Effect of land use land cover changes on land surface temperature during 1984–2020: a case study of Baghdad city using landsat image

Natural Hazards - Urban land surface temperature (LST) is dependent on many factors, including land cover, building materials, urban density, and other human activities. The current study evaluated...     

Hydrological impacts of land use–land cover change and detention basins on urban flood hazard: a case study of Poisar River basin,Mumbai, India

Flooding in urban area is a major natural hazard causing loss of life and damage to property and infrastructure. The major causes of urban floods include increase in precipitation due to climate change effect, drastic change in land use–land cover (LULC) and related hydrological impacts. In this study, the change in LULC between the years 1966 and 2009 is estimated from the toposheets and satellite images for the catchment of Poisar River in Mumbai, India. The delineated catchment area of the Poisar River is 20.19 km². For the study area, there is an increase in built-up area from 16.64 to 44.08% and reduction in open space from 43.09 to 7.38% with reference to total catchment area between the years 1966 and 2009. For the flood assessment, an integrated approach of Hydrological Engineering Centre-Hydrological Modeling System (HEC-HMS), HEC-GeoHMS and HEC-River analysis system (HEC-RAS) with HEC-GeoRAS has been used. These models are integrated with geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing data to develop a regional model for the estimation of flood plain extent and flood hazard analysis. The impact of LULC change and effects of detention ponds on surface runoff as well as flood plain extent for different return periods have been analyzed, and flood plain maps are developed. From the analysis, it is observed that there is an increase in peak discharge from 2.6 to 20.9% for LULC change between the years 1966 and 2009 for the return periods of 200, 100, 50, 25, 10 and 2 years. For the LULC of year 2009, there is a decrease in peak discharge from 10.7% for 2-year return period to 34.5% for 200-year return period due to provision of detention ponds. There is also an increase in flood plain extent from 14.22 to 42.5% for return periods of 10, 25, 50 and 100 years for LULC change between the year 1966 and year 2009. There is decrease in flood extent from 4.5% for 25-year return period to 7.7% for 100-year return period and decrease in total flood hazard area by 14.9% due to provisions of detention pond for LULC of year 2009. The results indicate that for low return period rainfall events, the hydrological impacts are higher due to geographic characteristics of the region. The provision of detention ponds reduces the peak discharge as well as the extent of the flooded area, flood depth and flood hazard considerably. The flood plain maps and flood hazard maps generated in this study can be used by the Municipal Corporation for flood disaster and mitigation planning. The integration of available software models with GIS and remote sensing proves to be very effective for flood disaster and mitigation management planning and measures.     

Does geodiversity correlate with land use/land cover diversity? A case study of Birbhum district,West Bengal,India

The spatial knowledge of the relationships between geodiversity and land use/land cover diversity may become crucial to forming modern land use policies and consequently, it may also become fruitful in regional development. But, there is no work in the literature that emphasises the relationships between geodiversity and land use/land cover diversity, especially in a country like India which has a large variety of abiotic elements and also has a large variety of land use/land cover patterns in its territory and hence, has tremendous scope for such kind of work. Therefore, in the present work to partially fill the research gap, an attempt has been made to explore the relationships between geodiversity and land use/land cover diversity of the Birbhum district, India following the principles of richness index. The spatial correlations between geodiversity and land use/land cover diversity have been examined statistically by applying both correlation and regression analyses. The result shows a linear positive correlation between geodiversity and land use/land cover diversity of the concerned district that implies the fact that the areas of high geodiversity are also associated with the areas of high land use/land cover diversity and vice versa.     

Terrain characteristics and longitudinal,land use and land cover profiles behavior—a case study from Vamanapuram river basin,southern Kerala,India

The morphology of Vamanapuram river basin (VRB), southern Kerala, India has been studied by preparing longitudinal profiles from the source of VRB at Chemmunji Mottai (1,717 m) to its mouth at Muthalapallipozhy (Lakshadweep Sea). Survey of India topographical maps, Geocoded Satellite Imageries, Microsoft Excel and GIS software ILWIS 2.1 are used in this study. The morphometric analysis reveals that there are 1,489, 347, 79, 21, 6, 2 and 1 first-, second-, third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth- and seventh-order streams, respectively, in VRB, which are responsible for the present-day landform genesis. The mean bifurcation value of VRB is 3.49. The Ponmudi hills receive the highest rainfall in VRB in the Western Ghats Region and Attingal, the lowest in the Coastal Strand Plain. The six land use and land cover profile sections show the distribution of land use–land cover with respect to elevation and depth to water level. The study reveals that mid and high lands generally occupy lower order streams up to fourth order and generally originate from linear ridge, hill crest, rocky slope (scarp face), side slope (S3)/slope 10–15° and hilly terrain.     

