Automatic main road extraction from high resolution satellite imageries by means of particle swarm optimization applied to a fuzzy-based mean calculation approach

Manual extraction of road network by human operator is an expensive and time-consuming procedure. Alternatively, automation of the extraction process would be a great advancement. For this purpose, an automatic method is proposed to extract roads from high resolution satellite images. In this study, using few samples from road surface, a particle swarm optimization is applied to a fuzzy-based mean calculation system to obtain road mean values in each band of high resolution satellite colour images. Then, the images are segmented using the calculated mean values from the fuzzy system. Optimizing the fuzzy cost function by particle swarm optimization enables the fuzzy approach to be the best mean value of road with sub-grey level precision. Initially, this method was applied to simulated images where the calculated mean values are consistent with the hypothetic mean values. Application of the method to IKONOS satellite images has shown a prospective outcome for automatic road extraction. Mathematical morphology is subsequently used to extract an initial main road centreline from the segmented image. Then, small redundant segments are automatically removed. The quality of the extracted road centreline indicates the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Automatic urban building boundary extraction from high resolution aerial images using an innovative model of active contours

To present a new method for building boundary detection and extraction based on the active contour model, is the main objective of this research. Classical models of this type are associated with several shortcomings; they require extensive initialization, they are sensitive to noise, and adjustment issues often become problematic with complex images. In this research a new model of active contours has been proposed that is optimized for the automatic building extraction. This new active contour model, in comparison to the classical ones, can detect and extract the building boundaries more accurately, and is capable of avoiding detection of the boundaries of features in the neighborhood of buildings such as streets and trees. Finally, the detected building boundaries are generalized to obtain a regular shape for building boundaries. Tests with our proposed model demonstrate excellent accuracy in terms of building boundary extraction. However, due to the radiometric similarity between building roofs and the image background, our system fails to recognize a few buildings.     

Bioattenuation in groundwater impacted by landfill leachate traced with δ13C

The impact on groundwater imparted by the infiltration of high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leachate from capped, unlined landfills can be attenuated by biogeochemical reactions beyond the waste source, although such reactive loss in the aquifer is difficult to distinguish from conservative advective dispersion. Compound-specific measurement of δ(13)C in carbon species, including CH(4), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and the major DOC compounds (acetate, humic acid, and fulvic acid) provides a constraint in this assessment that can assist in exercises of modeling and prediction of leachate transport. The Trail Road municipal landfill near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, hosts an unlined sector which produces a highly enriched leachate (DOC >4500 mg/L) that provides a good site to examine reactive attenuation within the receptor aquifer. Acetate, a sentinel component of leachate DOC (~1000 mg C/L), is absent in impacted groundwater. Mass balance calculations together with reaction modeling suggest continued acetate fermentation with calcite control on DIC and δ(13)C(DIC) evolution. In groundwater within 50 m of the landfill, methane concentrations are elevated (~10 mg/L), consistent with acetate fermentation, whereas δ(13)C(CH4) measurements in deeper groundwater range down to -51‰ compared with -60‰ in the landfill demonstrating oxidative loss. DOC in the deep aquifer is remarkably depleted to values less than -40‰ suggesting methanotrophic bacteria selectively consume isotopically light CH(4) to fix carbon. Continued reaction of leachate DOC in groundwater is demonstrated by evolution away from conservative mixing lines on diagrams of δ(13)C vs. concentrations of DIC and DOC.     

Integrated magnetic and gravity surveys for geothermal exploration in Central Iran

The Delijan region of Central Iran is a popular tourist spot due to the occurrence of hot springs and having the greatest geothermal fields in Iran. In the years 2011 and 2012, an integrated geophysical investigation, using magnetic and gravity methods, was conducted over the hot springs in order to characterize geophysical anomaly sources corresponding to the geothermal resources. The results of the geophysical investigations revealed the heat source and the reservoir of the Delijan geothermal system (DGS). Based on results of Euler depth estimation and 3D inversion of magnetic and gravity data, the depths and extension of the discovered structures were determined with a good correlation with the geological information. The results of magnetic interpretation show that the main source (heat source) of the geothermal system is located NE of the Delijan-Abgarm fault (DAf) zone at depths of 2500 to 5000 m, and the results of gravity interpretation show that the reservoir of the geothermal system is located along the DAf zone at depths of 1000 to 4000 m. Also, the horizontal gradients of gravity data reveal complex fault systems which are acting as the preferential paths to circulate the hydrothermal fluids.     

