Analysis Of Satellite Imagery Research Articles

Using satellite imagery analysis to redesign provincial parks for a better cooling effect on cities

The purpose of this research is to analyse the thermal behaviour of South Holland provincial parks during heat waves, in order to provide design adaptation guidelines to increase their cooling capacity over the hotspots present in their urban surroundings. This research analyses the thermal behaviour of different land use patches (forests, cropland, grassland, water surfaces, built areas and greenhouse areas) present in the six South Holland provincial parks during heat waves. It studies their average night land surface temperature (LST) (with Modis 11A1), day LST (with Landsat 5TM), NDVI, imperviousness, patch size and patch shape index, and analyses through a multiple regression analysis the impact of each of these last four parameters in the night and day LST for each land use. Based on these conclusions, a set of design guidelines are provided to improve the cooling capacity of Midden-Delfland park areas which are adjacent to hotspots with day LST above 41°C and with day LST between 36°C and 41°C. The average day LST within South Holland provincial parks varies from 25.9°C for water surfaces, to 31.4°C for forests, 33°C for cropland, 33.1°C for greenhouse areas, 34.9°C for grassland patches and 37.9°C for built areas. Within each land use category, NDVI, imperviousness and patch shape index influence differently the thermal behaviour of the patches. NDVI is inversely correlated to day LST for all categories, imperviousness is correlated to day LST for all areas which do not comprise a significant presence of greenhouses (grassland and built patches) and inversely correlated to LST for areas with a high presence of greenhouses (cropland and warehouses). Finally, the shape index varies depending on the nature of the surrounding patches, especially for small patches (built areas, forests and greenhouse areas). Most of the hotspots surrounding the Midden-Delfland park are adjacent to grassland patches. The measure to increase the cooling capacity of those patches would consist in a change of land use and or an increase of the NDVI of the existing grassland patches. These suggestions to increase the cooling potential of the parks remain deliberately open in order to allow combining these measures with other spatial planning priorities.

Trends of land cover change in a key biological corridor in Central Nepal

Neupane K, Gautam AP, Regmi A. 2017. Trends of land cover change in a key biological corridor in Central Nepal. Asian J For 1: 50-55. The study analyzed the changes in land cover in one of the key biological corridors in Central Nepal called the Barandabhar Corridor located in Chitwan District, during the last two decades (i.e. 1991 to 2013). The study is based on analysis of satellite imageries (Landsat 5 TM of 1991 and Landsat 8 OLI_TIRS of 2013) and primary data on drivers of land cover change, collected from the field. Supervised Maximum Likelihood method of image classification was used to produce the land cover maps for 1991 and 2013. The result showed that forest cover in the corridor increased by 7.03% while the coverage of shrubland, water and other land cover types decreased during the study period. Implementation of community based forest management programs, low dependency on forest resources, and increase in conservation awareness among the local people are found to be the main causes behind the increase in forest cover.

Observations of Landslides Caused by the April 2015 Gorkha, Nepal, Earthquake Based on Land, UAV, and Satellite Reconnaissance

Thousands of landslides occurred during the April 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal. Previous work using satellite imagery mapped nearly 25,000 coseismic landslides. In this study, the satellite-based mapping was analyzed in three areas where field deployment was also conducted—the Budhi Gandaki, Trishuli, and Indrawati river valleys—to better characterize the landslides. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were deployed to map the three-dimensional (3-D) geometry of failed slopes using photogrammetry, as well as to characterize rock structure and strength. The majority of landslides were rock slides along the ridges and the steeper portions of the basins primarily involving the weathered rock zone. Additional landslides included rock falls and soil failures. Satellite imagery analysis indicated that landsliding was concentrated north of the physiographic transition, in steep areas, and in close proximity to the major rivers. The Trishuli area experienced the lowest landslide density in terms of number of landslides compared to the Budhi Gandaki and Indrawati areas, although all three areas had similar density in terms of total landslide area and other landslide statistics.

