An evaluation of Guided Regularized Random Forest for classification and regression tasks in remote sensing

New Earth observation missions and technologies are delivering large amounts of data. Processing this data requires developing and evaluating novel dimensionality reduction approaches to identify the most informative features for classification and regression tasks. Here we present an exhaustive evaluation of Guided Regularized Random Forest (GRRF), a feature selection method based on Random Forest. GRRF does not require fixing a priori the number of features to be selected or setting a threshold of the feature importance. Moreover, the use of regularization ensures that features selected by GRRF are non-redundant and representative. Our experiments based on various kinds of remote sensing images, show that GRRF selected features provides similar results to those obtained when using all the available features. However, the comparison between GRRF and standard random forest features shows substantial differences: in classification, the mean overall accuracy increases by almost 6% and, in regression, the decrease in RMSE almost reaches 2%. These results demonstrate the potential of GRRF for remote sensing image classification and regression. Especially in the context of increasingly large geodatabases that challenge the application of traditional methods.     

Regionalization for large area crop estimates by remote sensing

The crop estimates by remote sensing, developing quickly in recent decades, is a up-to-date technique. Regionalization for large area crop estimates by remote sensing, a special applied regionalization, is the foundation of crop estimates in a large area by remote sensing. According to the actual demands of wheat yield estimation by remote sensing and wheat agroclimatic demarcation of China, this paper first puts forward some principles upheld in this regionalization and analyses its main bases. Secondly, it works out the classificatory schemes about the optimum temporal for estimating wheat yield by remote sensing, information sources of space remote sensing and landuse structure in China. Finally, According to the regionalization indices, this study divides the wheat plantable region of China into 14 regions of crop yield estimates and 31 subregions of crop yield estimates.     

Pervasive wetland flooding in the glacial drift prairie of North Dakota (USA)

This article describes a unique flood hazard, produced by the dramatic expansion of wetlands in Nelson County, located within the North American Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, USA. There has been an unprecedented increase in the number, average size, and permanence of prairie wetlands, and a significant increase in the size of a closed lake (Stump Lake) due to a decade-long wet spell that began in 1993 following a prolonged drying trend. Base-line land cover information from the 1992 USGS National Land Cover Characterization dataset, and a Landsat TM scene acquired 9 July 2001 are used to assess the growth of the closed lake and wetland pond surface areas, and to analyze the type and area of various land cover classes inundated between 1992 and 2001. The open water profile in Nelson County changed from one marked by relatively comparable coverage of closed lake and wetland pond areas in 1992, to one in which wetland open water accounted for the vast majority of total open water in 2001. The bulk of the wetland pond area expansion occurred by displacing existing wetland vegetation and agricultural cropland. Producers responded to the flood hazard by filing Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) claims and enrolling cropland in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a federal land retirement program. Land taken out of agricultural production has had an enormous impact upon the agricultural sector that forms the economic base of the rural economy. In 2001 the land taken out of production due to CRP enrollment and preventive planting claims represented nearly 42% of Nelson County’s 205.2 K ha base agricultural land. The patterns obtained from this detailed study of Nelson County are likely to be the representative of the more publicized flood disaster occurring within the Devils Lake Basin of North Dakota.     

Numerical and simplified methods for the calculation of the total horizontal wave force on a perforated caisson with a top cover

The VOF method and the k–ε model, combined with the equation of state of air at constant temperature, have been used to calculate the total horizontal wave force caused by monochromatic waves acting on a perforated caisson with a top cover. From comparison of various parameters, such as the total horizontal force, the pressure difference on the front wall, the pressure on the back wall and the pressure on the top cover, between the numerical results and test data, it can be seen that the numerical results agree well with the test data. It is concluded that the method described in this paper can be utilized to calculate wave forces acting on perforated caissons with a top cover in the case of nonovertopping, nonbreaking waves. A simplified method to calculate the total horizontal force has been developed, based on test data, using a least-squares method. A comparison between the numerical results and the values calculated from the simplified equations shows good agreement. Therefore the simplified equations can be used in engineering applications to evaluate the total horizontal force on a perforated caisson with a top cover.     

重要找矿指示元素的野外快速分析法——金的野外快速分析

近年来,作者发展了七种以上重要找矿指示元素的野外快速分析法,此乃其一。文中提出一种新的金样冷浸技术,引进了新的光导光度检测方法,样品经溴化钠—硫酸—过氧化氢冷浸,用经丙酮—MIBK处理的泡沫塑料富集金,经混合解脱剂解脱并直接取解脱液用改进的微珠析出法或用光导光度法测定。取10g样品,可测定0.0005-50g/t范围内的金。方法简便、快速,可在普查分队驻地进行,每一工作日可测定80多个样品,由于废弃了王水分解样品和泡沫塑料的灰化,具有广阔的应用前景。     

Modelling net erosion responses to enviroclimatic changes recorded upon multisecular timescales

