Prioritization of Sub-watersheds in Khanapara–Bornihat Area of Assam–Meghalaya (India) Based on Land Use and Slope Analysis Using Remote Sensing and GIS

Improper utilization of natural resources without any conservation work is the prime cause of the watershed deterioration. Fast developmental activities and population pressure in the hills of Khanapara?CBornihat area near Guwahati city (about 10?km east of Guwahati) results rapid alteration of the land use/land cover in the recent times. This also causes the growth of land use over the unsuitable topography. As a result, there is a general degradation of the natural resources within the area. So, urgent measures have to be adopted to take up the conservation measure for the management of natural resources. Watershed wise conservation is considered to be the most acceptable and convenient approach. In the context of watershed management, watershed prioritization gained importance in natural resource management. The present study makes an attempt to prioritize the sub-watersheds for adopting the conservation measure. The prioritization is based on land use and slope analysis using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques in Khanapara?CBornihat area of Assam and Meghalaya state (India). The study area of 323.17?sq. km is divided into three 5th order, four 4th order and two 3rd order sub-watersheds. Land use/Land cover change analysis of the sub-watersheds has been carried out using multi temporal data of SOI toposheets of 1972 and IRS LISS III imagery of 2006. The study shows the significance changes in land use pattern especially in settlement and forest lands from 1972 to 2006. Slope map of the sub-watersheds prepared from the contour values in the toposheets show the wide variation of slope in the area ranging from 0° to 87°. Based on the extent/nature of land use/land cover changes over time and land use/land cover??slope relationship analysis, the sub-watersheds are classified into three categories as high, medium and low in terms of priority for conservation and management of natural resources.     

Urban Open Space Study Based on Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems（GIS）

Open space is treated in many cultures as the common area where people conduct functional and ritual activities that bind a community in the normal routines of daily life or in penodic festivities.From the historical perspective,open space should be supportive,democratic,and meaningful.On the one hand,human culture shapes and reshapes its open spaces,whereas,on the other,open spaces can help to create a more humane culture.This duality suggests that the relationship of open space to public life is dynamic and reciprocal.New forms of public life require new spaces,and vice versa.     

Application of Remote Sensing and GIS Technology to the Study of Desertification of Arable Lands in North Shaanxi, China

The policy of the Chinese government concerning the horizontal expansion of the cultivated land through the reclamation of desert soils result in a total increase of 665. 985 km^2 during the period 1987-1999 in North Shaanxi. This increase is less than the loss in arable land by urbanization. The accelerated rate of change in agricultural areas calls for more rapid surveys of urbanization and loss of arable land. Remote sensing has a number of advantages over ground-based methods for such surveys. The multi-scale concept of remote sensing data help us study the problem in four towns. Several maps were produced to analyze the situation of urban coverage in different times. The evaluation of the status, rate and risk of urbanization are based on an accepted average of urban increase as 2% of population growth per year.     

Characterization of Landforms and Soils in Complex Geological Formations—A Remote Sensing and GIS Approach

The present investigation has been designed to analyze the landform and soil relationship in a geologically complex terrain of Tirora tahsil of Gondia district, Maharashtra using remotely sensed data and GIS technique. The geomorphologic units of the study area were delineated through visual interpretation of IRS–ID LISS-III data based on the spatial variation of the image characteristics. Thirteen landform units have been identified in the tahsil. The slope varied from level to nearly level with an area of about 63.76% of the tahsil. Rest of the area ranged from very gentle to moderately steep slopes. During soil survey, soil profiles were studied for morphological features. Horizon-wise soil samples were collected from the representative soil profiles on each landform unit. The depth of soil varied from 25 to 160 cm and colour from dark brown to very dark grayish brown. The texture ranged from clay loam to clayey in accordance with higher and lower topographic positions respectively. Higher available water holding capacity (AWC 285 mm) is found in low-lying area and low to medium AWC (140 mm) is noticed in the soils developed at higher elevation. The soils reaction (pH) is strongly acidic in nature (pH 5.2) on dissected hills, linear ridge and moderately weathered pediments, whereas, the soils are moderately to slightly acidic in nature (pH 5.5 to 6.5) on hills, shallow weathered pediments, moderately weathered pediments, deeply weathered pediments, narrow valleys, and broad valley floors. Slightly alkaline condition (pH 7.6) was observed on foot slopes and aggraded valley fills. The electrical conductivity of the soils is found almost same in all landforms. The cation exchange capacity of the area varies from 10.5 to 51.5 cmol(p⁺)kg^?1. The base saturation increases with decreasing elevation and slope. The four major soil orders viz, Entisols, Alfisols, Inceptisols and Vertisols are found in the study areas which are further classified into suborder and great group levels. The landform and soil relationship was analyzed to appraise the land resources in the tahsil. The study shows that the application of remotely sensed data and GIS are immensely helpful in land resources appraisal for their management on sustainable basis.     