Analysis of Subak Landuse Change Due to Tourism Accomodation Development in North Kuta Sub-district, Badung Regency, Indonesia

Subak is a traditional irrigation management system in Bali which governs the distribution of irrigation water into rice fields. The problems that occur in Subak in North Kuta Subdistrict is the high landuse change of rice field due to the rapid development of tourism and in the Region Spatial Plan is mostly designated as land for non agriculture. The aim of the research is to find out the Subak landuse change into tourism accommodation during the last five years, as well as knowing the area of Subak which located in the area of agricultural lands food crops related to landuse planning regulation of Badung Regency.The research methods included analysis of satellite imagery, literature studies, field survey, analysis of Subak landuse change, analysis of the subak in the area of the agricultural land food crop.Subak landuse change into non rice fields in the North of Kuta as uch as 538.88 ha during the last five years. The change of rice fields into tourist accommodation as much as 92 accommodation. Subak which is within the area of farmland of food crops 548.35 ha and outside the area of farmland 459.04ha.

Inventario de movimientos en masa en el sector sur de la Saliente de Monterrey. Caso de estudio: cañón Santa Rosa, Nuevo León, noreste de México

We present a landslide inventory for the Santa Rosa Canyon in the Monterrey Salient, between Linares and Iturbide in Nuevo León state. A total of 429 landslides were documented from field investigation, analysis and interpretation of satellite imagery and historical data from Google Earth platform for the last 30 years. Falls, slides and flows are the most typical landslides, mainly related to extraordinary rainfalls from hurricanes and tropical storms. Moreover, an overall increase in seismicity in northeastern Mexico may indicate this activity as the second most important factor triggering slope instabilities. This inventory could be used in detailed landslide risk assessment studies in the region, and the methodology may be extrapolated to neighboring areas with recurrent landslides and a lack of scientific studies.

Present Glaciers and Their Dynamics in the Arid Parts of the Altai Mountains

This research is based on multiyear in-situ observations, analysis of satellite and aerial imagery, meteorological data, and mass balance index calculations. Presently, 659 glaciers cover a total area of 322.1 km2. We identified four favorable, two neutral, and five unfavorable longer intervals of glacier development since 1940. A decelerating of glacial retreat took place in the 1960s and in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The strong decline in glacial mass between 1995 and 2009 resulted in a fast reduction of the glacial area (0.9% year−1 on the northern slope of Tavan Bogd, 1.5% year−1 at Mongun-Taiga), mostly due to the degradation of small glaciers; after 2009, the glacial loss slowed down. Large valley glaciers behaved asynchronously until recently, when their retreat accelerated rapidly reaching in some cases over 40 m∙year−1. Degradation of the accumulation zone and separation of the debris-covered parts of the glaciers are characteristic for the glacial retreat in the region of research. The time of reaction of the fronts of four valley glaciers of Mongun-Taiga and the northern slope of Tavan Bogd on climatic fluctuations is estimated between 11 and 20 years. Over the next decade, high rates of glacial degradation are expected.

Royal mausoleums of the western Han and of the Song Chinese dynasties: A satellite imagery analysis

The mausoleums of the Emperors and of some members of the royal family of the Western Han Chinese Dynasty are a spectacular ensemble of tombs, covered by huge earth mounds and scattered throughout the outskirts of modern Xi'an. Their inspiration comes from the world-famous mausoleum of the first Emperor of the Qin, who reigned immediately before the Han, and these in turn inspired the much later mausoleums of the Song Dynasty. For numerous reasons it is nowadays difficult to acquire data and to capture on the ground the spatial and cognitive relationships between these monuments and the way they formed a unified cultural landscape. Therefore we make use here of satellite data to investigate dimensions, orientations and mutual cognitive aspects of their projects. The analysis encompasses a consideration of the cultural links of astronomy with orientation and topography, as well as a test of the possible influence of traditional Chinese doctrines on these. The special case of the mountain tomb of Emperor Wen of Han is also discussed.