Landfill site selection based on reliability concepts using the DRASTIC method and AHP integrated with GIS – a case study of Bengaluru city,India

The selection of landfill sites for municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal involves consideration of geological, hydrological and environmental parameters which exhibit large spatial variability. Therefore, it is necessary to define, to what extent the chosen sites are reliable such that the probability of environmental pollution and health risks to population is minimal. In the present study, groundwater vulnerability to contamination has been assessed using the standard DRASTIC method. The results showed that the study region has 9.45% of very less, 32.94% of less, 25.47% of moderate, 22.79% of high and 9.35% of very high vulnerable zones. The study also revealed that none of the landfills are located in safe zones. This suggests that it requires proper remedial measures to avoid environmental pollution. A landfill site selection process has been carried out using the Analytical Hierarchy Process integrated with Geographical Information System tools. The obtained results showed that only 3.59?km² (0.08%) of the total area is suitable for landfills. The reliability analysis of the site suitability revealed that landfills are located at unreliable locations where the probability of risk to environmental pollution is high. The presented approach assists decision-makers in selecting reliable locations for the safe disposal of MSW.     

Integration of GIS and remote sensing for estimation of soil loss and prioritization of critical sub-catchments: a case study of Tapacurá catchment

Mapping of erosion risk areas is an important tool for the planning of natural resources management, allowing researchers to propose the modification of land use properly and implement more sustainable long-term management strategies. The objective of this study was to assess and identify critical sub-catchments for soil conservation management using the USLE, GIS, and remote sensing techniques. The Tapacurá catchment is one of the planning units for water resource management of the Recife Metropolitan Region. Maps of the erosivity (R), erodibility (K), slope (LS), cover-management (C), and support practice (P) factors were derived from the climate database, digital elevation model, and soil and land-use maps. In order to validate the simulation process, total sediment delivery ratio was estimated. The results showed a mean sediment delivery ratio (SDR) of around 11.5?% and a calculated mean sediment yield of 0.108?t?ha^?1?year^?1, which is close to the observed one, 0.169?t?ha^?1?year^?1. The obtained soil loss map could be considered as a useful tool for environmental monitoring and water resources management. The methodology applied showed acceptable precision and allowed the identification of the most susceptible areas to soil erosion by water, constituting an important predictive tool for soil and environmental management in this region, which is highly relevant for the prediction of varying development scenarios for Tapacurá catchment. This approach can be applied to other areas for simple and reliable identification of critical areas of soil erosion in catchments.     

Analysis of urban growth using Landsat TM/ETM data and GIS—a case study of Hyderabad, India

Hyderabad is one of the fastest growing mega cities in India and it is facing many economic, social and environmental problems due to rapid urban growth. For the better planning of resources and to provide basic amenities to its residents, it is necessary to have sufficient knowledge about its urban growth activities. Also, it is necessary to monitor the changes in land use over time and to detect growth activities in different parts of the city. To accomplish these tasks with greater accuracy and easiest way, remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) tools proved to be very advantageous. This study makes an attempt towards the mapping of land use classes for different time periods and analysis of apparent changes in land use using the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) data for the urban agglomeration of Hyderabad, India. In this study, three different time periods viz. 1989–2000, 2000–2005 and 2005–2011 are chosen for the analysis. The results have shown that high-density urban area had grown during 1989–2011 by encroaching into other land use classes. The urban growth has also affected water resources both, qualitatively and quantitatively in the region. The transformation of other land use types into urban area dynamically continued in the North-East and Southern parts of the city. In the North-East direction, the urban growth was mostly due to growth in industrial and residential area and in Southern part, mostly due to residential growth.     

