O cultivo da soja no oeste do estado do Paraná: contribuição metodológica para a análise espaço-temporal

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Áreas de preservação permanente (APP) na sub-bacia hidrográfica do córrego do Marimbondo, Jales (SP): um estudo das condições ambientais

This work aimed to carry out a study of the environmental conditions of the Permanent Preservation Areas (PPAs) in the sub-basin of Marimbondo Stream in the city of Jales (SP), through remote sensing techniques and taking as the basis Brazilian environmental legislation, the Forest Code Federal Law Nº 12,651/2012. Permanent Preservation Areas are inserted intrinsically improved conditions in the quantity and quality of water in the areas of springs and along water bodies in rural properties. Therefore, we also carried out studies on the new Forest Code compared to the old Federal Law Order no. 4771/1965 and the observation of its application in the area of sub-basin as well as carrying out the simulation. The results of this research allowed toverify the need for direct implementation of the monitoring measures with the Forest Code, and this water management tool in Brazil, which will ensure sustainable management practices of land use and land cover, with direct benefits to water production, mainly for public supply. Also there was a greater need for involvement by the public actors, the Basin Committee of the São José dos Dourados and the municipal government of Jales, in order to truly act aimed at the protection and maintenance of the water body Stream Wasp

Áreas de preservação permanente (APP) na sub-bacia hidrográfica do córrego do Marimbondo, Jales (SP): um estudo das condições ambientais

This work aimed to carry out a study of the environmental conditions of the Permanent Preservation Areas (PPAs) in the sub-basin of Marimbondo Stream in the city of Jales (SP), through remote sensing techniques and taking as the basis Brazilian environmental legislation, the Forest Code Federal Law Nº 12,651/2012. Permanent Preservation Areas are inserted intrinsically improved conditions in the quantity and quality of water in the areas of springs and along water bodies in rural properties. Therefore, we also carried out studies on the new Forest Code compared to the old Federal Law Order no. 4771/1965 and the observation of its application in the area of sub-basin as well as carrying out the simulation. The results of this research allowed toverify the need for direct implementation of the monitoring measures with the Forest Code, and this water management tool in Brazil, which will ensure sustainable management practices of land use and land cover, with direct benefits to water production, mainly for public supply. Also there was a greater need for involvement by the public actors, the Basin Committee of the São José dos Dourados and the municipal government of Jales, in order to truly act aimed at the protection and maintenance of the water body Stream Wasp

A MODIS-Based Energy Balance to Estimate Evapotranspiration for Clear-Sky Days in Brazilian Tropical Savannas

Evapotranspiration (ET) plays an important role in global climate dynamics and in primary production of terrestrial ecosystems; it represents the mass and energy transfer from the land to atmosphere. Limitations to measuring ET at large scales using ground-based methods have motivated the development of satellite remote sensing techniques. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the accuracy of the SEBAL algorithm for estimating surface turbulent heat fluxes at regional scale, using 28 images from MODIS. SEBAL estimates are compared with eddy-covariance (EC) measurements and results from the hydrological model MGB-IPH. SEBAL instantaneous estimates of latent heat flux (LE) yielded r(2) = 0.64 and r(2) = 0.62 over sugarcane croplands and savannas when compared against in situ EC estimates. At the same sites, daily aggregated estimates of LE were r(2) = 0.76 and r(2) = 0.66, respectively. Energy balance closure showed that turbulent fluxes over sugarcane croplands were underestimated by 7% and 9% over savannas. Average daily ET from SEBAL is in close agreement with estimates from the hydrological model for an overlay of 38,100 km(2) (r(2) = 0.88). Inputs to which the algorithm is most sensitive are vegetation index (NDVI), gradient of temperature (dT) to compute sensible heat flux (H) and net radiation (Re). It was verified that SEBAL has a tendency to overestimate results both at local and regional scales probably because of low sensitivity to soil moisture and water stress. Nevertheless the results confirm the potential of the SEBAL algorithm, when used with MODIS images for estimating instantaneous LE and daily ET from large areas.

Estimativa do índice de área foliar e temperatura em uma área de eucalipto

It is known that the presence of large masses of vegetation is a factor that can influence the microclimate of a region. In this paper we analyzed the correlation between leaf area index (LAI) and land surface temperature (LST), both estimated from remote sensing images from Landsat-5 TM in an area of eucalyptus plantation, and these estimates were compared to the observed data. The correlation between LAI and LST was not significant (16%), which indicates that there is no necessarily a direct influence of vegetation in the local temperature. The comparison between estimated and observed data shows that the application of remote sensing techniques in the estimative of interested variables is efficient, because the estimatives followed consistently the observed values.

