Geomorphology of the eastern Badia basalt plateau, Jordan

The eastern Badia of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a landscape developed predominantly on late Tertiary and Quaternary basalt lava flows, which vary in age between 8.9 million and 0.1 million years. Pyroclastic deposits are associated with remnant volcanic cones. There is limited, seasonal rainfall. Natural vegetation regenerates during cool, damp months. Slopes, which range from concave to convex forms and have varying relief, can be related to different basalts and the time since emplacement. Much of the ground surface is mantled with boulders. In many places the continuity of boulder cover produces a desert pavement. Clasts show differing degrees of burial or exhumation, depending on the surrounding topography. Water and sediment movement are important to landscape development. Much sediment is deposited in pans, which evolve at topographic lows. The pans, known locally as Qa, vary in form depending on drainage network development. Transitional forms, known as Marab, develop where wadis widen out and sediments are deposited along ephemeral channels. Groundwater is significant, with three aquifers beneath much of the eastern Badia. Recharge of the upper aquifer is predominantly on the footslopes of the Druze Mountains, with north to south flow. Groundwater extraction has resulted in the expansion of agriculture, with consequent changes in soil and water quality.     

Monitoring land use change in the Badia transition zone in Jordan using aerial photography and satellite imagery

Detection of land use change makes a valuable contribution to the planning and monitoring of drylands. Land use changes at four sites within the Badia transition zone of Jordan were investigated and quantified over the period from 1953 to 1992 using black and white aerial photographs and SPOT PAN satellite imagery digitally merged with Landsat TM. Land use interpretation was checked in the field, and analysed using a Geographical Information System (GIS). Results indicated that land use changes have altered the character of the selected study sites. The important land use changes were from rangeland to rain-fed cultivation, irrigated fields and urban settlements. The increased agricultural activity was reflected in the land use maps through the 39-year period with the appearance of irrigated fields between 1978 and 1992. The land use changes are mainly attributed to the high population growth rate in Jordan and in the Badia, socio-economic change amongst Beduoin and farmers, the land tenure system and to a minor extent environmental factors.     

The exploitation of an arid landscape by a pastoral society: the contemporary eastern Badia of Jordan

The paper reconsiders the use of arid landscapes as a resource by pastoral societies in the light of recent socioeconomic developments, using Bedouin livestock herding in the Jordanian Badia as a case study of a pastoral system in transition. The paper argues that in the contemporary Badia context, landscape is exploited by users in a wide variety of ways, and for the acquisition of both tangible and non-tangible resources. The study concludes that the modernization and commercialization of livestock production in the Badia does not necessarily imply a diminishing of ties between herder and land resources, and suggests instead that the process of modernization in livestock production may in fact generate a wider spectrum of options for its exploitation.     

Assessment of biochemical concentrations of vegetation using remote sensing technology

The main biochemicals (such as lignin, protein, cellulose, sugar, starch, chlorophyll and water) of vegetation are directly or indirectly involved in major ecological processes, such as the functions of terrestrial ecosystems (i.e., nutrient-cycling processes, primary production, and decomposition). Remote sensing techniques provide a very convenient way of data acquisition capable of covering a large area several times during one season, so it can play a unique and essential role provided that we can relate remote sensing measurements to the biochemical characteristics of the Earth surface in a reliable and operational way. The application of remote sensing techniques for the estimation of canopy biochemicals was reviewed. Three methods of estimating biochemical concentrations of vegetation were included in this paper: index, stepwise multiple linear regression, and stepwise multiple linear regression based on a model of the forest crown. In addition, the vitality and potential applying value are stressed.     

Assessment of biochemical concentrations of vegetation using remote sensing technology

The main biochemicals (such as lignin, protein, cellulose, sugar, starch, chlorophyll and water) of vegetation are directly or indirectly involved in major ecological processes, such as the functions of terrestrial ecosystems (i.e., nutrient-cycling processes, primary production, and decomposition). Remote sensing techniques provide a very convenient way of data acquisition capable of covering a large area several times during one season, so it can play a unique and essential role provided that we can relate remote sensing measurements to the biochemical characteristics of the Earth surface in a reliable and operational way. The application of remote sensing techniques for the estimation of canopy biochemicals was reviewed. Three methods of estimating biochemical concentrations of vegetation were included in this paper: index, stepwise multiple linear regression, and stepwise multiple linear regression based on a model of the forest crown. In addition, the vitality and potential applying value are stressed.     

