Flooding through the lens of mobile phone activity

Natural disasters affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide every year. Emergency response efforts depend upon the availability of timely information, such as information concerning the movements of affected populations. The analysis of aggregated and anonymized Call Detail Records (CDR) captured from the mobile phone infrastructure provides new possibilities to characterize human behavior during critical events. In this work, we investigate the viability of using CDR data combined with other sources of information to characterize the floods that occurred in Tabasco, Mexico in 2009. An impact map has been reconstructed using Landsat-7 images to identify the floods. Within this frame, the underlying communication activity signals in the CDR data have been analyzed and compared against rainfall levels extracted from data of the NASA-TRMM project. The variations in the number of active phones connected to each cell tower reveal abnormal activity patterns in the most affected locations during and after the floods that could be used as signatures of the floods - both in terms of infrastructure impact assessment and population information awareness. The epresentativeness of the analysis has been assessed using census data and civil protection records. While a more extensive validation is required, these early results suggest high potential in using cell tower activity information to improve early warning and emergency management mechanisms.

Flooding through the lens of mobile phone activity

Natural disasters affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide every year. Emergency response efforts depend upon the availability of timely information, such as information concerning the movements of affected populations. The analysis of aggregated and anonymized Call Detail Records (CDR) captured from the mobile phone infrastructure provides new possibilities to characterize human behavior during critical events. In this work, we investigate the viability of using CDR data combined with other sources of information to characterize the floods that occurred in Tabasco, Mexico in 2009. An impact map has been reconstructed using Landsat-7 images to identify the floods. Within this frame, the underlying communication activity signals in the CDR data have been analyzed and compared against rainfall levels extracted from data of the NASA-TRMM project. The variations in the number of active phones connected to each cell tower reveal abnormal activity patterns in the most affected locations during and after the floods that could be used as signatures of the floods - both in terms of infrastructure impact assessment and population information awareness. The representativeness of the analysis has been assessed using census data and civil protection records. While a more extensive validation is required, these early results suggest high potential in using cell tower activity information to improve early warning and emergency management mechanisms.

Mapping water quality and substrate cover in optically complex coastal and reef waters: an integrated approach

Sustainable management of coastal and coral reef environments requires regular collection of accurate information on recognized ecosystem health indicators. Satellite image data and derived maps of water column and substrate biophysical properties provide an opportunity to develop baseline mapping and monitoring programs for coastal and coral reef ecosystem health indicators. A significant challenge for satellite image data in coastal and coral reef water bodies is the mixture of both clear and turbid waters. A new approach is presented in this paper to enable production of water quality and substrate cover type maps, linked to a field based coastal ecosystem health indicator monitoring program, for use in turbid to clear coastal and coral reef waters. An optimized optical domain method was applied to map selected water quality (Secchi depth, Kd PAR, tripton, CDOM) and substrate cover type (seagrass, algae, sand) parameters. The approach is demonstrated using commercially available Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper image data over a coastal embayment exhibiting the range of substrate cover types and water quality conditions commonly found in sub-tropical and tropical coastal environments. Spatially extensive and quantitative maps of selected water quality and substrate cover parameters were produced for the study site. These map products were refined by interactions with management agencies to suit the information requirements of their monitoring and management programs. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of vegetation recovery after fire: a case study in Calde, central region of Portugal

Remote Sensing has been used for decades, and more and more applications are added to its repertoire. With this study we aim to show the use of Remote Sensing in the field of vegetation recovery monitoring in burned areas and the added value of data with a high spatial resolution. This was done by analysing both Landsat 7 and 8 scenes, after the forest fire of summer 2012 in the parish of Calde, in the central region of Portugal, as well as an orthophoto produced with images acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle.

