REMOTE SENSING – ARCMAP IMAGERY TUTORIAL

ArcMap allows you to create false color images by manipulating which bands are represented by
which colors (Red, Green, and Blue). This tutorial will walk you through how we can manipulate
the bands in ArcMap to show true and false color imagery.

1. Bring in the composite image supplied by your instructor. This will be a Landsat 7 or 8
image. In the name of the file, decode when the image was take using the information
below:
Landsat 7 Scene Identifier
• Field Definition: Unique Landsat scene identifier.
Format:
Landsat Scene Identifier: LXSPPPRRRYYYYDDDGSIVV

Where:
L = Landsat
X = Sensor (C = OLI/TIRS Combined, O = OLI only, T =
TIRS only, M = MSS, T = TM, E = ETM)
S = Satellite (7 = Landsat 7, 8 = Landsat 8)
PPP = WRS Path
RRR = WRS Row
YYYY = Year of Acquisition
DDD = Day of Acquisition Year
GSI = Ground Station Identifier
VV = Version
2. Right click on the image in the Layer List and click Properties. This will bring up the
Layer Properties menu.
3. Examine each of the tabs: General, Source, Key Metadata, Extent, Display, and
Symbology. The information includes columns and rows, cell size, pixel depth, extent,
spatial reference, and statistics.
4. The Symbology tab allows you to select the assignment of bands to the display color
channels, display of background value, stretch options, view image statistics using
several sampling options, and pan-sharpening parameters (to be discussed in the Image
Analysis course).

REMOTE SENSING: INTRO TO LANDSAT 1

 REMOTE SENSING – ARCMAP IMAGERY TUTORIAL

Remember that band combinations can have a great impact on scene visualization and
interpretation. However, the default band assignments for the Landsat 7 image have
produced a very poor display; almost monochromatic.

5. First, be sure the RGB Composite is selected as the Show option on the left to display all
3 bands. Then reverse the order of the bands to Red = Band 3, Green = Band 2, and Blue
= Band 1. This will produce a true color band combination with red band 3 in the red
channel. You may also wish to remove the black background by placing a check mark in
the Display Background Value check box and making sure the as box on the right is “no
color.”

REMOTE SENSING: INTRO TO LANDSAT 2

 REMOTE SENSING – ARCMAP IMAGERY TUTORIAL

6. You can change the default order of band display in the Main menu>
Customize>ArcMap Options>Raster tab. Under Raster Layer, you can change the 3 band
source to 3, 2, 1 instead of 1, 2, 3. This is convenient for satellite images but may have
an undesired effect on other picture types.

7. Go to your image Properties window and the Symbology tab and try a false color
composition from your Landsat handout from last module.

8. Now use your cartography skills to complete the Assignment. You may want to create
insets with zoomed in areas to explain your findings.

REMOTE SENSING: INTRO TO LANDSAT 3