Spatiotemporal characteristics of wildfire frequency and relative area burned in larch-dominated forests of Central Siberia

Wildfire frequency, relative area burned, and fire return intervals (FRI) have been studied in larchdominated forests along the transect from the southern (45° N) to the northern (73° N) distribution limits of larch stands based on analysis of satellite imagery (NOAA/AVHRR, Terra/MODIS; 1996–2015) and collection of tree cross cuts with fire scars. A significant increasing trend in fire extent (R2 = 0.50, p 55° N). The length of FRI increases from 80 years at 62° N to ~200 years at the Arctic Circle and reaches ~300 years near the northern limit of larch stands, showing a significant inverse correlation with the length of fire season (r =–0.69). In turn, the length of fire season, area burned and FRI are closely correlated with latitudinal variation in solar irradiance (r = 0.97, 0.81, and –0.95, respectively).

Living biomass of fallow areas under a REDD+ project in mountainous terrain of Northern Laos

ABSTRACTThere has been an expansion of the fallow areas in the mountainous terrain of Northern Laos, resulting in a significant effect on greenhouse gas emissions in the region. This study estimated living biomass of variously aged fallow areas (4–35 years old) in mountainous terrain. The living biomass of study sites, which was estimated by applying original allometric equations in each plant component, ranged from 49.4 to 390.1 Mg ha−1. Using individual biomass data, we then developed a growth model based on a correlation between stand age (years after slash-and-burn) and living biomass in fallow areas >20 years old. The developed growth model was well fitted by a theoretical formula of Mitscherlich (Living biomass = 372.9 × [1 – 1.117 × exp(−0.05556 × stand age)]) (R2 = 0.670). In addition, the area of each aged fallow area was estimated by analysis of time series of satellite imagery and change-detection analysis to detect past fire events (slash-and-burn). All of the living biomass of the fallow areas in each age were estimated using the developed model and were analyzed. The age-classed weighted mean value of living biomass in fallow areas was estimated as 111.4 Mg ha−1. These results clarified that living biomass in fallow areas was dependent on age, and estimation methods including age data are essential for improving the estimation accuracy of forest carbon stocks in fallow areas during long-term Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation projects in Northern Laos and surrounding regions.

Substantial export of suspended sediment to the global oceans from glacial erosion in Greenland

Approximately 8% of the fluvial suspended sediment exported to the world’s oceans comes from rivers draining the Greenland ice sheet, according to an analysis of satellite imagery. Furthermore, the export is dominated by areas where subglacial erosion is high.

Improving Human-Machine Cooperative Visual Search With Soft Highlighting

Advances in machine learning have produced systems that attain human-level performance on certain visual tasks, e.g., object identification. Nonetheless, other tasks requiring visual expertise are unlikely to be entrusted to machines for some time, e.g., satellite and medical imagery analysis. We describe a human-machine cooperative approach to visual search, the aim of which is to outperform either human or machine acting alone. The traditional route to augmenting human performance with automatic classifiers is to draw boxes around regions of an image deemed likely to contain a target. Human experts typically reject this type of hard highlighting. We propose instead a soft highlighting technique in which the saliency of regions of the visual field is modulated in a graded fashion based on classifier confidence level. We report on experiments with both synthetic and natural images showing that soft highlighting achieves a performance synergy surpassing that attained by hard highlighting.