ESTUDO DO CONFORTO TÉRMICO EM AMBIENTE TROPICAL

Este artigo tem por objetivo verificar as temperaturas da superfície intraurbana por meio de imagens térmicas do satélite Landsat 7 em cidade de médio porte e avaliar o conforto térmico no interior de moradias com diferentes padrões construtivos.Presidente Prudente, cidade escolhida para estudo, localiza-se no oeste do Estado de São Paulo/Brasil, próxima ao trópico de Capricórnio, entre os paralelos de 22º 07’ de latitude sul e entre os meridianos de 51o 23’ de longitude oeste.Para verificar a temperatura da superfície intraurbana foram utilizadas imagens do canal do infravermelho termal (canal 6) do satélite Landsat-7, com resolução espacial de 60 metros.Para a análise do conforto térmico foram registradas a temperatura e a umidade relativa do ar em ambientes internos, de moradias com diferentes padrões construtivos em dois pontos localizados na área urbana e um na área rural do município.Os resultados mostraram que as imagens de satélite são importantes para se verificar as diferenças de temperaturas da superfície intraurbana e o desconforto térmico foi significativo no interior da moradia que se utilizou de materiais construtivos inadequados coincidindo com as áreas de maior temperatura dos alvos detectadas por meio da imagem de satélite.

Predição da fertilidade do solo do polo agrícola do Rio de Janeiro por meio de modelagem solo x paisagem.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi predizer a fertilidade do solo no polo agrícola do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, por meio da modelagem solo x paisagem. A área de estudo compreendeu as regiões mais produtivas do Estado do Rio de Janeiro: Norte, Noroeste e Serrana. Características químicas do solo ? pH em H2O e capacidade de troca catiônica (CTC) ? e ambientais ? elevação, plano de curvatura, perfil de curvatura, índice de umidade, aspecto e declividade do terreno, além de tipos de solos, índice de vegetação normalizada (NDVI), imagens Landsat 7 e litologia ? foram utilizadas como variáveis preditoras. A análise exploratória dos dados identificou valores extremos, os quais foram expurgados, na preparação para a análise por regressão linear múltipla (RLM). Aos resultados da RLM, foram adicionados os resultados de krigagem dos resíduos da regressão, com uma técnica de mapeamento digital de solos (MDS) denominada regressão-krigagem. Na região Serrana, as variáveis ambientais explicaram as variáveis químicas. A variável NDVI foi importante nas três regiões, o que evidencia a importância da cobertura vegetal para a predição da fertilidade do solo. Em geral, os solos analisados apresentaram baixo pH. Os valores de CTC, nas regiões estudadas, estão dentro do intervalo considerado bom para a fertilidade do solo.

Cyanobacteria detection in Guarapiranga Reservoir (São Paulo State, Brazil) using Landsat TM and ETM+ images

Algae bloom is one of the major consequences of the eutrophication of aquatic systems, including algae capable of producing toxic substances. Among these are several species of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, that have the capacity to adapt themselves to changes in the water column. Thus, the horizontal distribution of cyanobacteria harmful algae blooms (CHABs) is essential, not only to the environment, but also for public health. The use of remote sensing techniques for mapping CHABs has been explored by means of bio-optical modeling of phycocyanin (PC), a unique inland waters cyanobacteria pigment. However, due to the small number of sensors with a spectral band of the PC absorption feature, it is difficult to develop semi-analytical models. This study evaluated the use of an empirical model to identify CHABs using TM and ETM+ sensors aboard Landsat 5 and 7 satellites. Five images were acquired for applying the model. Besides the images, data was also collected in the Guarapiranga Reservoir, in São Paulo Metropolitan Region, regarding the cyanobacteria cell count (cells/mL), which was used as an indicator of CHABs biomass. When model values were analyzed excluding calibration factors for temperate lakes, they showed a medium correlation (R²=0.81, p=0.036), while when the factors were included the model showed a high correlation (R²=0.96, p=0.003) to the cyanobacteria cell count. The empirical model analyzed proved useful as an important tool for policy makers, since it provided information regarding the horizontal distribution of CHABs which could not be acquired from traditional monitoring techniques.

