Satellite remote sensing Research Papers (original) (raw)

SUMMARY: Chapter 3, in Renfrew & Bahn's textbook (Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice), covers many approaches to looking for and finding sites, and archaeological remains within sites, such as historical and local reports,... more

SUMMARY: Chapter 3, in Renfrew & Bahn's textbook (Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice), covers many approaches to looking for and finding sites, and archaeological remains within sites, such as historical and local reports, ground reconnaissance (e.g., walking surveys; sampling strategies), aerial surveys (e.g., LiDAR; crop marks), satellite remote sensing, recording & mapping (e.g., GIS), subsurface detection (e.g., probes), ground-based remote sensing (seismic; acoustic; electromagnetic; magnetic; etc.), excavation techniques, underwater archaeology, and processing & classification. In my view, this is one of the best college textbooks available, and is invaluable for students, archaeologists, and the public in general, to obtain a top notch overview of approaching and interpreting the archaeological record. REVISED: Jan. 2023.

Resumo O manejo sustentável dos recursos hídricos e da terra é atualmente uma das principais prioridades na agenda de muitos países ao redor do mundo, o que exige informações sobre as mudanças na cobertura da terra em bacias... more

Resumo O manejo sustentável dos recursos hídricos e da terra é atualmente uma das principais prioridades na agenda de muitos países ao redor do mundo, o que exige informações sobre as mudanças na cobertura da terra em bacias hidrográficas. Neste estudo, mapas de 1984, 1996, 2005 e 2016 foram desenvolvidos utilizando-se composições falsa-cor e o Índice de Vegetação por Diferença Normalizada (NDVI) para identificar as principais mudanças ocorridas na bacia do Córrego Guariroba. Essa bacia hidrográfica é uma Área de Proteção Ambiental desde 1995, quando se tornou a fonte de abastecimento urbana da capital do estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Para tanto, o software livre QGIS e imagens Landsat foram usados para determinar as mudanças no uso e ocupação da terra. Essas informações permitiram a discussão das possíveis pressões e consequências ambientais das mudanças nesses períodos. A bacia hidrográfica tem estado sob intensa atividade agropecuária, com a maior parte de sua superfície sendo ocupada por pastagens para a pecuária e silvicultura de eucalipto. Os resultados indicam que a influência direta das atividades humanas reduziu drasticamente a cobertura natural na área, com implicações para o cumprimento da legislação do Código Florestal. Os usos antrópicos da terra representam mais de 57% da cobertura total do solo em todos os anos, atingindo 79,70% em 2005. Em 2016, houve um aumento na recuperação da vegetação nativa, mas apesar desse incremento o uso humano da terra continua alto (74,09%). Parte do pequeno ganho de vegetação nativa deve-se aos planos de reflorestamento realizados a partir de 2010. A sedimentação do reservatório de água é visível em 2016, formando bancos de areia que se estendem por cerca de 700 m na porção distal do Córrego Guariroba. Os resultados deste estudo podem ser aplicados para uma possível revisão do plano de manejo da bacia, considerando-se a gestão de seus recursos hídricos integrados ao planejamento ambiental e ao desenvolvimento econômico. Esse tipo de análise pode auxiliar no processo de tomada de decisão de órgãos governamentais, de forma que as bacias utilizadas para o abastecimento de água apresentem restrições de uso da terra, devido ao risco de redução na quantidade e a qualidade da água.

1] The global oceans serve as the largest sustained natural sink for increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations. As this CO 2 is absorbed by seawater, it not only reacts causing a reduction in seawater pH (or... more

1] The global oceans serve as the largest sustained natural sink for increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations. As this CO 2 is absorbed by seawater, it not only reacts causing a reduction in seawater pH (or acidification) but also decreases the carbonate mineral saturation state (W), which plays an important role in calcification for many marine organisms. Ocean acidification could affect some of the most fundamental biological and geochemical processes of the sea in coming decades. Observations obtained in situ from Volunteer Observing Ships and multiple geochemical surveys have been extended using satellite remote sensing and modeled environmental parameters to derive estimates of sea-surface alkalinity (A T ) and carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO 2,sw ). Pairing estimates of A T and pCO 2,sw have permitted characterization of the changes in sea-surface W, which have transpired over the past decade throughout the Greater Caribbean Region as a consequence of ocean acidification. The results reveal considerable spatial and temporal variability throughout the region. Despite this variability, we observed a strong secular decrease in aragonite saturation state (W arg ) at a rate of approximately À0.012 ± 0.001 W arg yr À1 (r 2 = 0.97, P < 0.001).

1. ABSTRACT The lack of adequate maps is one of the critical issue to deal with in the developing countries. Some technical projects involving the environment and the land planning need correct and updated maps. Several test had been... more

1. ABSTRACT The lack of adequate maps is one of the critical issue to deal with in the developing countries. Some technical projects involving the environment and the land planning need correct and updated maps. Several test had been conducted by our research group to develop a possible approach for low cost map and ortho-image production. This methodology is based

Complementary analysis of satellite mission data (altimetry, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS)) and climate fields over 2000–2009 was conducted to investigate the variability of the water cover surfaces and the... more

Complementary analysis of satellite mission data (altimetry, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS)) and climate fields over 2000–2009 was conducted to investigate the variability of the water cover surfaces and the geographical source of water inflowing into the Lake Poopó system. The results suggest that over the time span of 2000–2009 a great part of the variability of the Poopó system originates from geographic sources other than Lake Titicaca. Possible alternative causes include climate change inducing increased temperatures and greater evaporation rates along the Altiplano; increased glacier and snow melting over the Andes Cordillera; and a potential increased anthropogenic water use (such as irrigation, minery, etc.) throughout the path of the Desaguadero River (which connects lakes Titicaca and Poopó). This change in the hydrology of this region could lead to a collapse of water supplies and endanger the already fragile Poopó system as well as the regional socioeconomic system, which closely depends upon it.