El clima en el Atlántico norafricano durante los interglaciales MIS 5.5 y MIS 11.3 a partir de los paleoindicadores Harpa rosea Lamarck [1816] y Saccaostrea cucullata (Born, 1780) en el archipiélago canario

Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Departamento de Biología. Programa de doctorado de Gestión de recursos vivos marinos y medioambiente ; bienio 2006-2008

Slope stability analysis by multi-temporal DEMs and 3D modelling: The 2002 and 2007 Stromboli landslide events

Natural hazard related to the volcanic activity represents a potential risk factor, particularly in the vicinity of human settlements. Besides to the risk related to the explosive and effusive activity, the instability of volcanic edifices may develop into large landslides often catastrophically destructive, as shown by the collapse of the northern flank of Mount St. Helens in 1980. A combined approach was applied to analyse slope failures that occurred at Stromboli volcano. SdF slope stability was evaluated by using high-resolution multi-temporal DTMMs and performing limit equilibrium stability analyses. High-resolution topographical data collected with remote sensing techniques and three-dimensional slope stability analysis play a key role in understanding instability mechanism and the related risks. Analyses carried out on the 2002–2003 and 2007 Stromboli eruptions, starting from high-resolution data acquired through airborne remote sensing surveys, permitted the estimation of the lava volumes emplaced on the SdF slope and contributed to the investigation of the link between magma emission and slope instabilities. Limit Equilibrium analyses were performed on the 2001 and 2007 3D models, in order to simulate the slope behavior before 2002-2003 landslide event and after the 2007 eruption. Stability analyses were conducted to understand the mechanisms that controlled the slope deformations which occurred shortly after the 2007 eruption onset, involving the upper part of slope. Limit equilibrium analyses applied to both cases yielded results which are congruent with observations and monitoring data. The results presented in this work undoubtedly indicate that hazard assessment for the island of Stromboli should take into account the fact that a new magma intrusion could lead to further destabilisation of the slope, which may be more significant than the one recently observed because it will affect an already disarranged deposit and fractured and loosened crater area. The two-pronged approach based on the analysis of 3D multi-temporal mapping datasets and on the application of LE methods contributed to better understanding volcano flank behaviour and to be prepared to undertake actions aimed at risk mitigation.

Understanding volcanic processes using UV camera measurements of sulfur dioxide and coincident infrasound and seismicity

The exsolution of volatiles from magma maintains an important control on volcanic eruption styles. The nucleation, growth, and connectivity of bubbles during magma ascent provide the driving force behind eruptions, and the rate, volume, and ease of gas exsolution can affect eruptive activity. Volcanic plumes are the observable consequence of this magmatic degassing, and remote sensing techniques allow us to quantify changes in gas exsolution. However, until recently the methods used to measure volcanic plumes did not have the capability of detecting rapid changes in degassing on the scale of standard geophysical observations. The advent of the UV camera now makes high sample rate gas measurements possible. This type of dataset can then be compared to other volcanic observations to provide an in depth picture of degassing mechanisms in the shallow conduit. The goals of this research are to develop a robust methodology for UV camera field measurements of volcanic plumes, and utilize this data in conjunction with seismoacoustic records to illuminate degassing processes. Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effects of imaging conditions, vignetting, exposure time, calibration technique, and filter usage on the UV camera sulfur dioxide measurements. Using the best practices determined from these studies, a field campaign was undertaken at Volcán de Pacaya, Guatemala. Coincident plume sulfur dioxide measurements, acoustic recordings, and seismic observations were collected and analyzed jointly. The results provide insight into the small explosive features, variations in degassing rate, and plumbing system of this complex volcanic system. This research provides useful information for determining volcanic hazard at Pacaya, and demonstrates the potential of the UV camera in multiparameter studies.