Major,minor element chemistry and oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions of Marun oil‐field brines,SW Iran: Source history and economic potential

Cation and anion concentrations and oxygen and hydrogen isotopic ratios of brines in the Asmari Formation (Oligocene–early Miocene) from the Marun oil field of southwest Iran were measured to identify the origin of these brines (e.g. salt dissolution vs. seawater evaporation) as well as the involvement of water–rock reaction processes in their evolution. Marun brines are characterized by having higher concentrations of calcium (11 000–20 000 mg/L), chlorine (120 000–160 000 mg/L) and bromide (600–1000 mg/L) compared to modern seawater. Samples are also enriched in ¹⁸O relative to seawater, fall to the right of the Global Meteoric Water Line and local rain water, and plot close to the halite brine trajectory on the δD versus δ¹⁸O diagram. Geochemical characteristics of Marun brines are inconsistent with a meteoric origin, but instead correspond to residual evaporated seawater modified by water–rock interaction, most significantly dolomitization. In addition, anhydrite precipitation or sulphate reduction appears to be important in chemical modification of the Marun brines, as indicated by lower sulphate contents relative to evaporated seawater. Extensive dolomitization, the presence of anhydrite nodules and high salinity fluid inclusions in the upper parts of the Asmari Formation fit a model whereby the Marun brines likely originated from the seepage reflux of concentrated seawater during the deposition of the overlying Gachsaran Formation evaporites in the Miocene. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing the visual impacts of new urban features: coupling visibility analysis with 3D city modelling

Abstract

Land use changes associated with urbanization often have negative impacts on scenic beauty. In this paper, we explore and compare the visual impact of two different scenarios of urban growth including historical urban growth (HUG) and aesthetically sound urban growth (AUG) with two different categories of height for buildings in the city of Gorgan, Iran. This was done by viewshed and landscape metric analysis of different viewpoints and 3D representation of each scenario. The results show that with the AUG scenario, viewsheds are less impacted by new developments than the HUG scenario in all the viewpoints. It can be concluded that building locations can considerably affect the landscape visibility while building height does not impact to the same degree as location. The results of this research, as a Spatial Decision Support System, would help the managers for better understanding of different patterns of urbanization and its effect on landscape view.     

Improving the seismic torsional behavior of plan-asymmetric,single-storey,concrete moment resisting buildings with fluid viscous dampers

The optimal distribution of fluid viscous dampers(FVD)in controlling the seismic response of eccentric,single-storey,moment resisting concrete structures is investigated using the previously defined center of damping constant(CDC).For this purpose,a number of structural models with different one-way stiffness and strength eccentricities are considered.Extensive nonlinear time history analyses are carried out for various arrangements of FVDs.It is shown that the arrangement of FVDs for controlling the torsional behavior due to asymmetry in the concrete structures is very dependent on the intensity of the peak ground acceleration(PGA)and the extent of the structural stiffness and strength eccentricities.The results indicate that,in the linear range of structural behavior the stiffness eccentricity es which is the main parameter in determining the location of optimal CDC,is found to be less or smaller than the optimal damping constant eccentricity e*d,i.e.,|e*d| |es|.But,in the nonlinear range of structural behavior where the strength eccentricity er is the dominant factor in determining the location of optimal CDC,|e*d| |er|.It is also concluded that for the majority of the plan-asymmetric,concrete structures considered in this study with er ≠ 0,the optimal CDC approaches the center of mass as er decreases.     

Optimization approach to retrieve soil surface parameters from single-acquisition single-configuration SAR data

This study suggests a novel approach to the retrieval of soil surface parameters using a single-acquisition single-configuration synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) system. Soil surface parameters such as soil moisture and surface roughness are key elements for many environmental studies, including Earth surface water cycles, energy exchange, agriculture, and geology. Remote sensing techniques, especially SAR data, are commonly used to retrieve such soil surface parameters over large areas. Several backscattering models have been proposed for soil surface parameters retrieval from SAR data. However, commonly, these backscattering models require multi configuration SAR data, including multi-polarization, multi-frequency, and multi-incidence angle. Here we propose a methodology that employs single-acquisition single-configuration SAR data for the retrieval of soil surface parameters. The originality is to use single-acquisition single-configuration SAR data to retrieve the soil surface parameters using an optimization approach by the genetic algorithm (GA); we have used the modified Dubois model (MDM) in HH polarization as the backscattering model. Three HH polarization and C band data sets from Quebec (Radarsat-1), Ontario (SIR-C), and Oklahoma (AIRSAR) were analyzed. The retrieved values of soil moisture and soil surface roughness were then compared to ground truth measurements with corresponding parameters. We employed diverse criteria, including the mean absolute error (MAE), the root mean square error (RMSE), the coefficient of performance (CP), and the correlation coefficient to investigate the performance of the proposed methodology. This analysis suggests the capability of the GA for the retrieval of soil surface parameters. Based on our findings, this method presents a viable alternative approach to the retrieval of soil surface parameters when only single-acquisition single-configuration SAR data is available.     

Dynamic response of double beam rested on stochastic foundation under harmonic moving load

This paper deals with the dynamic response of infinite double Euler–Bernoulli beam supported by elastic foundation with stochastic stiffness subjected to an oscillating moving load, which is the first research in relevant literature review. In this matter, equations of motion for double beam are formulated in a moving frame of reference. Moreover, by employing the first order perturbation theory and calculating contour integration, the response of double beam is obtained analytically and validated by a stochastic finite element model. Sensitivity analyses on the various parameters of closed form solution such as velocity, load frequency, coefficient of variation of soil foundation and rail and slab bending stiffness show the significant effect of load frequency on the dynamic response of the doubled beam. From practical point of view, the obtained results of the present study can be utilized efficiently in analysis and design of slab track systems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.