Malaria remains one of the greatest killers of human beings, particularly in the developing world. The World Health Organization has estimated that over one million cases of Malaria are reported each year, with more than 80% of these... more

Malaria remains one of the greatest killers of human beings, particularly in the developing world. The World Health Organization has estimated that over one million cases of Malaria are reported each year, with more than 80% of these found in Sub-Saharan Africa. The anopheline mosquito transmits malaria, and breeds in areas of shallow surface water that are suitable to the mosquito and parasite development. These environmental factors can be detected with satellite imagery, which provide high spatial and temporal coverage of most of the earth's surface. The combined use of remote sensing and GIS provides a strong tool for monitoring environmental conditions that are conducive to malaria, and mapping the disease risk to human populations.

Aquatic weeds in lakes can cause different problems both to lake ecology and food webs and interfere with human activities. This drove our interest to exploit recursive satellite imagery to retrieve optical parameters suitable to develop... more

Aquatic weeds in lakes can cause different problems both to lake ecology and food webs and interfere with human activities. This drove our interest to exploit recursive satellite imagery to retrieve optical parameters suitable to develop an early warning strategy by mapping the aquatic weeds. This paper aims at assessing the capability of satellite-based remotely sensed imagery to provide information suitable for monitoring and managing the Lake Victoria resources. The spectral data collected during a field campaign, carried out for that purpose, were used to map the floating aquatic vegetation. By analyzing the "in situ" measurements and time series of satellite data we retrieved the distribution of aquatic weeds from 2004 to 2007 and the seasonal aquatic vegetation growth.

A critical step in designing effective conservation landscapes is the identification of relatively intact natural habitats. Satellite remote sensing has been effectively used to distinguish relatively intact and degraded forests at a... more

A critical step in designing effective conservation landscapes is the identification of relatively intact natural habitats. Satellite remote sensing has been effectively used to distinguish relatively intact and degraded forests at a number of scales. However, the utility of remote sensing data for rapid and cost-effective assessments of habitat intactness across large arid regions has not been adequately tested. To this end, we tested the ability of TM imagery to rapidly discriminate different levels of habitat degradation across large regions of the Chihuahuan Desert. We were able to identify relatively intact habitat in many cases. However, degraded habitat was often misidentified as relatively intact. The use of both mid- and late-season imagery provides some improvement by highlighting phenological differences among the intactness classes. Overall, low vegetation cover and inter- and intra-seasonal variability diminish the utility of TM imagery for large-scale conservation planning in the Chihuahuan Desert.

Abstract Remote sensing (RS) techniques have been widely considered to be a prom-ising source of information for land management decisions. The objective of this study was to develop and compare different methods of delineating management... more

Abstract Remote sensing (RS) techniques have been widely considered to be a prom-ising source of information for land management decisions. The objective of this study was to develop and compare different methods of delineating management zones (MZs) in a field of winter ...

Continuous global time series of vegetation indices, which are available since early 1980s, are of great value to detect changes in vegetation status at large spatial scales. Most change detection methods, however, assume a fixed change... more

Continuous global time series of vegetation indices, which are available since early 1980s, are of great value to detect changes in vegetation status at large spatial scales. Most change detection methods, however, assume a fixed change trajectory -defined by the start and end of the time series -and a linear or monotonic trend. Here, we apply a change detection method which detects abrupt changes within the time series. This Breaks For Additive Season and Trend (BFAST) approach showed that large parts of the world are subjected to trend changes. The timing of the breakpoints could in some cases be related to satellite changes, but also to large-scale natural influences like the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. Shifts from greening to browning (or vice versa) occurred in 15% of the global land surface, which demonstrates the importance of accounting for trend breaks when analyzing long-term NDVI time series.

The sensitivity of the remotely-sensed water reflectance to variations in water depth and bottom albedo is investigated using a semianalytical model and the radiative transfer numerical model HYDROLIGHT. Properties of the water column are... more

The sensitivity of the remotely-sensed water reflectance to variations in water depth and bottom albedo is investigated using a semianalytical model and the radiative transfer numerical model HYDROLIGHT. Properties of the water column are taken from published observations made on 14 Feb 2001 in the coastal waters of Moreton Bay (southeast Queensland). The sensitivities of reflectance to depth and albedo are computed using partial derivatives derived from the semianalytical model, and with finite differences using the numerical model. These are compared for various depths and bottom conditions, and also to the instrumental resolution of the Hyperion satellite remote sensing system. Sensitivity to albedo is found to be greater than sensitivity to depth under some situations making the depth signal in reflectance ambiguous. These sensitivities are then applied to bathymetry algorithms to produce error bars for depth retrievals under variable bottom albedo conditions. This is done for both the standard algorithm that uses reflectances at 550 and 650 nm corrected for optically deep water reflectance, and a blue/green ratio algorithm intended for use over low albedo areas. In the standard algorithm variations of 10% in albedo produce errors in depth estimates of approximately 0.05m over sandy bottoms which is small compared with the 2m depth resolution required to reach the bottom in the Moreton Bay experiment. The blue/green ratio algorithm showed no skill for bathymetric mapping with this dataset.

Indonesian satellite operations are mainly known for the operation of geostationary orbit (GSO) satellites for telecommunication missions. In the last decade, however, the activities of non-GSO satellites in Indonesia are significantly... more

Indonesian satellite operations are mainly known for the operation of geostationary orbit (GSO) satellites for telecommunication missions. In the last decade, however, the activities of non-GSO satellites in Indonesia are significantly increasing. Therefore, the objectives of this research are to find out the cause of the growth and to predict the future operation of non-GSO satellites in Indonesia. For such purpose, review on the operation of non-GSO satellites in the past and now was done. Analysis on the characteristics of their missions, owners/operators, and technical characteristics of the satellites were done. Literature studies on the global trends and their defining strategic environments were also done to complete the insight. The study shows that increase in the use of non-GSO satellites is caused by the growth in remote sensing application, M2M application, and development of LAPAN's satellites. In the future, the growth of non-GSO remote sensing satellite is predicted to be caused by the same reason. The increase in the use of non-GSO telecommunication satellites, however, will be affected more by the new global trend. The increase in non-GSO remote sensing satellites does not affect significantly on the needs of frequency and ground stations. The increase in the non-GSO telecommunication satellites, however, needs significant additional frequency allocations and ground stations.

