Use Of Aerial Imagery Research Articles

Estimation of the amount of asbestos-cement roofing in Poland

The unique set of physical and chemical properties has led to many industrial applications of asbestos worldwide; one of them was roof covering. Asbestos is harmful to human health, and therefore its use was legally forbidden. Since in Poland there is no adequate data on the amount of asbestos-cement roofing, the objective of this study was to estimate its quantity on the basis of physical inventory taking with the use of aerial imagery, and the application of selected statistical features. Data pre-processing and analysis was executed in R Statistical Environment v. 3.1.0. Best random forest models were computed; model explaining 72.9% of the variance was subsequently used to prepare the prediction map of the amount of asbestos-cement roofing in Poland. Variables defining the number of farms, number and age of buildings, and regional differences were crucial for the analysis. The total amount of asbestos roofing in Poland was estimated at 738,068,000 m2 (8.2m t). It is crucial for the landfill development programme, financial resources distribution, and application of monitoring policies.

Morphological Interpretations of Glacial Forms by Spatial Analysis in the Area Surrounding Lake Simcoe, Ontario

Drumlins are sedimentary geological features that indicate the final direction of glacier movement; as a result, they are of great interest in understanding past glacial events. In southern Ontario alone, thousands of drumlins have been mapped and interpreted remotely through the use of aerial imagery or topographic maps. These are often paired with digital elevation models (DEMs) and/or contour maps offering detailed information about the area of study. This paper presents the results of a change-detection study that used maps of different vintages of the drumlin-rich area around Lake Simcoe in southern Ontario. Two topographic maps and two DEMs, each with contours at 25-ft (7.6-m) and 10-m intervals, were compared in three regions: (A) the urban region in the city of Orillia, overlying sand plains; (B) the area east of Orillia, on top of clay plains; and (C) the region south-east of Lake Simcoe, overlying till plains. The 7.6-m contour topographic maps and DEMs display comparable levels of detail; however, over time the drumlins appear to erode, likely a product of the underlying sediment in combination with urbanization. The 10-m contour topographic maps display less detail than DEMs of the same resolution, suggesting that the popular topographic maps are not the most reliable method of mapping drumlins.

Use of aerial imagery to assess habitat suitability and predict site occupancy for a declining wetland-dependent bird

Remote sensing is a valuable tool for wetland habitat quantification, monitoring and assessment. Here we show that habitat assessment via aerial image inspection is useful in predicting wetland site occupancy by black terns (Chlidonias niger), an imperiled and declining species throughout much of North America. We used Google Earth® images and National Wetlands Inventory maps to rank 390 candidate wetlands throughout Wisconsin (USA) according to their apparent suitability as nesting habitat for black terns and quantified habitat features associated with the suitability rankings. We then conducted ground-based suitability assessments and point counts of terns at most wetlands from May to July 2010. Pre-survey assessment resulted in 123 wetlands classified as suitable, 81 as marginal, and 186 as unsuitable. Wetlands ranked as suitable were more likely to be in the hemi-marsh stage, part of a wetland complex and relatively undisturbed. Black terns were present at 47 % of the wetlands considered suitable but only 11 % of the sites considered marginal or unsuitable. Of the 42 sites where nesting was confirmed, 79 % were at wetlands classified as suitable; no nesting was recorded in any wetlands deemed unsuitable. We found strong concordance in wetland suitability rankings between the two assessment methods (remote sensing, site surveys). We propose that remote sensing is an efficient and inexpensive way to predict site occupancy by wetland birds, such as black terns, that prefer a specific kind of habitat discernible from aerial imagery. This method may be particularly useful in areas, such as the Prairie Pothole region of North America, where ground surveys of all wetlands are not feasible.

AERIAL IMAGES FROM AN UAV SYSTEM: 3D MODELING AND TREE SPECIES CLASSIFICATION IN A PARK AREA

Abstract. The use of aerial imagery acquired by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is scheduled within the FoGLIE project (Fruition of Goods Landscape in Interactive Environment): it starts from the need to enhance the natural, artistic and cultural heritage, to produce a better usability of it by employing audiovisual movable systems of 3D reconstruction and to improve monitoring procedures, by using new media for integrating the fruition phase with the preservation ones. The pilot project focus on a test area, Parco Adda Nord, which encloses various goods' types (small buildings, agricultural fields and different tree species and bushes). Multispectral high resolution images were taken by two digital compact cameras: a Pentax Optio A40 for RGB photos and a Sigma DP1 modified to acquire the NIR band. Then, some tests were performed in order to analyze the UAV images' quality with both photogrammetric and photo-interpretation purposes, to validate the vector-sensor system, the image block geometry and to study the feasibility of tree species classification. Many pre-signalized Control Points were surveyed through GPS to allow accuracy analysis. Aerial Triangulations (ATs) were carried out with photogrammetric commercial software, Leica Photogrammetry Suite (LPS) and PhotoModeler, with manual or automatic selection of Tie Points, to pick out pros and cons of each package in managing non conventional aerial imagery as well as the differences in the modeling approach. Further analysis were done on the differences between the EO parameters and the corresponding data coming from the on board UAV navigation system.