Population dynamics, socioeconomic change and land colonization in northern Jordan, with special reference to the Badia Research and Development Project area

The paper reports on preliminary observations from northern Jordan aimed at testing the view that people migrate from areas of relatively high potential for cultivation to the marginal semi-arid/arid frontier because of social differentiation, political factors or environmental constraints. Cultivated areas have been mapped from multi-date remotely sensed imagery, a typology of fields in the area has been constructed, and their dynamics between 1972 and 1992 analysed. In addition, semi-structured interviews with farmers attempted to understand the reasoning behind village growth, changing farming systems and cultivation practices. The findings are discussed in the context of the area's demography and national and regional shifts in economic policy.     

Groundwater vulnerability and risk mapping for the Basaltic aquifer of the Azraq basin of Jordan using GIS, Remote sensing and DRASTIC

Water consumption in Jordan already exceeds renewable freshwater resources by more than 20% and, after the year 2005, freshwater resources are likely to be fully utilised. Over 50% of supply derives from groundwater and this paper focuses on a small part of the northern Badia region of Jordan that is underlain by the Azraq groundwater basin where it has been estimated that annual abstraction stands at over 100% of the projected safe yield. While water supply is a crucial issue, there is also evidence to suggest that the quality of groundwater supplies is also under threat as a result of salinisation and an increase in the use of agrochemicals. Focusing on this area, this paper attempts to produce groundwater vulnerability and risk maps. These maps are designed to show areas of greatest potential for groundwater contamination on the basis of hydro-geological conditions and human impacts. All of the major geological and hydro-geological factors that affect and control groundwater movement into, through, and out of the study area were incorporated into the DRASTIC model. Parameters included; depth to groundwater, recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, and impact of the vadose zone. The hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer was not included in calculating the final DRASTIC index for potential contamination due to a lack of sufficient quantitative data. A Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to create a groundwater vulnerability map by overlaying the available hydro-geological data. The resulting vulnerability map was then integrated with a land use map as an additional parameter in the DRASTIC model to assess the potential risk of groundwater to pollution in the study area. The final DRASTIC model was tested using hydrochemical data from the aquifer. Around 84% of the study area was classified as being at moderate risk while the re mainder was classified as low risk. While the analysis of groundwater chemistry was not conclusive, it was encouraging to find that no well with high nitrate levels was found in the areas classified as being of low risk suggesting that the DRASTIC model for this area provided a conservative estimate of low risk areas. It is recognised that the approach adopted to produce the DRASTIC index was limited by the availability of data. However, in areas with limited secondary data, this index provides important objective information that could be used to inform local decision making.     

Monitoring soil moisture dynamics using satellite imaging radar in northeastern Jordan

This paper describes how synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from the European Environmental Remote Sensing (ERS) satellite series were used to derive estimates of near-surface soil moisture for seasonally vegetated and bare soil surfaces in the area of the Jordan Badia Research and Development Programme (BRDP). Data were acquired between March 1995 and April 1998, covering both wet and dry seasons. A surface scattering model was calibrated using field data: first to understand how soil moisture affects the SAR signal and, secondly, to predict the response of the SAR signal to changes in volumetric soil moisture. Good agreement between predicted and observed estimates was obtained. Model inversion allowed soil moisture predictions to be made that were deemed realistic in terms of soil moisture values.     