Destructive earthquakes challenge Earth Observation (EO) systems to demonstrate their usefulness in supporting intervention and relief actions. The use of EO data in a disaster context has been widely investigated from a theoretical point... more

Destructive earthquakes challenge Earth Observation (EO) systems to demonstrate their usefulness in supporting intervention and relief actions. The use of EO data in a disaster context has been widely investigated from a theoretical point of view, but only recently the developed methods seem to have reached near to the operational use. In this paper a case study on the 6 th April 2009 earthquake (M w = 6.3) event, which stroke L'Aquila, Italy, is presented and commented. Although damage to the city was not extremely extensive, the case is interesting because it was handled by the authors in a real-time, emergency context. A new data fusion approach, between SAR and optical data, has been proposed. It shows that optical data are more suitable to distinguish between damage and nondamage classes, while SAR textures features allow to better distinguishing different classes of damages at block scale such as low and heavy damage.

Remote sensing technology has been applied to monitor anthropogenic changes in the landscape that produce impacts on natural resources, such as environmental degradation, changes in the hydrological cycle and in ecosystems structure and... more

Remote sensing technology has been applied to monitor anthropogenic changes in the landscape that produce impacts on natural resources, such as environmental degradation, changes in the hydrological cycle and in ecosystems structure and functioning. As digital change detection may be a difficult task to perform, this study proposes a simple and logical technique to display land cover changes using Landsat imagery. Open source geoprocessing tools were used to acquire information for mapping changes on the land surface. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) derived from satellite images of four dates between 1984 and 2016 were used in RGB composites. The method was used to map gains and losses of vegetation cover and liquid water content in a spatiotemporal scale. The results indicate that this change detection method can effectively reflect the variations occurred over the years. Although both indices have similar responses, NDWI may provide opposite information to NDVI in certain areas, such as in wetlands and riparian zones, presenting wetness losses even in places that exhibit gains in vegetation. This method has applicability to other regions for deriving historical changes.

Several studies have been carried out relating nighttime lights with economic activity. But most studies relating nighttime lights with economic activity have focused on associating higher totals in economic activity with higher sum of... more

Several studies have been carried out relating nighttime lights with economic activity. But most studies relating nighttime lights with economic activity have focused on associating higher totals in economic activity with higher sum of lights across regions. The question addressed in this paper is how best to model the relationship of nighttime lights with not just the wealthy but also the relatively worse-off within a region. The implications of such an exercise are immense with respect to ascertaining income distribution aspects of any area. The methods developed in this paper explore the relation between households in different income brackets at the district level for India, and the radiance-calibrated nighttime image of 2004. Besides the radiance-calibrated data of 2004, estimates of household incomes and number of households in different income brackets, made by Indicus Analytics (specialized economic research firm, based in New Delhi, India) were used. The results were mapped and insights were drawn for all districts based on their socioeconomic profile. These results illustrate the advantage of using this easily available data for determining income inequalities, especially in information-deficient countries such as India.

Data derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on board the NOAA series of operational, polar orbiting, meteorological satellites have previously been shown to be quite useful for monitoring vegetation dynamics at... more

Data derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on board the NOAA series of operational, polar orbiting, meteorological satellites have previously been shown to be quite useful for monitoring vegetation dynamics at scales ranging from regional (lo4 km2) to global. In this report, we demonstrate that these same data can be used to monitor potential breeding habitat for a highly mobile, granivorous African weaver-bird, the red-billed quelea (Quelea guelea). This species is often considered to be an agricultural pest, affecting cereal production throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The temporal resolution and very large (continental) spatial coverage provided by these data can provide a unique context within which to examine species distribution and abundance patterns.

The aim of the study is to characterize the variability and spatial diversification of sunshine duration in Poland on the basis of ground- and satellite-based data. The study used ground-based data (SDUmet) from the years 1971-2018 from... more

The aim of the study is to characterize the variability and spatial diversification of sunshine duration in Poland on the basis of ground- and satellite-based data. The study used ground-based data (SDUmet) from the years 1971-2018 from 29 IMGW-PIB stations and two stations of the Jagiellonian University. All meteorological stations included in the study were assigned sunshine duration values (SDUsat ), which were the result of observations by the first and second generation Meteosat satellites. Based on ground and satellite data from the years 1983-2018, monthly, seasonal and annual sums were calculated, and were presented on the maps. As a result of the analysis, it was found that there is a significant increasing trend in Poland of annual sunshine duration sums from the 1980s to the maximum in 2018. Average annual sunshine duration sums calculated on the basis of ground-based data range from 1460-1500 hours in the south and south-west of the country to 1800-1830 hours in the north - the eastern Baltic coast by the Gulf of Gdansk. In the prevailing area of the country, sunshine duration ranges from 1700 to 1750 hours per year and gradually decreases from the center towards the south-west, south and north-east. The increase in sunshine duration from mountainous areas towards the lowlands of central Poland is clearly marked. The distribution of annual sums of sunshine duration in Poland on the basis of satellite data has not confirmed the common view that the privileged areas for insolation are the coastal areas and the central and eastern part of Poland, but rather the vast area of central Poland from the Wielkopolskie Lakeland to the Małopolska Upland.

