneous SPOT Pan image had been used. However,

275

the significant cost of obtaining a SPOT Pan image

compared to an ETM+ image is not justifiable in
this study, considering such an example is not typical for most real applications. In general, ETM+ Pan
is obviously more desirable than SPOT Pan for resolution fusion because of the identical imaging conditions and low cost. For the SFIM fusion, it is particularly worthwhile to slightly compromise spatial
resolution in order to secure spectral fidelity and textual quality by using ETM+ Pan instead of SPOT Pan.

CONCLUSIONS
According to this study, the 15-m resolution
ETM+ Pan is more favorable than 10-m resolution SPOT Pan for fusion with color composites of
30-m resolution ETM+ multispectral bands. Because
ETM+ Pan is taken simultaneously with ETM+ multispectral bands using the same sensor system, the two
data sets are coregistered accurately virtually free of
error, and solar illumination and other environmental
conditions are identical. For improving the apparent
resolution of ETM+ multispectral bands, ETM+ Pan,
therefore, is simpler in terms of processing and introduces much less spectral distortion than SPOT Pan,
regardless of which fusion technique is used.
The high fidelity of the SFIM technique to the
original image spectral properties in both ETM+ Pan
and SPOT Pan fusion remains regardless of the spectral differences and temporal changes that may exist
in these panchromatic images. An SFIM fusion image, therefore, is reliable for spectral interpretation.
In general, SFIM fusion images are slightly less sharp
than the HSI and Brovey transform fusion images.
This is particularly true for fusion using SPOT Pan
as a result of coregistration error, solar illumination
differences, and temporal changes.
The HSI and Brovey transform fusion techniques
cannot avoid spectral distortion when the spectral
range of the ETM+ or SPOT panchromatic image is
different from that of the color composite to be fused.
This becomes significant and unacceptable for reliable interpretation when significant temporal change
is involved, as illustrated in the example of SPOT Pan
fusion for a horticultural area. Without temporal spectral change, ETM+ Pan fusion introduces less spectral
distortion than SPOT Pan fusion.
Finally, although the SFIM is a simple method
in principle, to achieve the best fusion result, the
lower resolution image must be interpolated by bilinear or cubic interpolation (not duplicated by nearest

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neighbor) to the same pixel size of the higher resolution image to achieve an effective fusion. The actual processing efficiency of the SFIM, therefore, may
be lower than the HSI and Brovey transform fusion
techniques depending on the image processing system
used.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The University of London Inter-Collegiate Research Services Committee provided funds to support the image-processing facility. Other services and
support come from Imperial College. The technical development was carried out using ER Mapper
image-processing system with education licenses.
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