Rough classification and accuracy assessment

In search for methods to handle imprecision in geographical information this paper explores the use of rough classification to represent uncertainty. Rough classification is based on rough set theory, where an uncertain set is specified by giving an upper and a lower approximation. Novel measures are presented to assess a single rough classification, to compare a rough classification to a crisp one and to compare two rough classifications. An extension to the error matrix paradigm is also presented, both for the rough-crisp and the roughrough cases. An experiment on vegetation and soil data demonstrates the viability of rough classification, comparing two incompatible vegetation classifications covering the same area. The potential uses of rough sets and rough classification are discussed and it is suggested that this approach should be further investigated as it can be used in a range of applications within geographic information science from data acquisition and analysis to metadata organization.     

Sources of salinity and arsenic in groundwater in southwest Bangladesh

Background

High salinity and arsenic (As) concentrations in groundwater are widespread problems in the tidal deltaplain of southwest Bangladesh. To identify the sources of dissolved salts and As, groundwater samples from the regional shallow Holocene aquifer were collected from tubewells during the dry (May) and wet (October) seasons in 2012–2013. Thirteen drill cores were logged and 27 radiocarbon ages measured on wood fragments to characterize subsurface stratigraphy.

Results

Drill cuttings, exposures in pits and regional studies reveal a >5 m thick surface mud cap overlying a ~30 m thick upper unit of interbedded mud and fine sand layers, and a coarser lower unit up to 60 m thick dominated by clean sands, all with significant horizontal variation in bed continuity and thickness. This thick lower unit accreted at rates of ~2 cm/year through the early Holocene, with local subsidence or compaction rates of 1–3 mm/year. Most tubewells are screened at depths of 15–52 m in sediments deposited 8000–9000 YBP. Compositions of groundwater samples from tubewells show high spatial variability, suggesting limited mixing and low and spatially variable recharge rates and flow velocities. Groundwaters are Na–Cl type and predominantly sulfate-reducing, with specific conductivity (SpC) from 3 to 29 mS/cm, high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 11–57 mg/L and As 2–258 ug/L, and low sulfur (S) 2–33 mg/L.

Conclusions

Groundwater compositions can be explained by burial of tidal channel water and subsequent reaction with dissolved organic matter, resulting in anoxia, hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) reduction, As mobilization, and sulfate (SO₄) reduction and removal in the shallow aquifer. Introduction of labile organic carbon in the wet season as rice paddy fertilizer may also cause HFO reduction and As mobilization. Variable modern recharge occurred in areas where the clay cap pinches out or is breached by tidal channels, which would explain previously measured ¹⁴C groundwater ages being less than depositional ages. Of samples collected from the shallow aquifer, Bangladesh Government guidelines are exceeded in 46 % for As and 100 % for salinity.

     

Investigating the application of pixel-level and product-level image fusion approaches for monitoring surface water changes

The aim of this paper was to investigate the suitability of the pixel-level and product-level image fusion approaches to detect surface water changes. In doing so, firstly, the principal component analysis technique was applied to Landsat TM 2010 multispectral image to generate the PC components. Several pixel-level image fusion techniques were then performed to merge the Landsat ETM+ 2000 panchromatic with the PC1PC2PC3 band combination of Landsat TM 2010 imagery to highlight the surface water changes between the two images. The suitability of the resulting fused images for surface water change detection was evaluated quantitatively and visually. Finally, the support vector machine (SVM) technique was applied to the qualified fused images to map the highlighted changes. Furthermore, a product level fusion (PLF) approach based on various satellite-derived indices was employed to detect the surface water changes between ETM+ 2000 and TM 2010 images. The accuracy of the resulting change maps was assessed based on a reference change map produced using visual interpretation. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed approaches for surface water change detection, especially using the Gram Schmidt-SVM, PLF-NDWI, and PLF-NDVI methods which improved the accuracy of change detection over 99.70 %.     

Ecohydrology and flood risk management under climate vulnerability in relation to the sustainable development goals (SDGs): a case study in Nagaa Mobarak Village,Egypt

Natural Hazards - This article aims to provide a thorough assessment of water quality and quantity incorporating the estimation of future patterns as a result of climate change from economic,...     

