遥感技术在小城镇发展规划中的应用

对卫星遥感技术在小城镇发展规划中的应用进行了分析，包括小城镇空间布局信息分析、小城镇区位分析和小城镇环境污染分析，介绍了遥感技术在小城镇变化监测中的应用。分析表明，遥感技术能为小城镇发展规划提供众多基础数据，具有广阔的应用前景，但不能完全取代地面调查。     

农业旱灾监测中土壤水分遥感反演研究进展

土壤水分是农业干旱监测最重要的指标之一。文章全面回顾了光学遥感和微波遥感土壤水分遥感反演进展，重点讨论了符种反演方法的优点和不足。光学遥感中，热惯量法和作物缺水指数法可分别较好地应用于裸露地和作物覆盖地的土壤水分监测；距平植被指数、植被条件指数采用了植被指数因子实现农业旱情监测，温度植被指数、植被供水指数和条件植被温度指数同时考虑了作物植被指数和地表温度。微波遥感被认为是当前土壤水分监测中最有效的方法。主动微波遥感空间分辨率较高，但对土壤粗糙度和植被敏感；被动微波遥感空间分辨率低，重访周期短，对大尺度农业旱灾监测具有较大潜力。为提高农业旱灾监测巾土壤水分遥感反演的精度和效率，采用光学遥感和微波遥感的结合可能是较为实际的方法。     

三峡库区地质灾害监测技术及展望

笔者综述了三峡库区地质灾害监测技术的应用现状。在论述当前地质灾害监测技术存在的问题的基础上,提出了新型的基于Internet的地质灾害远程、集中监测系统,并详细讨论了该技术的原理、结构、应用前景以及功能完善和发展方向。新型安全监测系统的使用可有效防止库区地质灾害的发生,控制其潜在危害;提高库区整体预警管理水平,有效增强防灾减灾能力;显著降低库区安全监测系统运行成本。     

基于GPRS技术的地质灾害无线遥测系统

将通用分组无线业务(GPRS)技术应用于地质灾害监测系统,可实现监测数据的无线传输和Internet的无线接入,因而实现地质灾害监测数据互联网共享和预警、救灾指挥联网.详细介绍了在三峡工程万州库区运行的基于GPRS技术的地质灾害无线遥测台网的体系结构、功能实现以及运行效果.该系统的建成与可靠运行使三峡库区地质灾害的监测预警系统走向数字化、自动化、网络化.     

高分辨率遥感影像的土地利用分类

高分辨率遥感影像在我国土地利用动态监测中展现出良好的应用前景,但与此相关的关键技术问题亟待解决.结合Ikonos影像,分析高分辨率遥感影像的特点,并在我国土地利用现状类型划分的基础上,针对高分辨遥感影像土地利用分类这一关键技术问题,概述常规分类方法,提出一套适宜高分辨率遥感影像土地利用分类的技术路线.     

The challenges of sustainability in mining regions: The coal mining region of Santa Catarina, Brazil

Throughout history, mining communities have invariably found themselves striving for a good quality of life and a long‐term future. In the 21st century, problems of maintaining the economic vitality of mining regions are now compounded by concerns about the biophysical integrity of the local environment. In regions of the world where the economic viability of the resource is marginal and achieving a reasonable quality of life is a daily struggle, sustainable mining may seem to be a dubious prospect at best. Yet the twin imperatives of global political forces and burgeoning environmental concerns are requiring industry, governments and other interests to re‐conceptualize the way in which mining takes place in communities. Although mining itself may not be seen as an industry that contributes to the achievement of environmental objectives, it could — with careful planning — be used as a tool to foster a more sustainable and healthier community. This argument is considered in the context of the coal mining region of Santa Catarina, Brazil.     

ARE RURAL RESIDENTS WILLING TO PAY ENOUGH TO IMPROVE DRINKING WATER QUALITY?1

ABSTRACT: The concentrations of iron and sulfate in community water supplies are a concern for a number of areas in southwestern Minnesota. This study used the contingent valuation method to determine how much consumers would be willing to pay to improve their drinking water quality. On average, individuals were willing to pay US$5.25 per month (in 1995 U.S. dollars) to reduce the level of iron and US$4.33 per month to reduce the level of sulfate in their water to the USEPA's secondary standards for drinking water quality. Respondents with negative perceptions of their drinking water quality were willing to pay more to improve water quality. The aggregate annual willingness to pay (WTP) for all consumers in community water systems in southwestern Minnesota that were out of compliance with water quality standards were estimated to be US$2.4 million and US$2.0 million (in 1995 dollars) for reducing the levels of iron and sulfate, respectively. Yet the total WTP of consumers who use small community water systems may not be enough to pay the full cost of providing improved water in those systems. Economies of scale in water treatment and difficulties in financing improvements mean that technical innovation, government assistance, or institutional changes may be needed to improve water quality in these areas.     