Virtual Cilicia Project. How to use Google Earth as a visualization environment in an archaeological context

Over the past few years, archaeology has experienced a rapid development in geophysical prospection and remote sensing techniques. At the same time, the focus of archaeological research has shifted to landscape evelopment and human interaction. To impart the results, new methods and techniques are necessary. Virtual globes such as Google Earth offer fascinating methods of giving interested amateurs the possibility to interactively explore ancient cities and landscapes. Thanks to the increasing usage of GIS in cultural heritage, the implementation of interactive three dimensional learning opportunities becomes less and less tedious, but the non-linear narrative story telling medium demands for a special adaption of the content. This paper summarizes the experience gained during the realization of the “Virtual Cilicia Project” and outlines the future potential of virtual globes in the field of cultural heritage.

Surface deformation studies of Tenerife Island, Spain from joint GPS-DInSAR observations

This work presents results for the three-dimensional displacement field at Tenerife Island calculated from campaign GPS and ascending and descending ENVISAT DInSAR interferograms. The goal of this work is to provide an example of the flexibility of the technique by fusing together new varieties of geodetic data, and to observe surface deformations and study precursors of potential activity in volcanic regions. Interferometric processing of ENVISAT data was performed with GAMMA software. All possible combinations were used to create interferograms and then stacking was used to increase signal-to-noise ratio. Decorrelated areas were widely observed, particularly for interferograms with large perpendicular baseline and large time span. Tropospheric signal was also observed which significantly complicated the interpretation. Subsidence signal was observed in the NW part of the island and around Mount Teide and agreed in some regions with campaign GPS data. It is expected that the technique will provide better results when more high quality DInSAR and GPS data is available

Detección de patrones y anomalías espectrales del terreno mediante espectrometría de imagen de alta resolución : reconocimiento, optimización y evaluación multiescenario

