Growth in urban extent and allometric analysis of West African cities

Urban area expansion is happening at much faster rates in Asian and African cities than elsewhere in the world. This study uses multi-temporal Landsat images to map the urban extent of six small to large cities in West Africa at four different time steps from the early 1970s–2010. The selected cities are Kumasi of Ghana, Daloa of Cote d’Ivoire, Abuja and Kano in Nigeria, Kindia of Guinea, and Ouagadougou of Burkina Faso. All cities revealed significant urban growth in both urban area and population; however, it was apparent that there was a lot of variability in urban area development. Exponential urban growth rates in the cities were measured as ranging between 0.026 and 0.077, with allometric scaling factors matching those of other countries.     

Beyond savanna: An evolutionary and environmental psychology approach to behavioral effects of nature scenery in green advertising

Evolutionary psychology has been proposed as an analytic framework for the behavioral effects of landscapes displayed in advertising. In this study, an evolutionary and environmental psychology approach is used to analyze affective reactions to advertising depicting specific natural environments or urban scenes, both prominent ingredients of contemporary advertising imagery. The experimental field study exposed 750 participants at random to one advert of a set of 13 experimental green energy advertisements, each displaying a different biome. Six basic emotional responses (pleasure, arousal, happiness, freedom, safety, and interest) as well as attitude toward the ad and brand attitude were assessed subsequently. Anova and structural equation analysis were used for data analysis. Results of the study confirm the leading opinion on generalized more positive behavioral effects toward visual stimuli representing nature scenes with biospheric contents as opposed to pictures of urban environments or desert settings. In line with earlier empirical research, further findings do not support the hypothesis on an innate preference for savanna landscapes in adults but confirm preferences for images of lush green landscapes with water and familiar biomes. Overall results give significant support to the application of environmental and evolutionary psychology to advertising.     

Landsat7 ETM+ SLC-OFF数据的修复及其在武汉东湖水质反演中的应用

自从2003年5月31日,从陆地卫星 7发回的ETM+图像数据就存在缺陷。这是由于增强专题制图仪的扫描线校正器发生故障引起的。这些称为SLC OF数据的图像有一些黑色的不存在任何数据的扫描行。丢失的数据约占全景数据的25％,使它们难以正常使用。但是,数据本身仍然保留了良好的辐射和几何性质,如加以妥善修复,仍可以在一些特殊领域中使用。首先介绍了如何使用自适应局部回归算法(ALR)恢复这些图像,然后使用修复后的图像反演武汉东湖的水质参数。结果表明：ALR算法可以对SLC OF图像进行较好的修复,而且利用修复后的图像和东湖的地面水质监测数据,通过多元逐步回归分析,可以建立很好的叶绿素a、透明度、总磷以及总氮等水质参数的经验遥感反演模型,模型的相关系数R²分别为0.86、0.75、0.73和0.71。反演得到的水质参数分布与实际情况符合。这些数据有许多优点,如空间分辨率高、存档数据非常丰富、可以从NASA的服务器免费下载等。在其他遥感数据不足或无法获得的情况下,这些数据经过适当的修复,可以作为补充或替代数据使用。〖     

The use of Landsat multispectral scanner data for the analysis and management of flooding on the river Severn,England

Remote sensing has emerged as one of the major techniques for the analysis and delineation of large floods. This analysis can provide data invaluable for the hydrological management of large river systems. A need for information on the extent of floodplain inundation for the lower reaches of the largest river in the UK was met by a search through Landsat images of floods and the analysis of the best example recorded. Automated classification of the Landsat imagery of this flood on the river Severn in 1977 was used to provide estimates of the extent and spatial distribution of inundation. Flood images were generated using the Plessey IDP 3000 image processor, and the maps derived accorded well with aerial photography and qualitative flood information. Three distinct floodplain environments were delineated and flood images produced by different spectral bands compared. Specific questions prompted by flood hazard management and concerning the processes and extent of flooding were answered by the Landsat data analysis. Management of the flood risk of large rivers is expensive and remote sensing data is a relatively cheap and effective way of monitoring control works and providing data for the prediction of the effects of future hydrological works. Remote sensing is a practical way in which spatial information concerning the behavior of large dynamic systems can be obtained both quickly and relatively cheaply.     

