"Remote sensing provides people with an alternative, otherwise unattainable view to analyze the earth. Military and intelligence analysts quickly adopted this technology for tactical and strategic applications. Accordingly, these interpreters require increasingly immediate, accurate image analysis for decision-making in today's dynamic military environment. Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) provides a means for automated image interpretation modeled after the expert interpretation processes. Although the system's flexibility is advantageous for creating comprehensive image classifications, its flexibility may also preclude full automation and replication. The goal of this research was to improve image classification outcomes in the context of missile site detection. Here a GEOBIA workflow was developed that incorporates expert human knowledge for the detection of DPRK missile testing facilities. After conducting the analyses, I determined the best-fitting parameters from those tested include the rule-based classification for the Sohae testing facility and random forest classification for Yongbyon, with no conclusive results in favor of either software. The results indicate expert human knowledge does not necessarily improve classification accuracy for this case of study sites."--Page ii.
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