El objeto de esta Tesis doctoral es el desarrollo de una metodologia para la deteccion automatica de anomalias a partir de datos hiperespectrales o espectrometria de imagen, y su cartografiado bajo diferentes condiciones tipologicas de superficie y terreno. La tecnologia hiperespectral o espectrometria de imagen ofrece la posibilidad potencial de caracterizar con precision el estado de los materiales que conforman las diversas superficies en base a su respuesta espectral. Este estado suele ser variable, mientras que las observaciones se producen en un numero limitado y para determinadas condiciones de iluminacion. Al aumentar el numero de bandas espectrales aumenta tambien el numero de muestras necesarias para definir espectralmente las clases en lo que se conoce como Maldicion de la Dimensionalidad o Efecto Hughes (Bellman, 1957), muestras habitualmente no disponibles y costosas de obtener, no hay mas que pensar en lo que ello implica en la Exploracion Planetaria. Bajo la definicion de anomalia en su sentido espectral como la respuesta significativamente diferente de un pixel de imagen respecto de su entorno, el objeto central abordado en la Tesis estriba primero en como reducir la dimensionalidad de la informacion en los datos hiperespectrales, discriminando la mas significativa para la deteccion de respuestas anomalas, y segundo, en establecer la relacion entre anomalias espectrales detectadas y lo que hemos denominado anomalias informacionales, es decir, anomalias que aportan algun tipo de informacion real de las superficies o materiales que las producen. En la deteccion de respuestas anomalas se asume un no conocimiento previo de los objetivos, de tal manera que los pixeles se separan automaticamente en funcion de su informacion espectral significativamente diferenciada respecto de un fondo que se estima, bien de manera global para toda la escena, bien localmente por segmentacion de la imagen. La metodologia desarrollada se ha centrado en la implicacion de la definicion estadistica del fondo espectral, proponiendo un nuevo enfoque que permite discriminar anomalias respecto fondos segmentados en diferentes grupos de longitudes de onda del espectro, explotando la potencialidad de separacion entre el espectro electromagnetico reflectivo y emisivo. Se ha estudiado la eficiencia de los principales algoritmos de deteccion de anomalias, contrastando los resultados del algoritmo RX (Reed and Xiaoli, 1990) adoptado como estandar por la comunidad cientifica, con el metodo UTD (Uniform Targets Detector), su variante RXD-UTD, metodos basados en subespacios SSRX (Subspace RX) y metodo basados en proyecciones de subespacios de imagen, como OSPRX (Orthogonal Subspace Projection RX) y PP (Projection Pursuit). Se ha desarrollado un nuevo metodo, evaluado y contrastado por los anteriores, que supone una variacion de PP y describe el fondo espectral mediante el analisis discriminante de bandas del espectro electromagnetico, separando las anomalias con el algortimo denominado Detector de Anomalias de Fondo Termico o DAFT aplicable a sensores que registran datos en el espectro emisivo. Se han evaluado los diferentes metodos de deteccion de anomalias en rangos del espectro electromagnetico del visible e infrarrojo cercano (Visible and Near Infrared-VNIR), infrarrojo de onda corta (Short Wavelenght Infrared-SWIR), infrarrojo medio (Meadle Infrared-MIR) e infrarrojo termico (Thermal Infrared-TIR). La respuesta de las superficies en las distintas longitudes de onda del espectro electromagnetico junto con su entorno, influyen en el tipo y frecuencia de las anomalias espectrales que puedan provocar. Es por ello que se han utilizado en la investigacion cubos de datos hiperepectrales procedentes de los sensores aeroportados cuya estrategia y diseno en la construccion espectrometrica de la imagen difiere. Se han evaluado conjuntos de datos de test de los sensores AHS (Airborne Hyperspectral System), HyMAP Imaging Spectrometer, CASI (Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager), AVIRIS (Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer), HYDICE (Hyperspectral Digital Imagery Collection Experiment) y MASTER (MODIS/ASTER Simulator). Se han disenado experimentos sobre ambitos naturales, urbanos y semiurbanos de diferente complejidad. Se ha evaluado el comportamiento de los diferentes detectores de anomalias a traves de 23 tests correspondientes a 15 areas de estudio agrupados en 6 espacios o escenarios: Urbano - E1, Semiurbano/Industrial/Periferia Urbana - E2, Forestal - E3, Agricola - E4, Geologico/Volcanico - E5 y Otros Espacios Agua, Nubes y Sombras - E6. El tipo de sensores evaluados se caracteriza por registrar imagenes en un amplio rango de bandas, estrechas y contiguas, del espectro electromagnetico. La Tesis se ha centrado en el desarrollo de tecnicas que permiten separar y extraer automaticamente pixeles o grupos de pixeles cuya firma espectral difiere de manera discriminante de las que tiene alrededor, adoptando para ello como espacio muestral parte o el conjunto de las bandas espectrales en las que ha registrado radiancia el sensor hiperespectral. Un factor a tener en cuenta en la investigacion ha sido el propio instrumento de medida, es decir, la caracterizacion de los distintos subsistemas, sensores imagen y auxiliares, que