Nutrient concentrations, primary productivity, and nitrogen uptake rates were measured in coastal waters of the Mid-Atlantic Bight over a two-year period that included measurements from all four seasons. In order to assess carbon... more

Nutrient concentrations, primary productivity, and nitrogen uptake rates were measured in coastal waters of the Mid-Atlantic Bight over a two-year period that included measurements from all four seasons. In order to assess carbon productivity and nitrogen demand within the context of the physical environment, the region was divided into three distinct hydrographic regimes: the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay outflow plumes (PL), the southern Mid-Atlantic shelf influenced by the Gulf Stream (SS), and the mid-shelf area to the north of the Chesapeake Bay mouth (MS). Annual areal rates of total nitrogen (N) uptake were similar across all regions (10.9 ± 2.1 mol N m -2 y -1). However, annual areal rates of net primary productivity were higher in the outflow plume region (43 mol C m -2 y -1), than along the Mid-Atlantic shelf and in areas influenced by the Gulf Stream (41 and 34 mol C m -2 y -1, respectively). Rates of net primary productivity were not well correlated with Chl a concentrations and were uncoupled with net N uptake rates. Seasonally averaged annual areal rates of net primary productivity for the Mid-Atlantic Bight measured in this study were higher than those calculated in previous decades and provide important validation information for biogeochemical models and satellite remote sensing algorithms developed for the region.

Opium is a narcotic obtained from opium poppy and is the raw material of heroin for the illegal drug trade. Monitoring the illegal concentrated cultivation of opium poppy in major regions is critical for the understanding by governments... more

Opium is a narcotic obtained from opium poppy and is the raw material of heroin for the illegal drug trade. Monitoring the illegal concentrated cultivation of opium poppy in major regions is critical for the understanding by governments and international communities of the scale of illegal drug trade. This paper investigates whether opium poppy can be discriminated from its coexisting plants using analytical-spectral-device field spectrometer data in the visible to short-wave infrared spectral range. Canopy spectral measurements were conducted during three different growth periods of opium poppy. A synthetic method with three analysis levels was applied to discriminate opium poppy from other species and to select optimal bands for opium poppy discrimination. First, the Mann-Whitney U-test method was used to test the spectral reflectance difference between opium poppy and coexisting crops at each wavelength. Then, the Jeffries-Matusita distance and band correlation analysis were conducted to select the optimal wavebands for discriminating opium poppy using the significant wavebands from the test results. Finally, classification and regression tree analysis was employed to validate the classification accuracy based on the selected optimal wavebands. The results indicated that the spectral reflectance of opium poppy was significantly different from that of coexisting crops in many surveyed wavebands, and opium poppy could be discriminated using a field survey spectrum at canopy level. The best time for discriminating opium poppy from coexisting crops was around flowering time. This paper provided the prerequisite for monitoring opium poppy using satellite remote sensing data in some regions of concern.

This paper presents an application of high resolution satellite remote sensing data for mapping water quality in the Goldon Horn, Istanbul. It is an applied research emphasizing the present water quality conditions in this region for... more

This paper presents an application of high resolution satellite remote sensing data for mapping water quality in the Goldon Horn, Istanbul. It is an applied research emphasizing the present water quality conditions in this region for water quality parameters; secchi disc depth (SDD), chlorophyl-a (chl-a) and total suspended sediment (TSS) concentration. The study also examines the retrievals of these parameters through high resolution IKONOS multispectral data supported by in situ measurements. Image processing procedure involving radiometric correction is carried out for conversion from digital numbers (DNs) to spectral radiance to correlate water quality parameters and satellite data by using multiple regression technique. The retrieved and verified results show that the measured and estimated values of water quality parameters in good agreement (R 2 > 0.97). The spatial distribution maps are developed by using multiple regression algorithm belonging to water quality parameters. These maps present apparent spatial variations of selected parameters and inform the decision makers of water quality variations in a large water region in the Istanbul metropolitan area.

Forests are of great importance for the sustainability of the ecosystem as well as for the mankind. The poplar species in the forest ecosystems are one of the most valuable and beneficial species for the society and environment. Turkey is... more

Forests are of great importance for the sustainability of the ecosystem as well as for the mankind. The poplar species in the forest ecosystems are one of the most valuable and beneficial species for the society and environment. Turkey is a very rich country in terms of cultivated poplar species. The determination of poplar areas in Turkey is usually based on field studies. Although these methods require high cost, time and labor need, the results obtained vary and are insufficient in terms of accuracy. Determination of poplar cultivated areas and mapping of their spatial locations play an important role for decision-makers and planners to enhance the economic and ecological value of poplar trees. The main goal of this study is to map Poplar (P.deltoides) cultivated areas in Akyazi district of Sakarya, Turkey province using the Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. For this purpose, object-based classification based on multi-resolution segmentation algorithm was utilized to create image objects and then, two outstanding ensemble learning algorithms, Random Forest (RF) and Rotation Forest (RotFor) were applied to produce thematic maps. In order to analyze the effects of the spectral bands of the Sentinel-2 image on the object-based classification performance, two datasets consisting of different spectral band combinations (i.e. four 10m bands and 10m ten pan-sharpened bands) were used. The performance evaluation results showed that the RotFor classifier produced superior classification performances compared to the RF classifier for the band combinations considered in this study. It was also observed that the difference in classification accuracy reached to approximately 6% in terms of overall accuracy. Moreover, results that Sentinel-2 image dataset having 4-band dataset and 10-band dataset was effective for determination of poplar areas and the class level accuracy reached to ~99% in terms of F-score.

The study was carried out in Kalsa watershed of Western Himalayan Ecoregion to quantify the landscape structure with special reference to different forest ecosystems. Vegetation and land use map generated using satellite remote sensing... more

The study was carried out in Kalsa watershed of Western Himalayan Ecoregion to quantify the landscape structure with special reference to different forest ecosystems. Vegetation and land use map generated using satellite remote sensing data was taken as an input for quantification of landscape structure, which was quantified based on different patch attributes (number, area, shape complexity) and landscape indices viz., Euclidean nearest neighbor distance and contagion. Temperate broadleaf forest exhibited high values for mean patch area, largest patch area, contagion and low values for number of patches, shape complexity and Euclidian nearest neighborhood in contrast to the degraded forest.

