Methods and systems for analyzing a field

4:

• The method of claim 1, further comprising:
• georeferencing the first and second aerial thermal images by superimposing the first and second aerial thermal images on a geographical map of the field to obtain georeferenced first and second aerial thermal images;
• providing at least one of the georeferenced first and second aerial thermal images to a handheld device located in the field;
• and
• locating and displaying the present position of the handheld device on the at least one of the georeferenced first and second aerial thermal images.

5:

• A method of analyzing a field, the method comprising
• positioning an imaging system in an aircraft;
• acquiring with the imaging system an aerial thermal image and an aerial digital visual image of at least a portion of the field that contains bare soil having substantially no vegetation while the aircraft is in flight over the field, the aerial thermal image comprising pixels indicative of different levels of thermal energy emitted by the bare soil within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field, and the aerial digital visual image being indicative of the light reflected by the bare soil within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field;
• processing the aerial thermal image to assess relative variations in temperatures of the bare soil within the portion of the field by assessing variations in the pixels of the aerial thermal image;
• processing the aerial digital visual image to assess relative variations in light reflectance of the light in the aerial digital visual image and assign an intensity value to each of the pixels of the aerial digital visual image across the field;
• and
• analyzing the relative variations in the temperatures across the field and the relative variations in the light reflectance across the field to identify soil types within the portion of the field.

6:

• The method of claim 5, further comprising:
• georeferencing the aerial thermal image by superimposing the aerial thermal image on a geographical map of the field to obtain a georeferenced aerial thermal image;
• providing the georeferenced aerial thermal image to a handheld device located in the field;
• and
• locating and displaying the present position of the handheld device on the georeferenced aerial thermal image.

7:

• A system for analyzing a field, the system comprising:
• an imaging system in an aircraft, the imaging system being operable to acquire a first aerial thermal image and a later second aerial thermal image of at least a portion of the field that contains plants while the aircraft is in flight over the field, wherein each of the first and second aerial thermal images comprises pixels indicating different levels of thermal energy emitted by the plants within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field;
• means for processing the first and second aerial thermal images to assess variations in temperatures among the plants within the portion of the field by assessing variations in the pixels of the first and second aerial thermal images;
• and
• means for comparing the first aerial thermal image with the second aerial thermal image to assess the health or growth of the plants over a time period between when the first aerial thermal image was acquired and the time when the second aerial thermal image was acquired.

10:

• The system of claim 7, further comprising:
• means for georeferencing the first and second aerial thermal images by superimposing the first and second aerial thermal images on a geographical map of the field to obtain georeferenced first and second aerial thermal images;
• and
• means for providing at least one of the georeferenced first and second aerial thermal images on the geographical map to a handheld device located in the field and having means for locating and displaying the present position of the handheld device on the at least one of the georeferenced first and second aerial thermal images.

11:

• A system for analyzing a field, the system comprising:
• an imaging system in an aircraft, the imaging system being operable to acquire an aerial thermal image and an aerial digital visual image of at least a portion of the field that contains bare soil having substantially no vegetation while the aircraft is in flight over the field, the aerial thermal image comprising pixels indicative of different levels of thermal energy emitted by the bare soil within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field, and the aerial digital visual image being indicative of the light reflected by the bare soil within the portion of the field while the aircraft is in flight over the field;
• means for processing the aerial thermal image to assess relative variations in temperatures of the bare soil;
• means for processing the aerial digital visual image to assess relative variations in light reflectance of the light in the aerial digital visual image and assign an intensity value to each of the pixels of the aerial digital visual image across the field;
• and
• means for analyzing the relative variations in the temperatures across the field and the relative variations in the light reflectance across the field to identify soil types within the portion of the field.

12:

• The system of claim 11, further comprising:
• means for georeferencing the aerial thermal image by superimposing the aerial thermal image on a geographical map of the field to obtain georeferenced first and second aerial thermal image;
• and
• means for providing the georeferenced aerial thermal image on the geographical map to a handheld device located in the field and having means for locating and displaying the present position of the handheld device on the georeferenced aerial thermal image.