Mapping changes in coastline geomorphic features using Landsat TM and ETM+ imagery: examples in southeastern Brazil

Multitemporal Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) imagery was used to assess coastline morphological changes in southeastern Brazil. A spectral linear mixing approach (SLMA) was used to estimate fraction imagery representing amounts of vegetation, clean water (a proxy for shade) and soil. Fraction abundances were related to erosive and depositional features. Shoreline, sandy banks (including emerged and submerged banks) and sand spits were highlighted mainly by clean water and soil fraction imagery. To evaluate changes in the coastline geomorphic features, the fraction imagery generated for each data set was classified in a contextual approach using a segmentation technique and ISOSEG, an unsupervised classification. Evaluation of the classifications was performed visually and by an error matrix relating ground-truth data to classification results. Comparison of the classification results revealed an intense transformation in the coastline, and that erosive and depositional features are extremely dynamic and subject to change in short periods of time.

Comparação de dados dos satélites Ikonos-II e Landsat/ETM+ no estudo de áreas cafeeiras

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o impacto do aumento da resolução espacial e radiométrica da imagem pancromática do Ikonos-II na identificação de plantios de café (Coffea arabica), em comparação com as imagens do Landsat/ETM+. A área de estudo está localizada no Município de Pedregulho, SP, onde foram selecionados 50 talhões com plantios de café, e foram levantados dados referentes à altura, idade, espaçamento e variedade de cada talhão. As imagens permitiram a identificação de talhões com características diferentes em campo, tendo-se destacado a imagem do Ikonos-II, que apresentou melhor desempenho. Para os talhões com características iguais em campo, as imagens analisadas não se mostraram eficientes, independentemente do satélite utilizado. As correções atmosféricas e radiométricas, na imagem do Ikonos-II, não proporcionaram ganho efetivo nas análises realizadas. A maioria dos talhões identificados na imagem do Ikonos-II pode ser localizada na imagem do Landsat/ETM+ (68%). A correlação significativa entre a banda 4 do Landsat/ETM+ e o canal pancromático do Ikonos-II indica uma forma de ligação entre as imagens dos dois satélites.

Viabilidade de uso de imagens do Landsat em mapeamento de área cultivada com soja no Estado do Paraná

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a viabilidade do uso de imagens do Landsat, para o mapeamento da área cultivada com soja, nas safras de 2000/2001 a 2006/2007, no Estado do Paraná. A análise dos "quick looks" das imagens dos sensores TM e ETM+ foi feita para selecionar as imagens úteis para o mapeamento da cultura da soja. Os "quick looks" foram classificados de acordo com a presença ou a ausência de nuvens e de problemas técnicos. Conforme os resultados, em nenhum dos sete anos teria sido possível mapear a área cultivada com soja, em todo o Estado, mesmo nos três anos-safra em que os satélites Landsat 5 e 7 operaram em conjunto. A presença de nuvens, detectada pelos sensores ópticos, deve ser levada em conta no mapeamento sistemático da área cultivada com culturas de verão, no Brasil.

Correlação espacial do índice de vegetação (NDVI) de imagem Landsat/ETM+ com atributos do solo

The precision agriculture technologies such as the spatial variability of soil attributes have been widely studied mostly with sugarcane. Among these technologies have been recently highlighted the use of the vegetation index derived from remote sensing products, such as powerful tools indicating the development of vegetation. This study aimed to analyze the spatial variability of clay content, pH and phosphorus in an Oxisol in an area with sugarcane production, and correlate with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The georeferenced grid was created for the soil properties (clay, phosphorus and pH) and generated the maps of spatial variability. For these same sites were calculated the NDVI, in addition to mapping of this ratio, the evaluation of the spatial correlation between this and other studied properties. The clay and phosphorus content showed positive spatial correlation with the NDVI, while no spatial correlation was observed between NDVI and pH. The satellite images from the sensor ETM + Landsat were used to correlate to NDVI to observe the spatial variability of the studied attributes.