intervienen en el proceso. Para poder emplear cuantitativamente los datos medidos ha sido necesario definir las relaciones espaciales y espectrales del sensor con la superficie observada y las potenciales anomalias y patrones objetivos de deteccion. Se ha analizado la repercusion que en la deteccion de anomalias tiene el tipo de sensor, tanto en su configuracion espectral como en las estrategias de diseno a la hora de registrar la radiacion prodecente de las superficies, siendo los dos tipos principales de sensores estudiados los barredores o escaneres de espejo giratorio (whiskbroom) y los barredores o escaneres de empuje (pushbroom). Se han definido distintos escenarios en la investigacion, lo que ha permitido abarcar una amplia variabilidad de entornos geomorfologicos y de tipos de coberturas, en ambientes mediterraneos, de latitudes medias y tropicales. En resumen, esta Tesis presenta una tecnica de deteccion de anomalias para datos hiperespectrales denominada DAFT en su variante de PP, basada en una reduccion de la dimensionalidad proyectando el fondo en un rango de longitudes de onda del espectro termico distinto de la proyeccion de las anomalias u objetivos sin firma espectral conocida. La metodologia propuesta ha sido probada con imagenes hiperespectrales reales de diferentes sensores y en diferentes escenarios o espacios, por lo tanto de diferente fondo espectral tambien, donde los resultados muestran los beneficios de la aproximacion en la deteccion de una gran variedad de objetos cuyas firmas espectrales tienen suficiente desviacion respecto del fondo. La tecnica resulta ser automatica en el sentido de que no hay necesidad de ajuste de parametros, dando resultados significativos en todos los casos. Incluso los objetos de tamano subpixel, que no pueden distinguirse a simple vista por el ojo humano en la imagen original, pueden ser detectados como anomalias. Ademas, se realiza una comparacion entre el enfoque propuesto, la popular tecnica RX y otros detectores tanto en su modalidad global como local. El metodo propuesto supera a los demas en determinados escenarios, demostrando su capacidad para reducir la proporcion de falsas alarmas. Los resultados del algoritmo automatico DAFT desarrollado, han demostrado la mejora en la definicion cualitativa de las anomalias espectrales que identifican a entidades diferentes en o bajo superficie, reemplazando para ello el modelo clasico de distribucion normal con un metodo robusto que contempla distintas alternativas desde el momento mismo de la adquisicion del dato hiperespectral. Para su consecucion ha sido necesario analizar la relacion entre parametros biofisicos, como la reflectancia y la emisividad de los materiales, y la distribucion espacial de entidades detectadas respecto de su entorno. Por ultimo, el algoritmo DAFT ha sido elegido como el mas adecuado para sensores que adquieren datos en el TIR, ya que presenta el mejor acuerdo con los datos de referencia, demostrando una gran eficacia computacional que facilita su implementacion en un sistema de cartografia que proyecte de forma automatica en un marco geografico de referencia las anomalias detectadas, lo que confirma un significativo avance hacia un sistema en lo que se denomina cartografia en tiempo real. The aim of this Thesis is to develop a specific methodology in order to be applied in automatic detection anomalies processes using hyperspectral data also called hyperspectral scenes, and to improve the classification processes. Several scenarios, areas and their relationship with surfaces and objects have been tested. The spectral characteristics of reflectance parameter and emissivity in the pattern recognition of urban materials in several hyperspectral scenes have also been tested. Spectral ranges of the visible-near infrared (VNIR), shortwave infrared (SWIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) from hyperspectral data cubes of AHS (Airborne Hyperspectral System), HyMAP Imaging Spectrometer, CASI (Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager), AVIRIS (Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer), HYDICE (Hyperspectral Digital Imagery Collection Experiment) and MASTER (MODIS/ASTER Simulator) have been used in this research. It is assumed that there is not prior knowledge of the targets in anomaly detection. Thus, the pixels are automatically separated according to their spectral information, significantly differentiated with respect to a background, either globally for the full scene, or locally by the image segmentation. Several experiments on different scenarios have been designed, analyzing the behavior of the standard RX anomaly detector and different methods based on subspace, image projection and segmentation-based anomaly detection methods. Results and their consequences in unsupervised classification processes are discussed. Detection of spectral anomalies aims at extracting automatically pixels that show significant responses in relation of their surroundings. This Thesis deals with the unsupervised technique of target detection, also called anomaly detection. Since this technique assumes no prior knowledge about the target or the statistical characteristics of the data, the only available option is to look for objects that are differentiated from the background. Several methods