GROUND CONTROL DETERMINATION FOR REGISTRATION OF SATELLITE IMAGERY USING DIGITAL MAP DATA

Work is reported on the production of terrain elevation data from SPOT imagery. An important step in this process is determination of exterior orientation parameters for the images. Although an initial estimate is available in the SPOT header, refinements are required based on plan and height data. These are generally derived from photogrammetric measurements (or sources such as global positioning satellite systems), but accurate manual determination is time consuming. This paper reports an alternative approach by investigating the use of existing map data (located on the earth's surface and in a known projection) to find corresponding “ground control points” in both map and image. Available maps may be in digital or paper form depending on the state of development of mapping in the part of the world being studied. The last revision date and the cartographic generalisation employed will also effect the fidelity of the final result. Practical semi-automatic techniques for determining the height of ground control points from existing map data are described, including multiple profiles through digitised contour data, a commercial terrain modelling package based on Delaunay triangulation and the use of triangulation points on prominent features. Comparisons between the methods are made and results obtained are compared with Institut Géographique National datasets and photogrammetric measurements. Methods for fully automating not only the height determination but also the location of ground control features within a map database are discussed. Map and image registration is described and illustrated using Laser-Scan's Rover software. Interactive and automated methods of registration are discussed.     

Water‐level dynamics in natural and artificial pools in blanket peatlands

Perennial pools are common natural features of peatlands, and their hydrological functioning and turnover may be important for carbon fluxes, aquatic ecology, and downstream water quality. Peatland restoration methods such as ditch blocking result in many new pools. However, little is known about the hydrological function of either pool type. We monitored six natural and six artificial pools on a Scottish blanket peatland. Pool water levels were more variable in all seasons in artificial pools having greater water level increases and faster recession responses to storms than natural pools. Pools overflowed by a median of 9 and 54 times pool volume per year for natural and artificial pools, respectively, but this varied widely because some large pools had small upslope catchments and vice versa. Mean peat water‐table depths were similar between natural and artificial pool sites but much more variable over time at the artificial pool site, possibly due to a lower bulk specific yield across this site. Pool levels and pool‐level fluctuations were not the same as those of local water tables in the adjacent peat. Pool‐level time series were much smoother, with more damped rainfall or recession responses than those for peat water tables. There were strong hydraulic gradients between the peat and pools, with absolute water tables often being 20–30 cm higher or lower than water levels in pools only 1–4 m away. However, as peat hydraulic conductivity was very low (median of 1.5 × 10^?5 and 1.4 × 10^?6 cm s^?1 at 30 and 50 cm depths at the natural pool site), there was little deep subsurface flow interaction. We conclude that (a) for peat restoration projects, a larger total pool surface area is likely to result in smaller flood peaks downstream, at least during summer months, because peatland bulk specific yield will be greater; and (b) surface and near‐surface connectivity during storm events and topographic context, rather than pool size alone, must be taken into account in future peatland pool and stream chemistry studies.     

Interactions between human communities and estuaries in the Pacific Northwest: Trends and implications for management

This paper explores social, and economic aspects of coastal communities crucial to the management of estuaries in the Pacific Northwest. These aspects include the changing demographics and economies of coastal communities, and the public perceptions, attitudes, and values pertaining to estuarine ecosystems. Information from Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor in Washington and Tillamook, Yaquina, and Coos Bays in Oregon shows that the coastal communities are growing more slowly than the states overall., that the populations are relatively old, and that, although the local economies continue to rely on them, the extractive natural resource industries (fishing, aquaculture, agriculture, forest products) are declining in importance relative to tourism, recreation, and retirement industries. These trends suggest that human uses of the estuaries are changing in character, and altering the management problems. Coastal residents choose to live in these communities to enjoy the views and scenery, to experience rural living, to be near the ocean, and to recreate outdoors. People express coherent perceptions of risks to the estuaries, especially the threats of declining fish habitats, oil spills, shoreline development, invasive species, and logging in upland areas> Residential land values are enhanced by the presence of wetlands and forests and are diminished by the presence of hazardous waste sites. We conclude that, if recent trends in population age structure, income sources, and employment status continue, public attitudes and values will move towards stronger environmental protection. Because ecosystem management involves local public participation and collaboration, estuarine managers will be faced with both increased demands and opportunities.     

Lithological controls on biological activity and groundwater chemistry in Quaternary sediments

Depth profiles of solute chemistry and sulfate isotopic compositions are presented for groundwater and pore water in a sequence of Quaternary glacial outwash sediments. Sand units show evidence for hydraulic connection to the surface and thus modern sources of solutes. Finer‐grained sediments show a general pattern of increasing solute concentrations with depth, with sulfate derived from ancient rainwater and pyrite oxidation in the soil/drift. In these sediments sulfate has undergone bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR) to produce biogenic sulfide. In clay sediments, with d₁₀ ≤ 1·6 µm, high concentrations of sulfate and acetate now co‐exist, implying that BSR is inhibited. The correlation with smaller sediment grain size indicates that this is due to pore size exclusion of the sulfate reducing bacteria. Mechanical restriction of microbial function thus provides a fundamental limitation on microbial respiration in buried clay‐rich sediments, which acts as a control on the chemical evolution of their pore waters. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phytoplankton production and physiological adaptation on the southeastern shelf of the Agulhas ecosystem

An investigation of phytoplankton production and physiology was undertaken during two research cruises on the southeastern shelf of southern Africa. The data set included photosynthesis-irradiance and active fluorescence parameters, phytoplankton absorption coefficients and HPLC pigment concentrations. Primary production was estimated to vary over a similar range for both cruises within 0.27–3.69 g C m⁻² d⁻¹. Pigment indices indicated that diatoms were dominant on the first cruise and the communities were subject to conditions where the mixed layer was deeper than the euphotic zone and they optimized their photosynthesis to very low light intensities at the bottom and below the euphotic zone. Mixed diatom-flagellate populations were observed during the second cruise where the euphotic zone was deeper than the mixed layer and the populations adapted to irradiances higher in the euphotic zone. In response to a mean lower water column PAR, it was found that these mixed communities increased the proportion of chlorophyll a in the pigment pool and had a higher quantum yield of photochemistry and higher light-limited photosynthetic efficiency.     

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.