The paper presents an overview of the results of diagnostic and monitoring activities carried out in the last years through satellite radar interferometry (2011-2016) and in situ measurements (2017-2019) in the historical city of Gubbio,... more

The paper presents an overview of the results of diagnostic and monitoring activities carried out in the last years through satellite radar interferometry (2011-2016) and in situ measurements (2017-2019) in the historical city of Gubbio, Italy. The study is aimed at contributing to understanding the potential of remote sensing technologies in measuring complex deformation phenomena in historic buildings, such as those caused by soil-structural interaction and earthquakes, considering the monumental Consoli Palace and the Town Walls as case studies. The research activities have been carried out within the European HERACLES project, funded in the framework of Horizon (2020) and aimed at proposing novel diagnostic monitoring solutions for enhancing heritage resilience against various types of hazards. Particular attention is focused on the cross-correlation of the outputs of satellite radar interferometry and in-situ structural monitoring data aimed at achieving engineering meaningful results supporting decision making and proactive interventions.

We would like to invite you to join this exciting new project as a chapter contributor. Since this is a textbook, a great deal of this chapter entails a survey on the topic under the paradigm of cyber-physical systems, what can be done... more

We would like to invite you to join this exciting new project as a chapter contributor. Since this is a textbook, a great deal of this chapter entails a survey on the topic under the paradigm of cyber-physical systems, what can be done onboard and remotely, the distributed nature of the system and some exercises on futurology (anticipating trends can shed some light on upcoming designs). IET will bring great visibility to your work. You are welcome to suggest another topic/chapter title if you feel it would be more suitable. Each chapter should be around 20-25 pages each and can be submitted as a Word or Latex File. The IET will send you additional information (formatting, permission form, etc.) with the contributor's agreement once you have agreed to contribute to the book. Visit http:// www.theiet.org/resources/author-hub/books/index.cfm to get all information you need as a contributor to an IET research-level book. Each book is expected to have a total number of 500 printed pages (based on approximately 550 words per page with a 20% allowance for figures and tables). We have included a tentative schedule and list of topics below. If this is something you would consider, please send me the title of your chapter, a short description/abstract of the chapter content, and your full contact details. We will expect original content and new results for this book. You can, of course, reuse published material but the percentage of material reuse for the chapter should be less than 40%. The IET will run a piracy software on the full manuscript to control that you are including original material and will reject chapters who contain a large amount of already-published material so please do take this into consideration.

Satellite imaging is used for gathering detailed information about earth. However, there are many distortions associated with images taken by satellites optical sensors which degraded the image quality. A convenient measure of the image... more

Satellite imaging is used for gathering detailed information about earth. However, there are many distortions associated with images taken by satellites optical sensors which degraded the image quality. A convenient measure of the image quality is the ability of the optical system to transfer various levels of details from object space to image plane. However the light diffraction and optical aberrations are main sources of image quality degradation. This paper investigates the effect of different optical aberrations on satellite image quality. Also a comparative study among different types of aberrations is carried out. The imaging system (e.g. focal length, pixel size of the CCD, F-number, entrance aperture diameter, etc.) is simulated using MATLAB program. The optical aberrations are simulated by Zernike polynomial to determine their effects on the image quality. The presented algorithm (imaging system simulation) is applied on two high resolution remote sensing images, acquired by GeoEye-1 and IKONOS-1 satellites in order to study the effect of aberrations on the satellite images quality in terms of point spread function (PSF) and the modulation transfer function (MTF) variations. The evaluation of the quality of aberrated images is conducted with the help of the two widely used metrics: Mean Square Error (MSE) and Peak-Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR).

Individual tree detection methods are more and more present, and improve, in forestry and silviculture domains with the increasing availability of satellite metric imagery[2-7]. Automatic detection on these very high spatial resolution... more

Individual tree detection methods are more and more present, and improve, in forestry and silviculture domains with the increasing availability of satellite metric imagery[2-7]. Automatic detection on these very high spatial resolution images aims to determine the tree positions and crown sizes. In this paper, we used a mathematical model based on marked point processes, which showed advantages w.r.t. several individual tree detection algorithms for plantations [2], to analyze an eucalyptus plantation in Brazil, with 2 optical images acquired by the WorldView-2 satellite. A tentative detection simultaneously with 2 images of different dates (multi-date) was tested for the first time, which estimates individual tree crown variation during these dates. While, for the most present detection methods, only the static state of tree crowns at the moment of one image's acquisition was estimated. The relevance of detection was discussed considering the detection performance in tree localizations and crown sizes. Then, tree crown growth was deduced from detection results and compared with the expected dynamics of corresponding populations.

This research evaluates and discusses distinct types of data to propose the possible existence of an extinct lake which was reported by the chronicles and depicted on most South American maps from the end of the 16th century to the... more

This research evaluates and discusses distinct types of data to propose the possible existence of an extinct lake which was reported by the chronicles and depicted on most South American maps from the end of the 16th century to the mid-19th century. The methodology and results derive from the analysis and combination of historical sources, indigenous oral traditions, geological and archaeological studies, digital elevation models (DEM) as well as aerial, and satellite remote sensing surveys performed by NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Missions (SRTM), the Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) instrument, and the TanDEM-X synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). In addition, an assemblage of artifacts discovered within the study area is also assessed and contrasted to the historical and the remote sensing results.

This paper reports on a recent survey of a range of archaeological sites on and around Gebel Ataqah, a mountain area to the west of Suez. These sites were identified through the analysis of publicly available satellite imagery,... more

This paper reports on a recent survey of a range of archaeological sites on and around Gebel Ataqah, a mountain area to the west of Suez. These sites were identified through the analysis of publicly available satellite imagery, principally Google Earth (GE), as part of the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project, supplemented by historical references to the area and notes published by earlier travellers. The absence of existing archaeological data is due to a military presence in this area, from at least the 1950s, limiting access and exploration. The results of this survey show high levels of archaeological potential across large parts of Gebel Ataqah that require more detailed analysis on the ground, in an important, yet often underexplored, region. A series of major current and future threats to these archaeological sites are also identified which, alongside the presented survey data, will inform any future heritage management schemes.