RUNOFF PREDICTION USING REMOTE SENSING IMAGERY1

ABSTRACT: Percent imperviousness is an important parameter in modeling the urban rainfall-runoff process and is usually determined using manual methods such as random sampling or conventional accounting methods. In this study two computerized methods are used for estimating the percent imperviousness of urban watersheds using high altitude remote sensing imagery. These methods include the Laser Image Processing Scanner and the Video-Tape Camera system. Imperviousness is directly estimated in the former method while in the latter it is estimated as a function of the statistics of the responses on emulsions of the imagery. The percent imperviousness computed by utilizing remote sensing imagery was used with the conceptual models of rainfall-runoff models. The models were applied to four urban watersheds and the runoff prediction results indicate that imperviousness determined by using remote sensing imagery was as accurate as that obtained by the manual methods, and that the use of remote sensing imagery requires significantly less time and money.     

Land-cover change in upper Barataria Basin estuary,Louisiana, 1972-1992: increases in Wetland area

The Barataria Basin, Louisiana, USA, is an extensive wetland and coastal estuary system of great economic and intrinsic value. Although high rates of wetland loss along the coastal margin of the Barataria Basin have been well documented, little information exists on whether freshwater wetlands in the upper basin have changed. Our objectives were to quantify land-cover change in the upper basin over 20 years from 1972–1992 and to determine land-cover transition rates among land-cover types. Using 80-m resolution Landsat MSS data from the North American Landscape Characterization (NALC) data archive, we classified images from three time steps (1972, 1985, 1992) into six land-cover types: agriculture, urban, bottomland hardwood forest, swamp forest, freshwater marsh, and open water. Significant changes in land cover occurred within the upper Barataria Basin over the study period. Urban land increased from 8% to 17% of the total upper basin area, primarily due to conversions from agricultural land, and to a lesser degree, bottomland forest. Swamp forest increased from 30% to 41%, associated with conversions from bottomland hardwood forest and freshwater marsh. Overall, bottomland forest decreased 38% and total wetland area increased 21%. Within the upper Barataria, increases in total wetland area may be due to land subsidence. Based on our results, if present trends in the reduction of bottomland forest land cover were to continue, the upper Barataria Basin may have no bottomland hardwood forests left by the year 2025, as it is subjected to multiple stressors both in the higher elevations (from urbanization) and lower elevations (most likely from land subsidence). These results suggest that changes in the upper freshwater portions of coastal estuaries can be large and quite different from patterns observed in the more saline coastal margins.     

LANDSAT MID-INFRARED DATA AND GIS IN REGIONAL SURFACE SOIL-MOISTURE ASSESSMENT1

ABSTRACT: Landsat satellite Thematic Mapper (TM) data were used to assess regional soil moisture conditions. The mid-infrared (MIR) data of TM band 7 were overlain onto four principal land-use categories (Agricultural/Irrigated, Urban/Clearings, Forest/ Wetlands, Water) using a geographic information system (GIS). M data were used to assess four qualitative surface soil-moisture conditions (water/very wet, wet, moist, and dry) within each land-use category of a 208,354 ha southwestern Florida study area. The MIR response was inversely related to the qualitative surface soil-moisture content. Integration of Landsat TM MIR data with land use through GIS appears to be a useful technique for high-resolution regional soil moisture assessment, and further research to reline this technique is recommended.     