Analysis of the effect of geology, soil properties, and land use on groundwater quality using multivariate statistical and GIS methods

The regional survey of groundwater used as a small water supply system was performed to know the effect of geology, soil properties and land use on groundwater quality at Nonsan City, Korea. A total of 126 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed at the study area. The multivariate statistical methods, principal components analysis and discriminant analysis, and GIS technique were used for the quantitative interpretation of groundwater quality. The study area is mainly composed of Precambrian gneiss, Jurassic granite, and Cretaceous volcanics, and metasedimentary rocks of the Ogcheon zone. The land use was grouped as paddy, upland, grassland, resident, point source, industrial area, and water system. The soil properties were classified as 4 major groups, Entisols, Alfisols, Inceptisols, and Ultisols, by the degree of development, and reclassified as 11 subgroups. The modified and simplified geologic map, soil map, and land use map were made by using ARCGIS soft-ware. The area of geology, soil property, and land use affecting the groundwater quality for each well were also calculated by ARCGIS soft-ware to acquire the quantitative parameters for multivariate statistical analysis. The monitoring results of groundwater in the study area showed that 13%-21% of the groundwater samples exceeded the portable water guideline and the main causes were turbidity, bacteria, arsenic and nitrate-N. The spatial distribution of each component showed the close relationship between groundwater quality and geology reflecting the topography, land use.     

Redefining the watershed line and stream networks via digital resources and topographic map using GIS and remote sensing (case study: the Neka River’s watershed)

The accurate delineation of area plays a key role in the surveying of land change detection and the classification of land covers. In a hydrologic system, the watershed delineation and the detection of the boundaries among watershed is a basic method for performing spatial analyses. After recent advances in image processing and raster-based spatial analysis in geographic information systems, and being easily accessible data via various sources especially through remote sensing, the reliable determination of topographical boundaries possible is possible. Therefore, an integrated approach of data analysis and modeling can accomplish the task of delineation. The main aim in this research is to evaluate the delineation method of watershed boundary using four different digital elevation models (DEM) including advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (ASTER), Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM), digital topography, and topographic maps. In order to determine a true reference of boundary of watershed, sample data were also obtained by field survey and using global positioning system (GPS). The comparison reference points and the results of these data showed the average distance difference between reference boundary, and the result of ASTER data was 43 m. However, the average distance between GPS reference and the other data was high; the difference between the reference data and SRTM was 307 m, and for digital topographic map, it was 269 m. The average distance between topographic map and the GPS points differed 304 m as well. For the statistical analysis of comparison, the coordinates of 230 points were determined; the paired comparisons were also performed to measure the coefficient of determination, R ², as well as analysis of variance in SPSS software. As a result, the R ² values for the ASTER data with the digital topography and topographic map were 0.0157 and 0.171, respectively. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences in distances among the four means of the selected models. Therefore, considering other three methods, the ASTER DEM is the most suitable applicable data to delineate the borders of watersheds, especially in rugged terrains. In addition, the calculated flow directions of stream based on ASTER are close to natural tributaries as well as real positions of streams.     

The comparison of PCA and discrete rough set for feature extraction of remote sensing image classification – A case study on rice classification, Taiwan

Texture information offers an extensive solution for image classification by providing better accuracy of image information. However, huge amounts of improper additional texture information may result in a chaotic state, and this leads to uncertainty in the classification process. Considerable portion of earlier works have been carried out through the generally acknowledged procedure of Principal Components Analysis (PCA). However, the PCA method has flaws in the area of influenced and non- influenced attributes. On the whole, whether PCA provides an effective solution to determine the value of knowledge rule in image information still remains a question. This study proposes an innovative method, called Discrete Rough Set method, as a tool for image classification. This study focuses on two crucial issues: (1) The core attributes of the target categories in image classification are systematically analyzed while eliminating surplus attributes rationally; (2) The unique point of each attribute, which influenced the target categories, is successfully found. This is a crucial aspect that is very helpful for the construction of decision rule. Finally, in this study we utilized the expert knowledge classifier and the overall accuracy of Discrete Rough Set (96.67%) exceeds that of the conventional PCA (86.00%) of paddy rice area evaluation from Quickbird image. This result shows that the appropriate classification knowledge can be presented by Discrete Rough Set, and this information can effectively improve the accuracy of image classification. An erratum to this article can be found at     

The study of land desertification in transitional zones between the MU US Desert and the Loess Plateau using RS and GIS—a case study of the Yulin region

In this study, the land desertification of transitional zones of desert loess in the Yulin region (China) is studied from TM images in a geographical information system (GIS). It is found that the desertification in Yulin is still severe. The desertified land accounts for 67.7% of the total land areas. The distribution of desertified land shows obvious spatial imbalance, with severe desertification in northwestern regions and slight desertification in southeastern regions. This imbalance is related to the difference in physical factors and land-use pattern. The process of desertification in Yulin areas shows a steady and even reversed trend between 1987 and 1999, as a result of positive efforts. At the end of the paper the cause of desertification is discussed. It is believed that the interaction and confliction between the natural process and human activities may lead to the development of desertification.     