Building height is a key geometric attribute for generating 3-D building models. We propose a novel four-stage approach for automated estimation of building heights from their shadows in very high resolution (VHR) multispectral images.... more

Building height is a key geometric attribute for generating 3-D building models. We propose a novel four-stage approach for automated estimation of building heights from their shadows in very high resolution (VHR) multispectral images. First, a building's actual shadow regions are detected by applying ratio-band algorithm to the VHR image. Second, 2-D building footprint geometries are identified using graph theory and morphological fuzzy processing techniques. Third, artificial shadow regions are simulated using the identified building footprint and solar information in the image metadata at predefined height increments. Finally, the difference between the actual and simulated shadow regions at every height increment is computed using Jaccard similarity coefficient. The estimated building height corresponds to the height of the simulated shadow region that resulted in the maximum value for Jaccard index. The algorithm is tested on seven urban sites in Cardiff, U.K. with various levels of morphological complexity. Our method outperforms the past attempts, and the mean error is reduced by at least 21%.

The heterogeneity of savanna ecosystems is guaranteed by disturbance events like fires, droughts, floods and browsing and grazing by herbivores. For conservation areas with limited space to preserve biodiversity, fire monitoring is... more

The heterogeneity of savanna ecosystems is guaranteed by disturbance events like fires, droughts, floods and browsing and grazing by herbivores. For conservation areas with limited space to preserve biodiversity, fire monitoring is crucial. Long periods of satellite remotely sensed data provide an alternative solution to estimate the distribution of different vegetation types and fire-affected patches over time. This study focusses on the application of MODIS data to detect, identify and delineate fire-affected areas in Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa, for the period 2001-2003. Fire scars on KNP's savanna were identified using threshold and supervised classification methods on moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) with 500-m resolution and 32-day global composites using a combination of band 1 (red), 2 (NIR, near infrared), 4 (green) and 6 (SWIR, short wave infrared). On identified fire scars, the spectral indexes of albedo, normalised difference infrared index (NDII) and normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) were extracted. The following four broad habitat types were used for this analysis: riparian woodland, dense woodland, mixed woodland and open-tree savanna. The values of albedo, NDII and NDVI during the dry season (June to October) for different years are lower on fire-affected patches. Mixed woodland is the largest habitat burned with 21%, 43% and 2% of the KNP area affected by fire in 2001, 2002 and 2003, respectively. Riparian woodland is the least affected by fire. The supervised classification method has a greater accuracy for fire scars detection in KNP savannas during the dry season. We conclude that MODIS data can be used successfully for fire monitoring in savanna ecosystems.

Remote sensing techniques are becoming powerful tools for efficient management of irrigation systems in large irrigated areas. The objectives of management of irrigation systems, although they vary widely, may be defined as high crop... more

Remote sensing techniques are becoming powerful tools for efficient management of irrigation systems in large irrigated areas. The objectives of management of irrigation systems, although they vary widely, may be defined as high crop productivity per unit land per unit applied water with equity in distribution. Some of the key elements of irrigation system management are: (i) performance monitoring and evaluation, (ii) diagnostic appraisal, (iii) action research, and (iv) farmers' participation. The objective of this paper is to present the state of the art on applications of satellite remote sensing that support management of irrigation systems and to identify emerging approaches that focus on future directions of research which may pave the way to operationalise the remote sensing techniques in practice. Firstly, a brief review on different approaches being utilized for management of irrigation systems is dealt with. Subsequently, the present status of remote sensing applications in irrigated agriculture is reviewed. The paper also presents future perspectives of remote sensing applications in determining hydrological variables and quantifying irrigation system performance indicators for better management of water use in irrigated agriculture.

Airborne and satellite remote sensing is the only practical approach for deriving a wide area, regional assessment of glacier mass balance. A number of remote sensing approaches are possible for inferring the mass balance from some sort... more

Airborne and satellite remote sensing is the only practical approach for deriving a wide area, regional assessment of glacier mass balance. A number of remote sensing approaches are possible for inferring the mass balance from some sort of proxy estimate. Here, we review the key methods relevant, in particular to Andean glaciers, discussing their strengths and weaknesses, and data sets that could be more fully exploited. We also consider future satellite missions that will provide advances in our observational capabilities. The methods discussed include observation of elevation changes, estimation of ice flux, repeat measurement of changes in spatial extent, snowline elevation and accumulation-ablation area ratio estimation. The methods are illustrated utilising a comprehensive review of results obtained from a number of studies of South American glaciers, focusing specifically on the Patagonian Icefields. In particular, we present some new results from Glaciar Chico, Southern Patagonian Icefield, Chile, where a variety of different satellite and in-situ data have been combined to estimate mass balance using a geodetic or elevation change approach over about a 25 yr period.

There is a tremendous force interest for the satellites which the nations have been utilizing over a long time for correspondence, spying, tests, analysis, etc; and tracking down an elective energy hotspots for satellite has been a major... more

There is a tremendous force interest for the satellites which the nations have been utilizing over a long time for correspondence, spying, tests, analysis, etc; and tracking down an elective energy hotspots for satellite has been a major undertaking that must be settled as quickly as time permits and electrodynamic tie situation can be the ideal decision for the force supplanting framework. The current existing strategies are somewhat more established, fusy and should be changed for expanded use office of a satellite. Electrodynamic ties are long, dainty conductive wires which are conveyed in space appended to the plasma bend generator of the satellite framework and can be utilized to create power by eliminating the motor energy from their orbital movement, or to deliver push while adding energy from an on board source. regardless , the frictional or push power is created electrodynamically , through the communication between the moving charges only the electrons of the ionospheric plasma and the attractive field of earth. Electrodynamic ties work by temperance of the power an attractive field applies on a current conveying wire which is only the lorentz power. Generally, it is a shrewd method of getting an electric flow to stream in a long directing wire that is circling Earth, so that world's attractive field will apply a power on and speed up the wire and thus any payload appended to it. By switching the bearing of current in it, a similar tie can be utilized to de-circle old satellite and once again circle them if necessary under the fundamental circumstances. Electrodynamic ties have solid potential for giving propellant less impetus to rocket in low-Earth orbit(LEO) for applications, for example, satellite deorbit circle boosting, and station keeping. The tie, in any case, is anything but an unbending pole held above or beneath the rocket.

