Annotating very high-resolution satellite imagery: A whale case study

Hannah Charlotte Cubaynes; Penny Joanna Clarke; Kimberly Thea Goetz; Tyler Aldrich; Peter Thomas Fretwell; Kathleen Elise Leonard; Christin Brangwynne Khan

doi:10.1016/j.mex.2023.102040

Annotating very high-resolution satellite imagery: A whale case study

MethodsX. 2023 Jan 25:10:102040. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2023.102040. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hannah Charlotte Cubaynes¹, Penny Joanna Clarke^{1

2}, Kimberly Thea Goetz³, Tyler Aldrich⁴, Peter Thomas Fretwell¹, Kathleen Elise Leonard⁵, Christin Brangwynne Khan⁴

Affiliations

¹ British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, United Kingdom.
² School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Sanderson Building, Robert Stevenson Road, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3FB, United Kingdom.
³ Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Seattle, Washington, United States.
⁴ Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Woods Hole, MA, United States.
⁵ Protected Resources Division, Alaska Regional Office, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Anchorage, AK, United States.

Abstract

The use of very high-resolution (VHR) optical satellites is gaining momentum in the field of wildlife monitoring, particularly for whales, as this technology is showing potential for monitoring the less studied regions. However, surveying large areas using VHR optical satellite imagery requires the development of automated systems to detect targets. Machine learning approaches require large training datasets of annotated images. Here we propose a standardised workflow to annotate VHR optical satellite imagery using ESRI ArcMap 10.8, and ESRI ArcGIS Pro 2.5., using cetaceans as a case study, to develop AI-ready annotations.•A step-by-step protocol to review VHR optical satellite images and annotate the features of interest.•A step-by-step protocol to create bounding boxes encompassing the features of interest.•A step-by-step guide to clip the satellite image using bounding boxes to create image chips.

Keywords: AI-ready data; Cetacean; Labeling; Machine learning; Satellite image annotation to create point, bounding boxes and image datasets to train automated systems.; VHR optical satellite image; Wildlife.