Evaluating Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) data for seagrass mapping in Indian River Lagoon,FL

Differentiation between benthic habitats, particularly seagrass and macroalgae, using satellite data is complicated because of water column effects plus the presence of chlorophyll-a in both seagrass and algae that result in similar spectral patterns. Hyperspectral imager for the coastal ocean data over the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, USA, was used to develop two benthic classification models, Slope_RED and Slope_NIR. Their performance was compared with iterative self-organizing data analysis technique and spectral angle mapping classification methods. The slope models provided greater overall accuracies (63–64%) and were able to distinguish between seagrass and macroalgae substrates more accurately compared to the results obtained using the other classifications methods.     

Magnetic crustal character in Central Ireland

The simplest magnetic model for the upper 20 km of crust in central Ireland is of two layers. A thin, weakly magnetic upper layer carrying a number of magnetic bodies that can be related to surface geology overlies a magnetic crustal zone whose gross magnetization increases towards the north. The deeper trace of the lapetus Suture in central Ireland forms the boundary between a more magnetic northern crustal area and a less magnetic southern area. A pre-Carboniferous major dextral offset of this suture boundary occurs in the Limerick area. The suture is traced beneath the Dingle peninsula in the far south-west of Ireland. In east-central Ireland, between the Iapetus Suture and Southern Upland Line, the crust contains a large, south-dipping magnetic body with no surface expression, which produces the Virginia magnetic anomaly. The development of magnetic bodies — in particular, volcanic rocks of Carboniferous age — has been controlled by regional stress patterns. The major volcanic centre at Limerick lies at the intersection of two major Caledonian block fault systems just to the north of the surface trace of the Hercynian Front.