A case study of convectively sourced water vapor observed in the overworld stratosphere over the United States

AbstractOn 27 August 2013, during the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys field mission, NASA's ER‐2 research aircraft encountered a region of enhanced water vapor, extending over a depth of approximately 2 km and a minimum areal extent of 20,000 km2 in the stratosphere (375 K to 415 K potential temperature), south of the Great Lakes (42°N, 90°W). Water vapor mixing ratios in this plume, measured by the Harvard Water Vapor instrument, constitute the highest values recorded in situ at these potential temperatures and latitudes. An analysis of geostationary satellite imagery in combination with trajectory calculations links this water vapor enhancement to its source, a deep tropopause‐penetrating convective storm system that developed over Minnesota 20 h prior to the aircraft plume encounter. High resolution, ground‐based radar data reveal that this system was composed of multiple individual storms, each with convective turrets that extended to a maximum of ~4 km above the tropopause level for several hours. In situ water vapor data show that this storm system irreversibly delivered between 6.6 kt and 13.5 kt of water to the stratosphere. This constitutes a 20–25% increase in water vapor abundance in a column extending from 115 hP to 70 hPa over the plume area. Both in situ and satellite climatologies show a high frequency of localized water vapor enhancements over the central U.S. in summer, suggesting that deep convection can contribute to the stratospheric water budget over this region and season.

Testing Google Earth Engine for the automatic identification and vectorization of archaeological features: A case study from Faynan, Jordan

Google Earth Engine (GEE) is an in-development, cloud-based platform providing access to petabytes of satellite imagery data for planetary-scale analysis (Google Earth Engine Team 2015). Combining this massive database with the parallel computing power of Google's infrastructure facilitates quick and easy analysis of satellite imagery on any scale, opening new avenues for research in a number of fields. This paper evaluates the potential role GEE can play in the future of archaeological research. To do so, GEE was employed/tested in two case studies. First, GEE was used to automatically identify specific archaeological features across the landscape of the archaeologically-rich Faynan region of Southern Jordan. Second, GEE-based edge-detection and automatic vectorization for mapping archaeological sites was tested at the Iron Age (ca. 1200–900BCE) site of Khirbat al-Jariya in Faynan. Based on the test results, the authors concluded that GEE has significant potential for assisting archaeologists with automated feature detection and vectorization, tasks that are often onerous and expensive.

Free satellite imagery and digital elevation model analyses enabling natural resource management in the developing world: Case studies from Eastern Indonesia

Decentralization of governance and natural resource management is an ongoing process in many parts of Africa and Asia. Natural resource management requires spatial land resource data for planning. However, currently the financial and human capacity for natural resource mapping, monitoring and modelling remains low in local governments. In this context, this paper explores how new opportunities provided by the increasing availability of free satellite imagery, digital elevation data and open source spatial analysis software, can be applied by local government and NGOs to conduct sophisticated natural resource mapping and modelling in ways that meet their needs and incorporates local knowledge. Reported are cases of a local government using free geospatial data and GIS software to improve evidence‐based natural resource management in the developing world with a focus on raster data applications for satellite image analysis and terrain modelling. It is argued that, through removing barriers to uptake, such applications provide a means of decentralizing landscape analysis skills to improve local natural resource management. This hypothesis is supported through examples of a local government applying these tools in eastern Indonesia, and within this context barriers to wider adoption are explored.

Rise and fall of a small ice-dammed lake - Role of deglaciation processes and morphology

A small ice-dammed lake, which developed along the margin of Nordenskiöldbreen on the northern coast of Adolfbukta, (central Spitsbergen, Svalbard) has been studied by a combination of facies analysis, ground penetrating radar, analysis of photos and satellite imagery, and by surface mapping by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drone). The lake existed between the years 1990–2012 and occupied two partial depressions in the bedrock, separated by a bedrock ridge for the dominant period of its history. Whereas the eastern depression was almost completely infilled due to direct fluvial input, the western depression revealed only thin sedimentary cover and was dotted from the eastern depression by an outflow of surficial waters. Gilbert delta deposits with typical tripartite zones of topset, foreset and bottomset were recognised in the eastern depression. Topset was comprised by deposits of a braided river. Foreset is formed by deposits of sediment gravity flows (turbidity currents and debris flows). Bottomset is represented by alternating suspension deposits and deposits of hyperpycnal underflows (low-density turbidity currents). The ruling factors of the evolution of the delta were glacier retreat, bedrock morphology, both affecting the relative lake level, and the rate of sediment delivery. Glacier retreat over stepped and inclined bedrock morphology led to delta prograding and downstepping. The recognised fluvio-deltaic terraces revealed four lake level falls followed by fluvial downcutting, erosion and redeposition of the older deltaic/lake deposits, the shifting of the lake's position towards the damming glacier and the transition of the sediment input in the same direction. The termination of the lake was a result of further glacier retreat and the opening of subglacial drainage.