Because of the high water content of vegetation, water absorption features dominate spectral reflectance of vegetation in the near-infrared region of the spectrum. In comparison to indices based on chlorophyll absorption features (such as... more

Because of the high water content of vegetation, water absorption features dominate spectral reflectance of vegetation in the near-infrared region of the spectrum. In comparison to indices based on chlorophyll absorption features (such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)), indices based on the water absorption bands are expected to ''see'' more deeply into thick canopies and have a preferential sensitivity to thin as opposed to thick tissues. These predictions are based on the much lower absorption coefficients for water in the short wavelength water bands as compared to chlorophyll. Thus, the water bands may have advantages over NDVI for remote sensing of photosynthetic tissues. Previous studies have primarily related water band indices (WI) to leaf area index (LAI). Here we expand the definition of photosynthetic tissues to include thin green stems and fruits and measure a wide range of species to determine the influence of variable tissue morphologies and canopy structures on these relationships. As expected, indices based on reflectance in the water absorption bands in the near infrared were best correlated with the water content of thin tissues (less than 0.5-cm thickness). The choice of wavelength for a water index was much more important for thick than for thin canopies, and the best wavelengths were those where water absorptance was weak to moderate. We identified three wavelength regions (950-970, 1150-1260 and 1520-1540 nm) that produced the best overall correlations with water content. Comparison of these wavelength regions with the atmospheric ''windows'' where water vapor absorption is minimal suggests that the 1150-1260 and 1520-1540 nm regions would be the best wavelengths for satellite remote sensing of water content. We also developed and tested a new Canopy Structure Index (CSI) that combines the low absorptance water bands with the simple ratio vegetation index (SR) to produce an index with a wider range of sensitivity to photosynthetic tissue area at all canopy thicknesses. CSI was better than either WI or SR alone for prediction of total area of photosynthetic tissues. However, SR was best for prediction of leaf area when other green tissues were excluded. All of these relationships showed good generality across a wide range of species and functional types.

Regions of temperate oceanic climate have historically represented a challenge for the application of satellite-based multi-temporal SAR interferometry. The landscapes of such regions are commonly characterized by extensive,... more

Regions of temperate oceanic climate have historically represented a challenge for the application of satellite-based multi-temporal SAR interferometry. The landscapes of such regions are commonly characterized by extensive, seasonally-variable vegetation coverage that can cause low temporal coherence and limit the detection capabilities of SAR imagery as acquired, for instance, by previous ERS-1/2 and ENVISAT missions. In this work, we exploited the enhanced resolution in space and time of the recently deployed Sentinel-1A/B SAR satellites to detect and monitor ground motions occurring in two study areas in the Republic of Ireland. The first, is a ~1800 km2 area spanning the upland karst of the Clare Burren and the adjacent mantled lowland karst of east Galway. The second, is an area of 100 km2 in Co. Meath spanning an active mine site. The available datasets, consisting of more than 100 images acquired in both ascending and descending orbits from April 2015 to March 2018, were pro...

Full and reliable rainfall data are required for hydrological modeling, integrated water resource management, and planning. However, these data suffer from record gaps and sparse rain gage distribution, which implies that the use of an... more

Full and reliable rainfall data are required for hydrological modeling, integrated water resource management, and planning. However, these data suffer from record gaps and sparse rain gage distribution, which implies that the use of an imputation method is crucial. This study aims to compare the outputs from ten imputation methods that were used to infill missing rainfall depth data (MRD) in an arid Mediterranean region. Different statistical tests were used to assess the outputs from the imputation methods. The results showed that for MRD ranges between 5% and 20% the stepwise multiple linear regression (MLRsw) method was valid and produced the best results with a root mean square error (RSME) and mean absolute error (MAE) of less than 7 mm and 2 mm, respectively. This was followed by the Monte Carlo Markov chain expectation‐maximization‐based multiple imputation (MI‐MCMC) method, which had an RSME and MAE of 1.01 mm and 0.08 mm, respectively, at 20% MRD. On the other hand, the use of satellite data for imputation (LR_GPCC estimates) was appropriate for MRD ranging between 10% and 15%, while the statistical and spatial method was suitable for MRD of less than 5%. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

In the autumn of 1962, two weeks before U-2 aerial photographs confirmed Soviet deployments of nuclear missiles in Cuba, the US intelligence community attempted to image the island with the spy satellite Corona. Insufficient image... more

In the autumn of 1962, two weeks before U-2 aerial photographs confirmed Soviet deployments of nuclear missiles in Cuba, the US intelligence community attempted to image the island with the spy satellite Corona. Insufficient image resolution and extensive cloud cover, however, prevented this photography from providing solid evidence confirming or denying the presence of offensive missiles. This event – previously unaddressed either by Missile Crisis or Corona scholars – illustrates both the promise and the limits of early satellite imagery intelligence. It further provides insight into the early imagery tasking and coordination process and demonstrates needs that drove further development of national satellite reconnaissance in the years that followed.