have been developed in the last decades, allowing a better understanding of the relationships between the image dimensionality and the optimization of search procedures as well as the subpixel differentiation of the spectral mixture and its implications in anomalous responses. In other sense, image spectrometry has proven to be efficient in the characterization of materials, based on statistical methods using a specific reflection and absorption bands. Spectral configurations in the VNIR, SWIR and TIR have been successfully used for mapping materials in different urban scenarios. There has been an increasing interest in the use of high resolution data (both spatial and spectral) to detect small objects and to discriminate surfaces in areas with urban complexity. This has come to be known as target detection which can be either supervised or unsupervised. In supervised target detection, algorithms lean on prior knowledge, such as the spectral signature. The detection process for matching signatures is not straightforward due to the complications of converting data airborne sensor with material spectra in the ground. This could be further complicated by the large number of possible objects of interest, as well as uncertainty as to the reflectance or emissivity of these objects and surfaces. An important objective in this research is to establish relationships that allow linking spectral anomalies with what can be called informational anomalies and, therefore, identify information related to anomalous responses in some places rather than simply spotting differences from the background. The development in recent years of new hyperspectral sensors and techniques, widen the possibilities for applications in remote sensing of the Earth. Remote sensing systems measure and record electromagnetic disturbances that the surveyed objects induce in their surroundings, by means of different sensors mounted on airborne or space platforms. Map updating is important for management and decisions making people, because of the fast changes that usually happen in natural, urban and semi urban areas. It is necessary to optimize the methodology for obtaining the best from remote sensing techniques from hyperspectral data. The first problem with hyperspectral data is to reduce the dimensionality, keeping the maximum amount of information. Hyperspectral sensors augment considerably the amount of information, this allows us to obtain a better precision on the separation of material but at the same time it is necessary to calculate a bigger number of parameters, and the precision lowers with the increase in the number of bands. This is known as the Hughes effects (Bellman, 1957) . Hyperspectral imagery allows us to discriminate between a huge number of different materials however some land and urban covers are made up with similar material and respond similarly which produces confusion in the classification. The training and the algorithm used for mapping are also important for the final result and some properties of thermal spectrum for detecting land cover will be studied. In summary, this Thesis presents a new technique for anomaly detection in hyperspectral data called DAFT, as a PP's variant, based on dimensionality reduction by projecting anomalies or targets with unknown spectral signature to the background, in a range thermal spectrum wavelengths. The proposed methodology has been tested with hyperspectral images from different imaging spectrometers corresponding to several places or scenarios, therefore with different spectral background. The results show the benefits of the approach to the detection of a variety of targets whose spectral signatures have sufficient deviation in relation to the background. DAFT is an automated technique in the sense that there is not necessary to adjust parameters, providing significant results in all cases. Subpixel anomalies which cannot be distinguished by the human eye, on the original image, however can be detected as outliers due to the projection of the VNIR end members with a very strong thermal contrast. Furthermore, a comparison between the proposed approach and the well-known RX detector is performed at both modes, global and local. The proposed method outperforms the existents in particular scenarios, demonstrating its performance to reduce the probability of false alarms. The results of the automatic algorithm DAFT have demonstrated improvement in the qualitative definition of the spectral anomalies by replacing the classical model by the normal distribution with a robust method. For their achievement has been necessary to analyze the relationship between biophysical parameters such as reflectance and emissivity, and the spatial distribution of detected entities with respect to their environment, as for example some buried or semi-buried materials, or building covers of asbestos, cellular polycarbonate-PVC or metal composites. Finally, the DAFT method has been chosen as the most suitable for anomaly detection using imaging spectrometers that acquire them in the thermal infrared spectrum, since it presents the best results in comparison with the reference data, demonstrating great computational efficiency that facilitates its implementation in a mapping system towards, what is called, Real-Time Mapping.