Manifestation of Remote Sensing Data in Modeling Urban Sprawl Using the SLEUTH Model and Brute Force Calibration: A Case Study of Sana’a City, Yemen

Sana’a the metropolitan capital of Yemen, has experienced rapid spatial growth and uncontrolled development for decades. In the absence of a means to forecast and predict urban growth trends, planning and urban policy decisions have been found wanting. In this study the SLEUTH (Slope, landuse, exclusion, urban extent, transportation and hillshade) model which has been widely and successfully applied in developed countries, has been applied to predict the spatial urban sprawl pattern from 2004–2020 in Sana’a. This was to provide the necessary forecast for better planning and decision making. The model performed well as per the calibration coefficient values. The results showed that there will a 29 % increase in spatial urban sprawl growth during the modeling period. Growth of the sprawl will be mainly at the edges of the urban boundary, there will also be a wide area of scattered urban clusters. Factors that will have major influence on spatial expansion of the city will be diffusion, natural and internal growth, slope (that will hinder spread) and transportation (along which most of the urban sprawl will occur). The study also provides an insight into how the SLEUTH model performs in a poorly planned urban environment as compared to the planned and controlled environment where it has been applied.     

Report on the ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (PRS) for the period 1996–2000

This report was presented by the author, as Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of PRS, to the General Assembly of the Delegates of the ISPRS Members during the 19th ISPRS Congress, Amsterdam, 16–23 July 2000. Since it summarises in quite some detail many new developments since the last Congress that are of interest not only to ISPRS in general, but also to authors and readers, a slightly modified version of this report is published here.     

Sensing Sprawl: Towards the Monitoring of Urban Expansion Using Dempster‐Shafer Theory

Abstract

The outward expansion of cities in the United States has been a source of concern and policy debate for well over forty years. This sprawling urban landscape has been cited as a contributing factor behind the loss of open space, environmental damage and increased congestion. To better understand urban expansion, monitoring programs are required to facilitate the systematic observation of urban expansion, and to provide critical information in order to adjust urban development policies. Monitoring the urban landscape has been a major application focus of satellite remote sensing technologies. Yet, research has shown that the complexity of the urban landscape frustrates simple characterization of cumulative land cover processes such as sprawl. In this paper an approach to the remote detection and characterization of sprawl is introduced based on the use of Dempster‐Shafer Theory of Evidence. Functioning as a soft‐classification algorithm, Demptster‐Shafer Theory offers a unique solution to the mapping problem when evidence of class structure in underscored by uncertainty. Through the use of this technique it was possible to model uncertainty based on the concept of belief. This conceptualization was instrumental in deciphering the complexities of urban land cover arrangements and offered an alternative logic which enhanced delineation of subtle changes in land cover indicative of sprawl.     

The XXI Congress of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing（ISPRS） was Held in Beijing

The XXI Congress of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing（ISPRS）, the greatest conference in the community once every four years, was held in Beijing on July 3 to 11, 2008. With the main topic ＂Silk Road for Information from Imagery＂, this congress attracted researchers, scientists and users from all over the world to meet Beijing to exchange their latest achievement,     

Utilizing the Potential of World View −2 for Discriminating Urban and Vegetation Features Using Object Based Classification Techniques

With the availability of very high resolution multispectral imagery, it is possible to identify small features in urban environment. Because of the multiscale feature and diverse composition of land cover types found within the urban environment, the production of accurate urban land cover maps from high resolution satellite imagery is a difficult task. This paper demonstrates the potential of 8 bands capability of World View 2 satellite for better automated feature extraction and discrimination studies. Multiresolution segmentation and object based classification techniques were then applied for discrimination of urban and vegetation features in a part of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. The study demonstrates that scale, colour, shape, compactness and smoothness have a significant influence on the quality of image objects achieved, which in turn governs the classified result. The object oriented analysis is a valid approach for analyzing high spatial and spectral resolution images. World View 2 imagery with its rich spatial and spectral information content has very high potential for discrimination of the less varied varieties of vegetation.     

Computerized Database of Salt Affected Soils for Agro‐climatic Regions in the Indo–Gangetic Plain of India Using GIS