Estimation of regional evapotranspiration over Northwest China using remote sensing

1 IntroductionThe method for estimating evapotranspiration (ET) was first given by Dalton in 1802, and a number of models for ET estimation have been presented since then. Those models, from the experiential and semi-experiential models[1,2] and physical models[3,4] to the models in terms of the mechanism for energy and water fluxes in soil-vegetation-atmosphere transfer system such as SiB, have improved the precision of ET estimation. It is, however, difficult to calculate regional ET by …     

Estimation of regional evapotranspiration over Northwest China using remote sensing

It is a very complicated problem to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) over a large area of land surface. In this paper, the evapotranspiration estimation models for dense vegetation and bare soil are presented, based on the information of parameters like vegetation cover-degree and surface albedo. Combined with vegetation cover-degree data, a model for regional evapotranspiration estimation over the heterogeneous landscape is derived. Through a case study using remote sensing data over Northwest China, the accuracy of the model for regional evapotranspiration estimation is checked. The result shows that the accuracy of the model is satisfactory. The features of evapotranspiration over Northwest China are also discussed with the application of the model.     

Estimation of net primary productivity in China using remote sensing data

1 IntroductionAs a major part of terrestrial ecosystem, vegetation plays an important role in the energy, matter and momentum exchange between land surface and atmosphere. Through the process of photosynthesis, land plants assimilate carbon in atmosphere and incorporate into dry matter while part of carbon is emitted into atmosphere again through plant respiration. The remainder of photosynthesis and respiration is called net primary productivity (NPP), which is important in the global carbon…     

城市绿量测算模式及信息系统

作者提出了以彩红外航片判读和计算机模拟技术测算绿量、建立绿量数据库、及对该数据库的GIS化开发形成绿量信息管理系统的一整套理论技术与方法。     

1980～2007年喜马拉雅东段洛扎地区冰川变化遥感监测

利用1980年地形图和多年遥感资料,采用目视解译方法手工提取了喜马拉雅东段洛扎地区4个时期的冰川信息,对冰川时空分布特征和变化与不确定性进行了分析,并结合近28年(1980～2007年)的气温、降水量资料对研究区的冰川变化原因进行了研究.结果表明:(1)1980～2007年,洛扎地区冰川面积从491.64 km<'2>...     

Desertification in the Sahel: Towards better accounting for ecosystem dynamics in the interpretation of remote sensing images

To date, the interpretation of remote sensing images has not revealed wide-spread degradation of the vegetation in the Sahel. However, the interpretation of spectral information depends on a range of assumptions regarding the dynamics of the Sahelian vegetation as a function of rainfall variability and human management. Recent papers have presented diverging views on the vegetation dynamics of the Sahel and how these can be analysed with remote sensing images. We present a further analysis of the vegetation dynamics of semi-arid rangelands, in particular the Sahel, and the subsequent implications for the interpretation of remote sensing images. Specifically, the ecological processes driving the response of the Sahelian vegetation to rainfall variation are re-examined, and a regression analysis of NPP versus rainfall data is carried out. It is shown that the relation between the interannual variation in NPP and rainfall in the Sahel is non-linear and that this relation differs between sites with different average annual rainfall. It has been common practise in remote sensing studies for the Sahel to aggregate data from various Sahelian sites in order to obtain an average relation between rainfall, NPP and Rain Use Efficiency, and to assume these relations to be linear. This paper shows that this approach may lead to a bias in the interpretation of remote sensing images and that further work is required to clarify if wide-spread ecosystem degradation has occurred in the Sahel.     

东帕米尔高原昆盖山跃动冰川遥感监测研究

冰川跃动是冰川周期性地快速运动,给下游生命财产安全带来巨大威胁。对已经发现的跃动冰川进行监测不仅有助于提高对冰川跃动机理的认识,而且对冰川跃动灾害预警预报和风险评估都具有重要的意义。在中国第二次冰川编目中发现,1963-2009年东帕米尔高原昆盖山的5Y663L0023冰川末端发生大幅前进。本文利用Landsat影像、ASTER立体像对等数据对该冰川前进过程进行监测研究。结果表明：该冰川于1990-1992年和2007-2013年分别前进81±30 m和811±30 m,其中2007-2013年的前进属于跃动引发的前进。其中跃动最高峰在2007年8月21日-2008年10月26日,期间32.7×10⁶ m³的冰体发生卸载,导致末端前进了704±30 m,面积扩张了0.34 km²。针对东帕米尔地区跃动冰川周期研究的空白,本文认为该冰川跃动周期中跃动期为4 a,平静期最短为15 a左右。该冰川属于多温型冰川,跃动受热力学机制影响的可能性较大,但液态降水、冰雪融水的增加也是影响因素。     