Geostatistical facies modeling trends for oolitic tidal sand shoals

To assess prospective modeling trends for oolitic tidal sand shoals and explore potential patterns of reservoir heterogeneity, this study examines, quantifies, and models the cycle-scale architecture of the Holocene mobile oolitic tidal sand shoal complex at Schooner Cays, Bahamas. Process-based stratigraphic trends are captured in quantitative, geocellular models of the shoal from analyses of satellite imagery; two-dimensional, high-frequency seismic (chirp) data; and sediment cores. Data show that longitudinal tidal sand ridges extend up to 8 km (5 mi) along depositional dip, gradually transforming bankward into channel-bound, compound barforms consisting of linear, parabolic, and shoulder bars. These bars terminate into a laterally extensive (10 km [6 mi]), strike-elongate sand sheet. Each bar type includes distinct internal architecture, grain size, and sorting related to feedbacks among hydrodynamics, geomorphology, and sedimentology. Building on these data and concepts from the Holocene accumulations, this study demonstrates a methodology for quantifying and validating probabilistic stratigraphic trends prior to their inclusion in stochastic-based facies modeling algorithms. Inclusion of statistically robust facies probability volumes during truncated Gaussian simulation generated ordered and geologically accurate facies distributions relative to bar-crest centerlines, water depth, and geomorphic position. Petrophysical models that incorporate facies-specific porosity, permeability, and water saturation functions display pronounced cycle-scale heterogeneity that could provide insights into variable production rates and poor sweep efficiency commonly encountered during development of analogous oolitic reservoirs.

UPDATE OF THRESHOLD VALUE AT CLASSIFICATION OF DIGITAL IMAGE BLOCKS FOR IMPROVING EFFICIENCY OF DETECTING PHOTOMONTAIS

The solution of the task of isolating the texture attributes of a digital image is relevant in many areas: computer diagnostics, analysis of satellite imagery, video surveillance systems, navigation systems, etc. At the moment, the concept of digital image texture (CI) is interpreted differently depending on the specific tasks of image processing, and their quality is tested empirically for each classification problem, so the synthesis of a large number of textural features and their research on information is relevant. Important concepts of the texture are the background and the outline. Previously, a method for classifying image matrix blocks based on an analysis of their brightness function was proposed, according to which four categories of blocks were identified: background and three categories of contour ones (with a strongly pronounced, medium-pronounced and weakly expressed contour). The above classification is made for blocks measuring 8 x 8 and allows you to accurately isolate the contours of objects in the image. A block is assigned to a category by comparing the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the pixel brightness with a threshold value, the recommendations for which were obtained empirically. The need for such a classification arose in connection with the solution of the issues of identifying photomontage. The effectiveness of some methods depends on the frequency component of the image signal: at a low level of the high-frequency component (part of the image without contours or with poorly expressed contours), the method copes with the task, otherwise its use is not advisable. This fact indicates the possibility of applying the method of classifying image blocks in the area of information security. Also in the work recommendations are given regarding the specification of the boundaries of the selected objects, using blocks of smaller sizes. However, when changing the block size, it is also necessary to take into account the need to correct the threshold value. The purpose of this work is to improve the accuracy of the selection of the boundaries of objects in the image by a method based on the analysis of the brightness function of digital image blocks. In the paper it is shown that when the size of blocks decreases, the allocation of small details, as well as the isolation of the outlines of objects as a whole, occurs more efficiently than in the original version. This is observed both for a large object in the frame - the planet, and for its satellite. The threshold value was selected by subjective ranking. When analyzing a hundred images, it was determined that for the 2 x 2 blocks, the best results were obtained using a threshold value of 15. Thus, in the work it was possible to improve the accuracy of the contour extraction in the manner suggested earlier. Recommendations are received regarding the choice of block size and threshold value. By subjective ranking it is established that at a threshold value of 15 for blocks of 2 x 2 size, the accuracy of contour allocation increases significantly. The tasks set in the work are solved, the goal is achieved.