This study focuses on using remote sensing for comparative assessment of surface urban heat island (UHI) in 18 mega cities in both temperate and tropical climate regions. Least-clouded day-and night-scenes of TERRA/MODIS acquired between... more

This study focuses on using remote sensing for comparative assessment of surface urban heat island (UHI) in 18 mega cities in both temperate and tropical climate regions. Least-clouded day-and night-scenes of TERRA/MODIS acquired between 2001 and 2003 were selected to generate land-surface temperature (LST) maps. Spatial patterns of UHIs for each city were examined over its diurnal cycle and seasonal variations. A Gaussian approximation was applied in order to quantify spatial extents and magnitude of individual UHIs for inter-city comparison. To reveal relationship of UHIs with surface properties, UHI patterns were analyzed in association with urban vegetation covers and surface energy fluxes derived from high-resolution Landsat ETM+ data. This study provides a generalized picture on the UHI phenomena in the Asian region and the findings can be used to guide further study integrating satellite high-resolution thermal data with land-surface modeling and meso-scale climatic modeling in order to understand impacts of urbanization on local climate in Asia. #

A combination of geospatial, geophysical and statistical models using satellite data, the weighted index overlay (WIO) method and two-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography (2D-ERT) is applied to generate the highest potential... more

A combination of geospatial, geophysical and statistical models using satellite data, the weighted index overlay (WIO) method and two-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography (2D-ERT) is applied to generate the highest potential groundwater area and to further explore the groundwater in Dehradun, India. The results show that of 19.7 km2 total basin area, 0.26% falls under the “poor” category as a prospect zone for groundwater, 4.3% is “moderate”, 10.10% “moderately good”, 4.9% “good” and 0.17% “very good”. In addition, the demonstration of the geophysical survey is presented, in which Purkal Youth Society Division (PYSD) site is categorized as a shallow aquifer zone and the Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary School (GNFCS) site is a deeper aquifer zone. Our study emphasizes remote sensing and geographic information system integrated with a geophysical survey to support prospecting the most probable area and confirm the existence of groundwater.

Rapid growth in population coupled with expansion of urban fringe and encroachment in the prime land is a matter of great concern for the authorities associated with the urban planning. Satellite remote sensing offers varied advantages... more

Rapid growth in population coupled with expansion of urban fringe and encroachment in the prime land is a matter of great concern for the authorities associated with the urban planning. Satellite remote sensing offers varied advantages and has been widely accepted as a technique for urban mapping as well as monitoring of changes in land use/ land cover. The expansion of sub-urban territory in Allahabad city of Uttar Pradesh State is a matter of concern for Planning Departments. Keeping this in view, it is planned to develop a remote sensing based methodology for the preparation of land use/ land cover map using digital image processing techniques for Allahabad city and to monitor the changes in various classes. For this, multi-date, multi-sensor remote sensing data of year 2000 (IRS-1D LISS-III) and year 1994 (IRS-1B LISS-II) has been used. Various land-use classes delineated include built-up, agriculture, sand, water, scrub and open/ barren land. The classification has been performed using maximum likelihood classifier in an iterative manner. Changes in area under major land use/ land cover types have been determined through the comparison of their spatial extent in 1994 and 2000. It is observed that there has been an increase of nearly 8.0 sq. km in built up area, coupled with decrease of about 20 sq. km and 2.5 sq. km in agriculture and scrub respectively in 6 years. The planning agencies in Allahabad city are expected to be benefited by the usage of remote sensing based methodology for achieving a balanced and sustainable development in the region.

The levels and areas of lakes, particularly closed lakes (those without outlet) are known to be sensitive indicators of changes in climate, and so in principle they can play a role in monitoring current and future climatic changes. In... more

The levels and areas of lakes, particularly closed lakes (those without outlet) are known to be sensitive indicators of changes in climate, and so in principle they can play a role in monitoring current and future climatic changes. In this paper we derive solutions to the water balance equation giving the response of the level and area of closed lakes to steps, spikes and sinnsoidal variations in aridity, and show that such a lake acts approximately as a simple low pass filter having a characteristic equilibrium response time re. We also review the similar response of open lakes to changes in runoff. It is shown how r e depends on lake geomorphology and climate, and for a number of lakes we calculate r e values, ranging from 1.5 to 350 yr for closed lakes, and from 2.9 days to 2 yr for open lakes. We propose methods involving Fourier analysis for inverting closed lake level or area records to obtain plots of a simple aridity index C. It is shown that for all = 200 of the world's large (/> 100 km 2) closed lakes, satellite remote sensing of lake levels and areas is currently sensitive enough to monitor variations in C (e.g. in average basin precipitation) of order 1% to 10% on the time-scale of years to decades.

Our capabilities of both generating and collecting data have been increasing rapidly in the last several decades. Contributing factors include the widespread use of bar codes for most commercial products, the computerization of many... more

Our capabilities of both generating and collecting data have been increasing rapidly in the last several decades. Contributing factors include the widespread use of bar codes for most commercial products, the computerization of many business, scienti c and government transactions and managements, and advances in data collection tools ranging from scanned texture and image platforms, to on-line instrumentation in manufacturing and shopping, and to satellite remote sensing systems. In addition, popular use of the World Wide Web as a global information system has ooded us with a tremendous amount of data and information. This explosive growth in stored data has generated an urgent need for new techniques and automated tools that can intelligently assist us in transforming the vast amounts of data into useful information and knowledge.

Coral bleaching events threaten the sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Here we show that bleaching events of the past three decades have been mitigated by induced thermal tolerance of reef-building corals, and this protective... more

Coral bleaching events threaten the sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Here we show that bleaching events of the past three decades have been mitigated by induced thermal tolerance of reef-building corals, and this protective mechanism is likely to be lost under near-future climate change scenarios. We show that 75% of past thermal stress events have been characterized by a temperature trajectory that subjects corals to a protective, sub-bleaching stress, before reaching temperatures that cause bleaching. Such conditions confer thermal tolerance, decreasing coral cell mortality and symbiont loss during bleaching by over 50%. We find that near-future increases in local temperature of as little as 0.5°C result in this protective mechanism being lost, which may increase the rate of degradation of the GBR.