A comparison of different methods of estimating energy‐limited evapotranspiration in the peace river region of British Columbia

Abstract

The performances of eight methods for estimating daily energy‐limited evapotranspiration (E_e) were compared with reliable values for the Peace River region of British Columbia. They included the methods of Priestley and Taylor (PT), Jensen and Haise (JH), Hargreaves (H) and Makkink (M), the first and second equations of Baier and Robertson (BR1 and BR2), and the modified methods of Blaney and Criddle (BC) and Thornthwaite (T). The reference data were obtained from previous workers, who in 1977 and 1979 made micrometeorological measurements of E_e using the Bowen ratio method.

The relationships between estimated and measured E_e values excluding the T method in 1977 had correlation coefficients (R) ranging from 0.65 to 0.84. These were not significantly different at the 5% level. The Standard Errors of the Estimate (SEE) ranged from 0.43 to 1.69 mm d^?1. The PT, JH, BR1 and T methods had low SEE values, whereas the BR2, H, BC and M methods had high SEE values. Six of the eight methods (PT, JH, H, M, BR2 and BC) were calibrated for local conditions using 1979 data. After calibration, the methods were tested with the 1977 data. The results indicated significant improvement in the fit of four of the methods (H, M, BR2 and BC). Overall, it was concluded that after calibration, six of the eight methods had predictive power and fit that were not significantly different at the 5% level.     

Long-term changes in fish communities of the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon (southern Portugal) based on two studies made 20 years apart

Fish communities of the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon (south Portugal) were sampled on a monthly basis with a beach seine at 4 sites, during two different time periods: 1980–1986 and 2001–2002. Community indices, species ranking and multivariate analysis were used in order to identify changes in the fish community between the two time periods. A total of 153,511 fish representing 57 taxa were recorded. Although species composition was very similar for both sampling periods, multivariate analysis performed on annual species abundance in number and weight revealed differences in fish community structure between the two periods. Structural changes in fish community were related mostly to a sharp decrease in the abundance of Mugilidae from 1980–1986 to 2001–2002. These changes were probably associated to a decrease in organic matter contents and nutrients concentrations due to improvements in sewage treatment and better water circulation inside the lagoon. The changes in fish community structure are more evident in the inner areas of the lagoon than near the inlet. The association between changes in sewage patterns and changes in the ichthyofaunal community structure reinforces the importance of fish communities as a biological indicator of human induced changes in marine systems.     

Finite strain analysis for deformed Neoproterozoic rock associations of the Al Amar fault zone,Eastern Arabian Shield,Saudi Arabia

Arabian Journal of Geosciences - In this work, quantitative analysis of coastal zone landform morphology is carried out through the integration of landscape index, remote sensing (RS) and...     

Shoreline change detection using DSAS technique: Case of North Sinai coast,Egypt

This study focuses on the shoreline change detection along the North Sinai coast in Egypt using geographic information system and digital shoreline analysis system (DSAS) during the elapsed period from 1989 to 2016. The measurement of shoreline variation is mainly described for three zones: zone I, El-Tinah plain bay; zone II, El-Bardawil Lake; zone III, El-Arish valley. The rates of shoreline changes in the form of erosion and accretion patterns are automatically quantified by four statistical parameters functioned in DSAS namely endpoint rate, net shoreline movement, linear regression rate (LRR), and least median of squares. LRR results elucidate that the western seaside of El-Tinah plain bay has experienced an extremely dynamic feature with an average erosion rate of ?8.17?m/year. The littoral drifts have been driven by eastward alongshore currents toward the east side of the bay to be accreted with an average rate of +4.28?m/year. Moreover, the shoreline has progressed west of El-Bardawil inlet (1), El-Bardawil inlet (2), and El-Arish harbor. Subsequently, the corresponding average beach growth rates are found to be +2.7, +8.5, and +6.5?m/year, respectively. In contrast, the shoreline on the down-drift side to the east has negatively retreated, and the corresponding beaches have regressed at rates of ?4.5, ?8.65, and ?2.9?m/year, respectively.     

On the λ 2800 Å interstellar extinction feature

We answer our critics and confirm the reality of a feature in the interstellar extinction curve near 2800 Å for stars showing abnormally low graphite absorption.