Destruction of Wetlands and Waterbird Populations by Dams and Irrigation on the Murrumbidgee River in Arid Australia

The Lowbidgee floodplain is the Murrumbidgee Rivers major wetland in southeastern Australia. From more than 300,000 ha in the early 1900s, at least 76.5% was destroyed (58%) or degraded (18%) by dams (26 major storages), subsequent diversions and floodplain development. Diversions of about 2,144,000 ML year^–1 from the Murrumbidgee River come from a natural median flow of about 3,380,000 ML year^–1 providing water for Australias capital, hydroelectricity, and 273,000 ha of irrigation. Diversions have reduced the amount of water reaching the Lowbidgee floodplain by at least 60%, from 1888 to 1998. About 97,000 ha of Lowbidgee wetland was destroyed by development of the floodplain for an irrigation area (1975–1998), including building of 394 km of channels and 2,145 km of levee banks. Over 19 years (1983–2001), waterbird numbers estimated during annual aerial surveys collapsed by 90%, from an average of 139,939 (1983–1986) to 14,170 (1998–2001). Similar declines occurred across all functional groups: piscivores (82%), herbivores (87%), ducks and small grebe species (90%), large wading birds (91%), and small wading birds (95%), indicating a similar decline in the aquatic biota that formed their food base. Numbers of species also declined significantly by 21%. The Lowbidgee floodplain is an example of the ecological consequences of water resource development. Yanga Nature Reserve, within the Lowbidgee floodplain, conserved for its floodplain vegetation communities, will lose these communities because of insufficient water. Until conservation policies adequately protect river flows to important wetland areas, examples such as the Lowbidgee will continue to occur around the world.     

Mapping Disturbances in a Mangrove Forest Using Multi-Date Landsat TM Imagery

To evaluate the accounts of local fishermen, Landsat TM images (1986, 1993, 1999) were examined to assess potential losses in the mangrove forests of the Teacapán–Agua Brava lagoon system, Mexico. A binary change mask derived from image differencing of a band 4/3 ratio was employed to calculate any changes within this forested wetland. The results indicate that by 1986 approximately 18% (or 86 km²) of the mangrove area under study was either dead or in poor condition. The majority of this damage had occurred in the eastern section of the Agua Brava basin, which coincides, with the reports of the elderly fishermen. Examination of aerial photographs from 1970 revealed no adverse impacts in this area and would suggest, as postulated by the fishermen and other scientists, that modifications in environmental conditions following the opening of a canal, Cuautlá canal, in 1972 may have initiated the large-scale mortality. Although these areas of impact are still developing, the results from the satellite data indicate that the majority of the more recent changes are occurring elsewhere in the system. Obvious in the 1999 satellite data, but not so in the 1993, are large areas of mangrove degradation in the northern section of the Teacapán region. In the Agua Brava basin, the more recent transformations are appearing on the western side of the basin. Since long-term records of environmental conditions are absent, it is difficult to determine why these latest changes are occurring or even if the earlier losses were the result of the canal. Potential agents of change that have recently been observed include a hurricane, a second canal, and the uncontrolled expansion of the Cuautlá canal since 1994.     

Using Satellite Imagery to Assess Large-Scale Habitat Characteristics of Adirondack Park, New York, USA

Satellite imagery is a useful tool for large-scale habitat analysis; however, its limitations need to be tested. We tested these limitations by varying the methods of a habitat evaluation for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the Adirondack Park, New York, USA, utilizing harvest data to create and validate the assessment models. We used two classified images, one with a large minimum mapping unit but high accuracy and one with no minimum mapping unit but slightly lower accuracy, to test the sensitivity of the evaluation to these differences. We tested the utility of two methods of assessment, habitat suitability index modeling, and pattern recognition modeling. We varied the scale at which the models were applied by using five separate sizes of analysis windows. Results showed that the presence of a large minimum mapping unit eliminates important details of the habitat. Window size is relatively unimportant if the data are averaged to a large resolution (i.e., township), but if the data are used at the smaller resolution, then the window size is an important consideration. In the Adirondacks, the proportion of hardwood and softwood in an area is most important to the spatial dynamics of deer populations. The low occurrence of open area in all parts of the park either limits the effect of this cover type on the population or limits our ability to detect the effect. The arrangement and interspersion of cover types were not significant to deer populations.