Performance testing of selected automated coastline detection techniques applied on multispectral satellite imageries

Coastline detection has been of major interest for environmentalists and many methods have been introduced to detect coastline automatically. Remote Sensing techniques are the most promising ones to deliver a satisfactory result in this regard. In our study, the objective was to retrieve performance level of certain image processing techniques vigorously used for the purpose to delineate coastline automatically and they were tested against two images acquired almost on the same period by LISS III and LANDSAT ETM+ sensors. The algorithms used in the study are Water Index, NDVI, Complex Band Ratio, ISODATA, Thresholding, ISH Transfirmation techniques. Accuracy of the shoreline detection by classifying the image in land and water has been tried to be estimated in three ways, firstly with comparison to the visually interpreted high resolution google earth image, secondly field collected GCP data of reference points of classes and thirdly the raw image itself. But problem in temporal disparity caused the constraint doing accuracy assessment from the first two reference data and maps along the coast. As a whole although four techniques among six, show satisfactory results namely density slicing, ISODATA classification, Water Index and ISH transformation technique, in the case of LISS-III and ETM+, Water Index (with kappa value being 0.95 for LISS-III and 0.97 for ETM+) and Intensity-Hue-Saturation transformation techniques give better performance. Sensor to sensor variation might have introduced certain differences in shoreline detection in images of same season with similar tidal influence.     

Structure and dynamics of undercurrents in the western boundary current of the Bay of Bengal

Ocean Dynamics - The structure and variability of undercurrents in the East India Coastal Current (EICC), which is the western boundary current system in the Bay of Bengal (BoB), and the mechanisms...     

Spatial modeling using high resolution image for future shoreline prediction along Junput Coast,West Bengal,India

National policies and legal decisions are very much dependent on the position of the shoreline. Shoreline change rates are frequently employed to summarize historical shoreline movements. This also helps to predict the future position of the shoreline based on the perceived historical trends. In this regard, the future shoreline positions at both the long-term, that is 2050, and short-term, that is 2015, time interval was predicted using the End Point Rate (EPR) model along the Junput Coast of West Bengal, India. The whole project work was divided into five parts. The first part showed the detection of shoreline from satellite data like IRS LISS Ⅳ and Landsat 7 ETM+ and from the Survey of India Toposheet. The second part gave the glimpse of the dynamic segmentation of the shoreline to get the dynamically segmented nodal points along the shoreline. Shoreline prediction for the years 2015 and 2050 using End Point Rate (EPR) model was done in the third part. In the fourth part, Coastal Terrain Model (CTM) was prepared, and the digital shoreline estimated. The model result was validated and accuracy assessed with respect to the GPS data collected from the field at the fifth stage. Finally at the end of the present work, limitations of the project and the future scope of the work was sited.     

Alkaline Magmatism Versus Collision Tectonics in the Eastern Ghats Belt, India: Constraints from Structural Studies in the Koraput Complex

Linear domains of deformed alkaline rocks and carbonatites have recently been identified as representing sites of ancient suture zones. In peninsular India, the western margin of the Proterozoic Eastern Ghats Belt (EGB) is characterized by a series of alkaline plutons that are aligned close to the contact with the Archaean Craton. Most of the complexes were deformed and metamorphosed during a subsequent orogenic event. Unlike other plutons in the belt, the alkaline complex at Koraput reportedly escaped deformation and granulite facies metamorphism forming an anomalous entity within the zone. Multiply-deformed country rocks hosting this complex underwent syn-D_1CR granulite facies metamorphism followed by D_2CR thrusting, with pervasive shearing along a NE-SW trending foliation. A second granulite facies event followed localized D_3CR shearing. Within the Koraput Complex, strain partitioning was responsible for preserving igneous textures in the gabbroic core, but aligned magmatic amphibole needles and plagioclase laths occasionally define a S_1AC fabric. Along the margins, S_1AC is rotated parallel to a NE-trending, east-dipping S_2AC fabric in the gabbro, fringing syenodiorite and nepheline syenite bands. Locally, D_3AC shearing follows D_2AC deformation; S_2AC and S_3AC parallel S_2CR and S_3CR in the country rocks. High-grade metamorphism represented by recrystallization of amphibole and plagioclase, and breakdown of amphibole and biotite to garnet, pyroxene and K-feldspar in the complex follows D_3AC. Unlike earlier reports, therefore, the Koraput body is also deformed and metamorphosed. The aligned alkaline complexes in the EGB probably represent deformed alkaline rocks and carbonatites formed by rifting related to an earlier episode of continental break-up that were deformed during subsequent juxtaposition of the EGB with the Archaean Craton. This supports the contention that the western margin of the EGB and its contact with the Archaean Craton is a suture zone related to the Indo-Antarctica collision event.     