Abstract

Indo_Gangetic Plain (IGP) of India that stretched from the foothills of Himalayas near the Punjab State to the Gangetic delta in West Bengal State was known for highly fertile soil and favorable climatic condition for highest production of rice‐wheat. Appearance of soil salinity in large areas of IGP caused a major concern due to loss of productivity. The salt affected soils maps of India (NRSA 1997) showed vast areas of salt affected soils distributed along the Gangetic Plain covering the States of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. In the analogue form, these maps contain voluminous data were difficult to handle without messing the whole dataset. An attempt was made to prepare a digitized database of salt affected soils to facilitate easy access, retrieval and map calculations required for reclamation and management of salt affected soil. The salt affected soils maps on 1:250, 000 scale were digitized for the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal using ILWIS. GIS. The Survey of India topomap was used for geo‐referencing and basemap preparation overlaying thematic layers for administrative and political boundaries, infrastructure, irrigation and drainage and settlements. The attribute data on physiography and the soil characteristics were stored in an attribute table and linked with the digitized polygons to prepare a relational database. Combining geo‐referenced (State) maps of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal using GIS, a composite map for Indo‐Gangetic plain was prepared. Four Agroclimatic regions (ACRs) and seventeen Agroclimatic zones (ACZs) were identified in the Indo‐Gangetic Plain (The Planning Commission of India) for planning and development of natural resources at regional level. The boundaries of ACZs and ACRs were delineated from the primary (master) database of IGP using ILWIS.GIS. The distribution of SAS polygons at regional and zonal level was delineated superimposing digitized boundaries of ACRs and ACZs over the master database of IGP. The state‐wise, region‐wise and zone‐wise extent of SAS was calculated. Soils were essentially saline at Lower‐ and Middle Gangetic Plain regions but highly variable and complex saline‐sodic in the Upper‐ and Trans‐Gangetic Plain regions. The area statistics showed that maximum SAS area occurred in ACR V (Upper Gangetic Plain) in Uttar Pradesh (UP) followed by ACR IV (Middle Gangetic Plain) in UP and Bihar, ACR III (Lower Gangetic Plain) in West Bengal and ACR VI (Trans‐Gangetic Plain) of Haryana and Punjab. Such database in digital format provides geo‐referenced, easy to access and retrievable, relational database comprising of thematic and attribute information of salt affected soils at state, regional and zonal level to facilitate overlay and map calculation of related data such as water quality, climatic, landform etc, useful for planning and decision making in reclamation and management of salt affected soils in IGP and other similar regions.     

Distribution of Large Volume Image Data Using the Mixed Mode of Java Servlet and COM on Web

This paper reports some researches on distribution of large volume image data using techniques of the Mixed Mode of Java Servlet and COM on Web. The architecture and key technologies are discussed in detail. The web distribution system of image is implemented and the system is tested by the application instances. At last, the advantages and disadvantages for this web image distribution mode are analyzed.     

Multi‐Temporal Study and Detailed Photogeological Mapping of the Armero Debris Flow (Colombia), Using Landsat TM 5 Images

Abstract

On November the 13^th of 1985, the City of Armero (Colombia) was destroyed by debris flows generated by a reactivation of the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano. The flows ocurred in at least three principal pulses, as was observed by the disater's survivors. Landsat TM 5 data processing was carried out in subscenes taken before and after the lahar sedimentation.

False color composites were generated and combined with the geological information available in order to visualize the magnitude of the catastrophe and the flow characteristics. Taking advantage of Landsat TM 5 images with high spectral resolution, a detailed photogeological mapping of the three principal pulses of the debris flows was carried out. Landsat TM 5 proved to be a powerful complementary source of information for hazard assesment of these catastrophic debris flows. The images were used in addition to ground‐based information, and were an easy way to help ordinary people and decision makers understand such hazardous volcanic situations.     

Application of DEM,Remote Sensing and Geomorphic Studies in Identifying a Recent [or perhaps Neogene?] Upwarp in the Dibru River Basin,Assam, India

The Dibru river basin of Assam is investigated to examine the influence of active structure by applying an integrated study on geomorphology, morphotectonics, subsurface structure, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) using topographic map, IRS 1D LISS III, IRS P6 LISS III, SRTM, seismic and subsurface data. Seismic data reveals existence of an upwarp and an important fault in the basement around the central and eastern parts of the Dibru basin, respectively. The influence of these structures is well observed on all the younger formations inferring their active nature possibly till the Recent Period. Existence of fluvial anomalies, viz. annular drainage pattern, lineaments, abrupt changes in the direction of river course, beheaded stream and valley incision infer role of structural control on the fluvial features of this basin. Most commonly used indices for morphotectonic analysis, viz. basin elongation ratio (Re), transverse topographic symmetry (T), asymmetric factor (AF), valley floor width to valley height ratio (Vf) have been used to identify the evidences of active structures in the area. The values of Re indicated tectonically active, T indicated an asymmetric nature, AF indicated tilting and Vf indicated active incision in the Dibru basin. The DEM, profiles across the valley and superimposed longitudinal profiles of incised channel bed and valley shoulder of the Dibru clearly reveal valley incision by the river. Three large paleochannels located in different parts of the basin had their headwaters towards east at the common source, i.e. the Diyun river. These paleochannels had been resulted when their headwaters avulsed to create new rivers due to affect of the subsurface structures during Recent (or perhaps Neogene?) Period.