Land use change has been recognized throughout the Earth as one of the most important factors influencing the occurrence of rainfall-driven geomorphological processes. However, relating the occurrence of historical soil erosion rates is difficult because of the lack of long-term research projects in river basins. Also, complex models are not adequate to reconstruct erosion rate changes because they require significant input data not always available on long timescales. Given the problems with assessing sediment yield using complex erosion models, the objective of this study is to explore a parsimonious scale-adapted erosion model (ADT) from the original Thornes and Douglas algorithms, which aims at reconstruction of annual net erosion (ANE) upon multisecular timescales. As a test site, the Calore River basin (3015 km² in southern Italy) provides a peculiar and unique opportunity for modelling erosion responses to climate and land cover changes, where input-data generation and interpretation results were also supported by documented hydrogeomorphological events that occurred before and after land deforestation. In this way, ANE_ADT-values were reconstructed for the period 1675–2004 by using precipitation indexes, complemented by recent instrumental records, and by using land cover statistics from documented agrarian sources. Pulses of natural sedimentation in the predeforestation period have been related to Vesuvius volcanic activity and changes in rainstorm frequency. After deforestation, the basin system became unstable with sudden fluctuations in the hydrogeomorphological regime contributing significantly to increased erosion and, in turn, sediment transport sequences via river drainage towards the Tyrrhenian coast.     

Design of Inclined Covers with Capillary Barrier Effect

A design procedure is proposed to minimize water infiltration into landfills by optimizing the water diversion length of inclined covers with capillary barrier effect (CCBE). This design procedure is based on a conceptual, mathematical and numerical approach and aims at selecting materials and optimizing layer thickness. Selection among candidate materials is made based on their hydraulic conductivity functions and on a threshold infiltration rate imposed on the designer. The capillary break layer (CBL; bottom layer) is characterized by a weak capillarity, while the moisture retention layer (MRL; upper layer) is characterized by a compromise between strong capillarity and high hydraulic conductivity. The thickness of the CBL corresponds to the height where suction reaches its maximum value for a given infiltration rate. This height can be calculated using the Kisch [Géotechnique 9 (1959)] model. The optimal thickness of the MRL is determined by applying an adaptation of the Ross [Water Resources Research 26 (1990)] model. The results obtained using the proposed design procedure were compared to those obtained from numerical simulations performed using a finite element unsaturated seepage software. The procedure was applied for two cover systems; one where deinking by-products (DBP) were used as MRL and sand as CBL and another where sand was used as MRL and gravel as CBL. Using this procedure, it has been shown that an infiltration control system composed of thin layers of sand over gravel is highly efficient in terms of diversion length and that its efficiency can be enhanced by placing a hydraulic barrier – such as a layer of DBP – above the MRL.     

A multi-scale study on land use and land cover quality change: The case of the Yellow River Delta in China

This paper presents a case study of the Yellow River Delta in China, to trace land use and land cover changes during the past 20 years, with an emphasis on land quality changes. Three sets of data are used in this case study: remote sensing data derived from satellite images; crop yield data from statistics; and soil data collected by the researchers in the field. Our study reveals that at the regional scale, LUCC has taken place in a positive direction: vegetation cover has been expanding and crop yields per hectare have been on rise. However, while the overall eco-environment has improved, the improvement is uneven across the Delta region. At local levels, some areas show signs of increased salinization and declining organic content. Both natural forces and human activities are responsible for the LUCC, but human activities play a more important role. While some impacts of human activities are positive, the damages are often long-lasting and irreversible. We also conclude that it is necessary to use both macro data (such as remote sensing data) and micro data (data collected in the field) to study land quality change. The former are efficient in examining land quality changes at the regional scale, the latter can serve to verify ground patterns revealed from macro data and help to identify local variations, so as to get a comprehensive understanding of LUCC and promote sustainable land use and land management. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Structure and tectonic evolution of the Southern Eurasia Basin, Arctic Ocean

Multichannel seismic reflection data acquired by Marine Arctic Geological Expedition (MAGE) of Murmansk, Russia in 1990 provide the first view of the geological structure of the Arctic region between 77–80°N and 115–133°E, where the Eurasia Basin of the Arctic Ocean adjoins the passive-transform continental margin of the Laptev Sea. South of 80°N, the oceanic basement of the Eurasia Basin and continental basement of the Laptev Sea outer margin are covered by 1.5 to 8 km of sediments. Two structural sequences are distinguished in the sedimentary cover within the Laptev Sea outer margin and at the continent/ocean crust transition: the lower rift sequence, including mostly Upper Cretaceous to Lower Paleocene deposits, and the upper post-rift sequence, consisting of Cenozoic sediments. In the adjoining Eurasia Basin of the Arctic Ocean, the Cenozoic post-rift sequence consists of a few sedimentary successions deposited by several submarine fans. Based on the multichannel seismic reflection data, the structural pattern was determined and an isopach map of the sedimentary cover and tectonic zoning map were constructed. A location of the continent/ocean crust transition is tentatively defined. A buried continuation of the mid-ocean Gakkel Ridge is also detected. This study suggests that south of 78.5°N there was the cessation in the tectonic activity of the Gakkel Ridge Rift from 33–30 until 3–1 Ma and there was no sea-floor spreading in the southernmost part of the Eurasia Basin during the last 30–33 m.y. South of 78.5°N all oceanic crust of the Eurasia Basin near the continental margin of the Laptev Sea was formed from 56 to 33–30 Ma.