Modeling the risk of transmission of schistosomiasis in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria using satellite derived environmental data.

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease and its distribution, in space and time, can be influenced by environmental factors such as rivers, elevation, slope, land surface temperature, land use/cover and rainfall. The aim of this study is to identify the areas with suitable conditions for schistosomiasis transmission on the basis of physical and environmental factors derived from satellite imagery and spatial analysis for Akure North Local Government Area (LGA) of Ondo State. Nigeria. This was done through methodology multicriteria evaluation (MCE) using Saaty’s analytical hierarchy process (AHP). AHP is a multi-criteria decision method that uses hierarchical structures to represent a problem and makes decisions based on priority scales. In this research AHP was used to obtain the mapping weight or importance of each individual schistosomiasis risk factor. For the purpose of identifying areas of schistosomiasis risk, this study focused on temperature, drainage, elevation, rainfall, slope and land use/land cover as the factors controlling schistosomiasis incidence in the study area. It is by reclassifying and overlaying these factors that areas vulnerable to schistosomiasis were identified. The weighted overlay analysis was done after each factor was given the appropriate weight derived through the analytical hierarchical process. The prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis in the study area was also determined by parasitological analysis of urine samples collected through random sampling. The results showed varying risk of schistosomiasis with a larger portion of the area (82%) falling under the high and very high risk category. The study also showed that one community (Oba Ile) had the lowest risk of schistosomiasis while the risk increased in the four remaining communities (Iju, Igoba, Ita Ogbolu and Ogbese). The predictions made by the model correlated strongly with observations from field study. The high risk zones corresponded to known endemic communities. This study revealed that environmental factors can be used in identifying and predicting the transmission of schistosomiasis as well as effective monitoring of disease risk in newly established rural and agricultural communities.

ISIS’s Destruction of Mosul’s Historical Monuments: Between Media Spectacle and Religious Doctrine

This article examines the rationale behind ISIS’s (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) destruction of the historical monuments in the Iraqi town of Mosul. Their demolition campaign started shortly after this radical organization seized control of the town on June 10, 2014 and was systematically tracked by the authors during the first fifteen months of their control of Mosul. Analysis of satellite imagery, historical literature and ISIS’s propaganda material shows that the main object of their destruction was funerary architecture. The collected data has been interpreted within the context of the discourse regarding the destruction of graves in Salafi teachings. The article assumes that among the range of possible reasons for ISIS’s behaviour toward Mosul’s architecture, special importance should be ascribed to the religious doctrine of taswiyat al-qubur (the levelling of graves). This particular policy has been supported by Salafi scholars and ideologists and often vigorously invoked by religious institutions within Saudi Arabia.

A Forest Vitality and Change Monitoring Tool Based on RapidEye Imagery

Forest damage and health problems can be identified, mapped, and better managed through the analysis of satellite imagery. However, a high degree of efficiency is achieved only if a workflow for preprocessing and analysis is mature enough for production and can be deployed in an operational processing environment. This letter shows a path for turning research into an operational tool for the purposes of forest delineation and disturbance monitoring using high-resolution RapidEye satellite imagery. The implemented workflow follows a modularized approach with separate modules for image registration, radiometric normalization, classification, and bitemporal analysis. The tool was developed for commercial service provision. It has successfully been deployed for the fourth year for German state forest customers. It makes use of python and python libraries, as well as algorithms of PCI Geomatica. The letter concludes with a case study showing the defoliation monitoring results of a Scots pine plantation area affected by a nun moth outbreak.