Counting Koalas from space: Integrating remote sensing, GIS and traditional ecological survey techniques

Proceedings of the 11th Australasian Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Conference

Evaluation of remote sensing for the detection of landfill gas and leachate in an urban environment

The technique of remote sensing provides a unique view of the earth's surface and considerable areas can be surveyed in a short amount of time. The aim of this project was to evaluate whether remote sensing, particularly using the Airborne Thematic Mapper (ATM) with its wide spectral range, was capable of monitoring landfill sites within an urban environment with the aid of image processing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) methods. The regions under study were in the West Midlands conurbation and consisted of a large area in what is locally known as the Black Country containing heavy industry intermingled with residential areas, and a large single active landfill in north Birmingham. When waste is collected in large volumes it decays and gives off pollutants. These pollutants, landfill gas and leachate (a liquid effluent), are known to be injurious to vegetation and can cause stress and death. Vegetation under stress can exhibit a physiological change, detectable by the remote sensing systems used. The chemical and biological reactions that create the pollutants are exothermic and the gas and leachate, if they leave the waste, can be warmer than their surroundings. Thermal imagery from the ATM (daylight and dawn) and thermal video were obtained and used to find thermal anomalies on the area under study. The results showed that vegetation stress is not a reliable indicator of landfill gas migration, as sites within an urban environment have a cover too complex for the effects to be identified. Gas emissions from two sites were successfully detected by all the thermal imagery with the thermal ATM being the best. Although the results were somewhat disappointing, recent technical advancements in the remote sensing systems used in this project would allow geo-registration of ATM imagery taken on different occasions and the elimination of the effects of solar insolation.

Remote sensing applications to flood hydrology in Belize

The research compares the usefullness of four remote sensing information sources, these being LANDSAT photographic prints, LANDSAT computer compatible tapes, Metric Camera and SIR-A photographic prints. These sources provide evaluations of the catchment characteristics of the Belize and Sibun river basins in Central America. Map evaluations at 1:250,000 scale are compared to the results of the same scale, remotely sensed information sources. The values of catchment characteristics for both maps and LANDSAT prints are used in multiple regression analysis, providing flood flow formulae, after investigations to provide a suitable dependent variable discharge series are made for short term records. The use of all remotely sensed information sources in providing evaluations of catchment characteristics is discussed. LANDSAT prints and computer compatible tapes of a post flood scene are used to estimate flood distributions and volumes. These are compared to values obtained from unit hydrograph analysis, using the dependent discharge series and evaluate the probable losses from the Belize river to the floodplain, thereby assessing the accuracy of LANDSAT estimates. Information relating to flood behaviour is discussed in terms of basic image presentation as well as image processing. A cost analysis of the purchase and use of all materials is provided. Conclusions of the research indicate that LANDSAT print material may provide information suitable for regression analysis at levels of accuracy as great as those of topographic maps, that the differing information sources are uniquely applicable and that accurate estimates of flood volumes may be determined even by post flood imagery.

Remote sensing daya analysis

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Representation of some class of time frequency distributions towards their determination through remote sensing techniques

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Derelict land monitoring with remote sensing

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The politics of remote sensing with particular reference to Developing Countries

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Geometric spectral accuracy of airborne remote sensing

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Services for Satellite Data Processing

Data processing services for Meteosat geostationary satellite are presented. Implemented services correspond to the different levels of remote-sensing data processing, including noise reduction at preprocessing level, cloud mask extraction at low-level and fractal dimension estimation at high-level. Cloud mask obtained as a result of Markovian segmentation of infrared data. To overcome high computation complexity of Markovian segmentation parallel algorithm is developed. Fractal dimension of Meteosat data estimated using fractional Brownian motion models.

Analysis of fractured terrain using remote sensing and geographic information systems : establishing a correlation between fracture network properties and vegetation

This research analyzed the spatial relationship between a mega-scale fracture network and the occurrence of vegetation in an arid region. High-resolution aerial photographs of Arches National Park, Utah were used for digital image processing. Four sets of large-scale joints were digitized from the rectified color photograph in order to characterize the geospatial properties of the fracture network with the aid of a Geographic Information System. An unsupervised landcover classification was carried out to identify the spatial distribution of vegetation on the fractured outcrop. Results of this study confirm that the WNW-ESE alignment of vegetation is dominantly controlled by the spatial distribution of the systematic joint set, which in turn parallels the regional fold axis. This research provides insight into the spatial heterogeneity inherent to fracture networks, as well as the effects of jointing on the distribution of surface vegetation in desert environments.