Development of a drought vulnerability index using MCDM and GIS: study case in São Paulo and Ceará, Brazil

Natural Hazards - Although climate change vulnerability research in general has increased over the last decade, Latin American countries have more directed more limited efforts toward vulnerability...     

The variation in thickness and composition of coal seams and its use in interpretation of palaeocurrents — A case study from the Raniganj Coalfield,West Bengal,India

The petrological and chemical composition of a coal reflects all its inherent characters. Together with the variation in thickness of the coal seams, these aspects have been studied in detail around Salanpur (Raniganj Coalfield), India. The data reveal that any coal seam having its mother material supplied continuously from the same source will show a variation in its composition, the resultant being closely related to the environmental factors of the site of deposition, namely its morphology, including the disposition of its channel axis, and the palaeocurrent direction. Thus, it is suggested that these coal-seam properties may be used just as other sedimentary parameters in interpreting the characteristics of the site of deposition and depositing current.     

Hydrochemistry of groundwater in a coastal region and its repercussion on quality,a case study—Thoothukudi district,Tamil Nadu,India

A hydrogeochemical study was conducted in Thoothukudi district situated in the southeast coast of Tamil Nadu, India to identify the influence of saltwater intrusion and suitability of groundwater for domestic and agricultural purposes. Scattered studies of this coastal region have reported signs of seawater intrusion, salt pan and industrial activity together with natural weathering process. To have a holistic picture of geochemical processes in the entire district, a total of 135 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for major cations and anions. The geochemical parameters were compared with world and Indian standards and it was found that most samples are unsuitable for drinking purpose. The geochemical facies of the groundwater showed Na–Cl as the dominant water type indicating the saline nature of the groundwater. Chadda’s plots show that most of the samples fall in the Na–Cl type of water due to seawater intrusion. The samples were classified with parameters like sodium absorption ratio, residual sodium carbonate, total hardness, chloride, index to base exchange, electrical conductivity and facies to determine their suitability for irrigation purpose. It was inferred that the samples falling along the coast are not suitable for the irrigation purpose. The seawater-mixing percentage indicates that strong mixing was observed in the near shore and at the proximity of the salt pan. The permanent hardness was predominant in all the samples compared to the carbonate hardness reducing its domestic usability.     

Geophysical investigation using resistivity and GPR methods: a case study of a lubricant oil waste disposal area in the city of Ribeirão Preto,São Paulo,Brazil

Geophysics has been shown to be effective in identifying areas contaminated by waste disposal, contributing to the greater efficiency of soundings programs and the installation of monitoring wells. In the study area, four trenches were constructed with a total volume of about 25,000 m³. They were almost totally filled with re-refined lubricating oil waste for approximately 25 years. No protection liners were used in the bottoms and laterals of the disposal trenches. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the potential of the resistivity and ground penetrating radar (GPR) methods in characterizing the contamination of this lubricant oil waste disposal area in Ribeirão Preto, SP, situated on the geological domain of the basalt spills of the Serra Geral Formation and the sandstones of the Botucatu Formation. Geophysical results were shown in 2D profiles. The geophysical methods used enabled the identification of geophysical anomalies, which characterized the contamination produced by the trenches filled with lubricant oil waste. Conductive anomalies (smaller than 185 Ωm) immediately below the trenches suggest the action of bacteria in the hydrocarbons, as has been observed in several sites contaminated by hydrocarbons in previously reported cases in the literature. It was also possible to define the geometry of the trenches, as evidenced by the GPR method. Direct sampling (chemical analysis of the soil and the water in the monitoring well) confirmed the contamination. In the soil analysis, low concentrations of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were found, mainly naphthalene and phenanthrene. In the water samples, an analysis verified contamination of the groundwater by lead (Pb). The geophysical methods used in the investigation provided an excellent tool for environmental characterization in this study of a lubricant oil waste disposal area, and could be applied in the study of similar areas.