Improving Ocean State by Assimilating SARAL/AltiKa Derived Sea Level and Other Satellite-Derived Data in MITGCM

Assimilation of satellite-derived surface datasets has been explored in the study. Three types of surface data, namely sea level anomaly, sea surface temperature and sea surface salinity, have been used in various data assimilation experiments. The emphasis has been on the extra benefit arising out of the additional sea level assimilation and hence there are two parallel runs, in one of which sea level assimilation has been withheld. The model used is a state-of-the art ocean general circulation model (OGCM) and the assimilation method is the widely used singular evolutive extended Kalman filter (SEEK). Evaluation of the assimilation skill has been carried out by comparing the simulated depth of the 20°C isotherm with the same quantity measured by buoys and Argo floats. Simulated subsurface temperature and salinity profiles have also been compared with the same profiles measured by Argo floats. Finally, surface currents in the assimilation runs have been compared with currents measured by several off-equatorial buoys. Addition of sea level has been found to substantially improve the quality of simulation. An important feature that has been effectively simulated by the addition of sea level in the assimilation scheme is the near-surface temperature inversion (2-3°C) in the northern Bay of Bengal.     

Characterization of agroecosystem based on land utilization indices using remote sensing and GIS

Information on various agricultural resource parameters at various levels is essential for proper management and efficient resource allocation for sustainable agricultural development. Limitations in ground-based method have encouraged the use of satellite data coupled with geographical information system (GIS) in providing spatial as well as temporal information over large and inaccessible areas. In the present study, an attempt has been made to generate raster maps using remote sensing and GIS techniques to characterize the agroecosystem of South 24 Paraganas district of West Bengal, based on land utilization indices. Information on multi-season landcover derived from the analysis of the multi-temporal RADARSAT-1 SAR and IRS-ID LISS III data as well as other ancillary information in GIS environment are the basic inputs used in the study. The present analysis shows that northern and northwestern parts are more diverse in terms of agricultural intensification as compared to the southern and northeastern parts whereas the central parts show moderate density. In terms of carrying capacity, the high carrying capacity has been observed in the southern to northeastern parts whereas the northwestern and central parts show moderate and northern parts show low carrying capacity. Overall, the characterization of agroecosystem using land utilization indices can be identified as major input to formulate a management plan for sustainable agriculture with concerns for the environment.     

An integrated water balance model for assessing water scarcity in a data-sparse interfluve in eastern India

Abstract

The objective of this study is to measure the balance of water demand versus water resource availability in an interfluve of West Bengal, India to support water resource planning, particularly of inter-basin transfers. Surface water availability was modelled using the US Soil Conservation Service curve number (SCS-CN) approach, whilst groundwater availability was modelled based on water-level fluctuations and the rainfall infiltration method. Water use was modelled separately for the agricultural, industrial, and domestic sectors using a predominantly normative approach and water use to availability ratios calculated for different administrative areas within the interfluve. Overall, the approach suggested that the interfluve receives 327 × 10⁶ m³ year^-1 of excess water after satisfying these sectoral demands, but that the eastern part of the study area is in deficit. However, a sensitivity analysis carried on the approach to several assumptions in the model suggested changed circumstances would produce surplus/deficit ranging from ?215 × 10⁶ to 435 × 10⁶ m³ year^-1 . The approach could have potential for localised water balance modelling in other Indian catchments.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor D. Hughes     

New measurement of melting and thermal conductivity of iron close to outer core conditions

The amount of literature on both melting and thermal conductivity of iron at Earth’s core conditions is overwhelming and the discrepancies are very large.There is a broad range of experimental techniques each of which is flawed to a certain degree,which may explain the discrepancy.In this report,we present new data using a different method for determining the phase behavior and resistivity of iron in the laser-heated diamond cell by measuring the electrical resistance of both solid and liquid iron wires.The experiment avoids some of the major flaws of previous experiments,the most important of which is the detection of the onset of melting.These measurements confirm a shallow melting curve found earlier and the resistivity data imply a trend towards low thermal conductivity in the liquid outer core.