TRUE & FALSE COLOR COMPOSITE
Q. What is true color and false color composite?
An image composite is a visual representation formed by merging various images or data layers into a unified
composite image. This procedure is frequently employed in remote sensing, satellite imagery, and other geospatial
applications to improve the visual understanding of the Earth's surface. Utilizing many spectral bands or data
sources enables a more holistic comprehension of the landscape.
1. Natural or True Color Composite:
A natural or true color composite closely mimics the colors as perceived by the human eye. It is created by
combining three spectral bands corresponding to the red, green, and blue portions of the electromagnetic
spectrum.
Applications:
• Visual Interpretation: Ideal for human visual interpretation as it provides a realistic representation of the
Earth's surface.
• Land Cover Classification: Useful for distinguishing between different land cover types, such as forests,
urban areas, water bodies, and agricultural fields.
• Tourism and Aesthetics: Often used in tourism promotion and for creating aesthetically pleasing maps and
images.
• Urban Planning: Useful for monitoring urban development, infrastructure changes, and land use planning.
• Baseline Mapping: Provides a baseline representation for various studies and analyses.
Example: In a natural color composite, healthy vegetation appears green, water bodies appear blue, and urban
areas or bare soil have their familiar colors.
2. False Color Composite:
A false color composite is created by combining spectral bands that are not in the traditional red, green, and blue
order. Common combinations include near-infrared, red, and green bands.
Applications:
• Vegetation Health Assessment: Enhances the visibility of vegetation by using bands sensitive to
plant health, aiding in the assessment of crop conditions and forest health.
• Mineral Exploration: Reveals variations in soil composition and geological features, aiding in mineral
exploration and mapping.
• Urban Heat Island Studies: Useful for assessing temperature variations in urban areas, supporting
studies on the urban heat island effect.
• Drought and Water Stress Assessment: Vegetation stressed by water scarcity reflects differently in
infrared bands. False color composites help identify areas experiencing drought or water stress by
highlighting variations in vegetation health.
• Snow and Ice Monitoring: False color composites are useful for monitoring snow and ice cover.
Snow and ice appear differently in infrared bands, allowing for better discrimination of snow-
covered areas and the assessment of glacial changes.
Example: In a false color composite, healthy vegetation appears in shades of red, urban areas may appear in blue
or purple, and water bodies in different tones, depending on the bands used.