Pastoral mobility, sedentarization and accessibility of health services in the northeast Badia of Jordan

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has attempted to achieve ‘Health for All by the Year 2000’. However, this aim has been limited in its success and significant levels of poor health remain. The WHO concede this and have revised their slogan: ‘Health for All in the Twenty-First Century’. One of the central problems has been social and geographical inequity of development and, importantly, that health services are inaccessible to large segments of the population in many developing countries. To this end, the Jordanian government has attempted to improve accessibility in rural communities by providing an extensive network of basic rural health clinics. However, a significant factor impeding this goal has been that much of the population is dispersed and that many practise pastoral nomadism. This paper reviews the extent to which rural clinical services have been made accessible to the nomadic and sedentarizing population of the northeast Jordan Badia.     

基于多源遥感数据的中山站附近地区冰架和冰川变化监测

南极冰架和冰川的变化是全南极动态变化的主要过程之一。利用MODIS L1B级250 m分辨率数据和Landsat陆地卫星15 m分辨率数据,针对不同尺度试验区域,分别监测2000—2016年间中山站附近地区的埃默里冰架、极时代冰川、极记录冰川和达尔克冰川的动态变化过程,并对试验区的动态变化进行分析。结果表明,埃默里冰架在近16年间一直处于向外扩展状态,前缘年扩展速率和扩展面积量较为稳定;极时代和极记录冰川不断向海洋流动,极时代冰川于2007年发生大型崩解,而极记录冰川前端的冰山在2014年发生崩解,冰山面积逐年递减,于2016年完全漂离冰川前缘;达尔克冰川则在监测年份内呈现出了交替性扩展和崩解的变化规律。     

Characteristics of stone covers on the surface of basalt flows in arid, northeast Jordan

Variations in the stone covers on desert surfaces have implications for the operation of hydrological processes. Some recent attention has been given to the difficulties of identifying and quantifying relevant characteristics of stone covers. Investigation of how such characteristics vary in relation to geological and topographical controls are limited. Results are presented of a field study of the characteristics of stone covers on four lithologies in the late Tertiary to Quaternary basalt plateau of northeast Jordan. Marked variations occur in clast dimensions and the characteristics of sorting between lithologies which are likely to affect hydrological response. A more subtle control, relating to slope conditions, is superimposed on the lithological differences. R- and Q-mode factor analysis identifies groupings within the data, which demonstrate the distinctiveness of different lithologies. Characteristics of the stone covers on sites affected by human occupation are markedly different from undisturbed sites on the same lithology.     

塔里木盆地南缘和田地区土地利用变化的遥感研究

中国西部干旱区土地利用变化显著,是全球土地变化科学研究的热点区,为此论文基于1990—2016年4个时段的遥感卫星数据,采用面向对象的分层分类影像解译方法完成了塔里木盆地南缘和田地区(简称和田塔里木地区)土地利用调查,重点分析土地利用变化特征、发展模式和区域差异性。结果表明：1990—2016年,和田塔里木地区耕地持续加速扩张(增长率为2.9%/a),呈现渐进式扩张和骤变式开垦2种发展模式;建设用地面积增加(12.1%/a),主要表现为城市化发展、农村居民用地和交通用地的增加;耕地和建设用地扩张导致林灌草地和未利用地面积减少;和田地区县域土地利用发展不均衡,和田市建设用地比例最高,和田县与墨玉县的农业和建设用地扩张总量和速率最大,其次是洛浦县和于田县,皮山县、策勒县和民丰县农业和建设用地增长相对缓慢;总体上,和田塔里木地区耕地和建设用地的扩张在新疆处于一个较快的发展水平,今后一段时期快速的土地利用变化可能引起的生态环境问题需要重点关注。