Novel application of Google earth engine interpolation algorithm for the development of geotechnical soil maps: a case study of mega-district

Abstract

This article explores the novel application of the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform using the inverse distance weighting (IDW) interpolation technique based on an improved version of the modified Shephard method for the development of specialized geotechnical soil maps (GSMs) for mega-district Lahore. The study area was assessed at multiple depths in terms of key geotechnical properties. The result depicts a predominance of fine-grained soil at a shallow depth of 3 m exhibiting low to moderate soil stiffness, consistency and activity along with a few zones of problematic soil with adverse geotechnical characteristics which require due attention. Whereas beyond 3 m the study area exhibits higher bearing values, low plasticity and non-active soil. Besides, the chemical content level was within permissible limits except for a few spots. The comprehensive statistical evaluation based on key performance indices indicates the efficient performance of the novel GEE-based IDW algorithm to yield significantly accurate maps.