MODELING THE DISTRIBUTION OF DIFFUSE NITROGEN SOURCES AND SINKS IN THE NEUSE RIVER BASIN OF NORTH CAROLINA,USA1

This study quantified nonpoint source nitrogen (NPS‐N) sources and sinks across the 14,582 km² Neuse River Basin (NRB) located in North Carolina, to provide tabular data summaries and graphic overlay products to support the development of management approaches to best achieve established N reduction goals. First, a remote sensor derived, land cover classification was performed to support modeling needs. Modeling efforts included the development of a mass balance model to quantify potential N sources and sinks, followed by a precipitation event driven hydrologic model to effectively transport excess N across the landscape to individual stream reaches to support subsequent labeling of transported N values corresponding to source origin. Results indicated that agricultural land contributed 55 percent of the total annual NPS‐N loadings, followed by forested land at 23 percent (background), and urban areas at 21 percent. Average annual N source contributions were quantified for agricultural (1.4 kg/ha), urban (1.2 kg/ha), and forested cover types (0.5 kg/ha). Nonpoint source‐N contributions were greatest during the winter (40 percent), followed by spring (32 percent), summer (28 percent), and fall (0.3 percent). Seasonal total N loadings shifted from urban dominated and forest dominated sources during the winter, to agricultural sources in the spring and summer. A quantitative assessment of the significant NRB land use activities indicated that high (greater than 70 percent impervious) and medium (greater than 35 percent impervious) density urban development were the greatest contributors of NPS‐N on a unit area basis (1.9 and 1.6 kg/ha/yr, respectively), followed by row crops and pasture/hay cover types (1.4 kg/ha/yr).     

ACCURACY OF LAKE AND STREAM TEMPERATURES ESTIMATED FROM THERMAL INFRARED IMAGES1

Emitted thermal infrared radiation (TIR, λ= 8 to 14 μm) can be used to measure surface water temperatures (top approximately 100 μm). This study evaluates the accuracy of stream (50 to 500 m wide) and lake (300 to 5,000 m wide) radiant temperatures (15 to 22°C) derived from airborne (MASTER, 5 to 15 m) and satellite (ASTER 90 m, Landsat ETM+ 60 m) TIR images. Applied atmospheric compensations changed water temperatures by ?0.2 to +2.0°C. Atmospheric compensation depended primarily on atmospheric water vapor and temperature, sensor viewing geometry, and water temperature. Agreement between multiple TIR bands (MASTER ‐ 10 bands, ASTER ‐ 5 bands) provided an independent check on recovered temperatures. Compensations improved agreement between image and in situ surface temperatures (from 2.0 to 1.1°C average deviation); however, compensations did not improve agreement between river image temperatures and loggers installed at the stream bed (from 0.6 to 1.6°C average deviation). Analysis of field temperatures suggests that vertical thermal stratification may have caused a systematic difference between instream gage temperatures and corrected image temperatures. As a result, agreement between image temperatures and instream temperatures did not imply that accurate TIR temperatures were recovered. Based on these analyses, practical accuracies for corrected TIR lake and stream surface temperatures are around 1°C.     

Food justice youth development: using Photovoice to study urban school food systems*

How do youth learn through participation in efforts to study and change the school food system? Through our participatory youth action research (YPAR) project, we move beyond the “youth as consumer” frame to a food justice youth development (FJYD) approach. We track how a group of youth learned about food and the public policy process through their efforts to transform their own school food systems by conducting a participatory evaluation of farm-to-school efforts in collaboration with university and community partners. We used the Photovoice research method, placing cameras in the hands of young people so that they themselves could document and discuss their concerns and perspectives. The research was designed to gain insight about youths’ knowledge of food, health, and community food systems. Drawing upon the youth group’s insights, we build a framework for building critical consciousness through FJYD.