High brightness semiconductor lasers as transmitters for space lidar systems

High brightness semiconductor lasers are potential transmitters for future space lidar systems. In the framework of the European Project BRITESPACE, we propose an all-semiconductor laser source for an Integrated Path Differential Absorption lidar system for column-averaged measurements of atmospheric CO2 in future satellite missions. The complete system architecture has to be adapted to the particular emission properties of these devices using a Random Modulated Continuous Wave approach. We present the initial experimental results of the InGaAsP/InP monolithic Master Oscillator Power Amplifiers, providing the ON and OFF wavelengths close to the selected absorption line around 1572 nm.

Análisis comparativo de la estimación de la erosión hídrica con la metodología USLE y las técnicas RS SIG. Aplicación al entorno del tramo medio de la cuenca del río Jarama (Guadalajara)

La erosión hídrica en España es un problema grave, por las consecuencias que comporta en términos de pérdida del recurso suelo, sobre el que se sustenta la vida. Desde la década de los años ochenta del pasado siglo, la Administración Central ha realizado dos inventarios de erosión del suelo a nivel nacional: Los Mapas de Estados Erosivos (MEEs) y el Inventario Nacional de Erosión del Suelo (INES). En la presente Tesis Doctoral se han abordado las siguientes cuestiones: - Se ha profundizado en el análisis y aplicación de nuevas herramientas en la estimación del factor topográfico y del factor vegetación, que intervienen en los modelos de cálculo de las pérdidas de suelo, para mejorar la precisión en los resultados de la estimación de las tasas de erosión con los mismos. - Se ha establecido un procedimiento que permita realizar un inventario continuo de los Estados Erosivos de España, fijando como premisa el tiempo para su actualización. La Tesis desarrolla un procedimiento que permite comprobar que, la precisión utilizada en la cartografía base para determinar el factor vegetación y el factor topográfico del modelo USLE, influye en los resultados de la estimación de las tasas de erosión. También se ha realizado un estudio multi-temporal, analizado cuatro períodos: desde 1982 a 2014, con el fin de investigar las posibilidades de implementar un inventario continuo de los Estados Erosivos a nivel nacional; utilizando sensores remotos y técnicas de teledetección como herramienta para la actualización de los usos del suelo, factor determinante para estudiar la evolución de las tasas de erosión a lo largo del tiempo. Los resultados obtenidos de las investigaciones mencionadas, se han aplicado al tramo medio de la cuenca del río Jarama en la provincia de Guadalajara y han permitido comprobar que, la precisión de los datos utilizados en la aplicación del modelo USLE, influyen de una forma determinante en la estimación de las tasas de erosión y, además, hacen posible que la metodología, propuesta en esta Tesis, contribuya a establecer un inventario continuo de la evolución de los Estados Erosivos en un espacio multitemporal y a nivel de escenarios que abarcan una gran superficie. Gracias a este inventario se ha podido aportar información de la evolución de la cubierta vegetal y las pérdidas de suelo en la zona de estudio en el período analizado 1984-2015. ABSTRACT Water erosion in Spain is a serious problem and the consequences in terms of loss of soil resources on which life is based. Since the early eighties of last century, the central government has made two inventories of soil erosion nationwide: Maps of Erosive States (MEES) and the National Inventory of Soil Erosion (INES). In this Doctoral Thesis we have addressed the following issues: - It has deepened in the analysis and implementation of new tools in estimating the topographic factor and vegetation factor involved in the calculation models of soil loss, to improve accuracy in the results of the estimation of rates erosion therewith. - It has established a procedure allowing a continuous inventory of Erosion States of Spain, setting premised time for update. The thesis develops a method that allows to check that the precision used in the base map to determine the vegetation factor and topographical factor USLE model, influences the results of estimating erosion rates. There has also develop a multi-temporal study analyzed four periods: from 1982-2014, in order to investigate the possibilities of implementing a continuous inventory of erosion states at national level; using remote sensing techniques as a tool for updating land use, determining to study the evolution of erosion rates along the time factor. The results of the investigations referred to, have been applied to area around the middle reach of the Jarama river basin in the province of Guadalajara and would have shown that the accuracy of the data used in the model application USLE influence of decisive way estimating erosion rates and also make it possible that the methodology proposed in this thesis, help establish a continuous inventory of the evolution of erosive states in a multi-temporal space and level scenarios covering a large area. Thanks to this inventory was it able to provide information on the evolution of the vegetation cover and soil loss in the study area in the analyzed period 1984-2015.

Técnicas de Ingeniería Cartográfica empleadas en el estudio de subsidencia y movimientos de ladera: principales características y análisis comparativo

Los movimientos de ladera y los procesos de subsidencia son fenómenos que afectan a la superficie terrestre produciendo modificaciones importantes sobre ella. Los cambios que originan se manifiestan como deformaciones superficiales cuyo estudio resulta de gran importancia en el campo de la Ingeniería Geología y la Geotecnia. En el presente trabajo se lleva a cabo una descripción de las técnicas de Ingeniería Cartográfica (técnicas topográficas, geodésicas, fotogramétricas y de teledetección) empleadas para cuantificar las deformaciones causadas por movimientos de ladera y subsidencia terrestre, estableciendo sus principales características y llevando a cabo un análisis comparativo de las mismas.

Discontinuity spacing analysis in rock masses using 3D point clouds

The complete characterization of rock masses implies the acquisition of information of both, the materials which compose the rock mass and the discontinuities which divide the outcrop. Recent advances in the use of remote sensing techniques – such as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) – allow the accurate and dense acquisition of 3D information that can be used for the characterization of discontinuities. This work presents a novel methodology which allows the calculation of the normal spacing of persistent and non-persistent discontinuity sets using 3D point cloud datasets considering the three dimensional relationships between clusters. This approach requires that the 3D dataset has been previously classified. This implies that discontinuity sets are previously extracted, every single point is labeled with its corresponding discontinuity set and every exposed planar surface is analytically calculated. Then, for each discontinuity set the method calculates the normal spacing between an exposed plane and its nearest one considering 3D space relationship. This link between planes is obtained calculating for every point its nearest point member of the same discontinuity set, which provides its nearest plane. This allows calculating the normal spacing for every plane. Finally, the normal spacing is calculated as the mean value of all the normal spacings for each discontinuity set. The methodology is validated through three cases of study using synthetic data and 3D laser scanning datasets. The first case illustrates the fundamentals and the performance of the proposed methodology. The second and the third cases of study correspond to two rock slopes for which datasets were acquired using a 3D laser scanner. The second case study has shown that results obtained from the traditional and the proposed approaches are reasonably similar. Nevertheless, a discrepancy between both approaches has been found when the exposed planes members of a discontinuity set were hard to identify and when the planes pairing was difficult to establish during the fieldwork campaign. The third case study also has evidenced that when the number of identified exposed planes is high, the calculated normal spacing using the proposed approach is minor than those using the traditional approach.