Chapters authored
Assessment of Ecological Disturbance Caused by Flood and Fire in Assam Forests, India, Using MODIS Time Series Data of 2001-2011
The forest area of Assam State is known for its rich biodiversity. In the present study, the disturbance regime within the Assam forest area caused by periodic flood and forest fire, was assessed using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) time-series (2001–2011) data. The MODIS Global Disturbance Index (MGDI) images were generated using MODIS derived Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) images. The temporal intensity of flood and forest fire in sixteen representative forests was analyzed to develop the MGDI based thresholds for detecting the disturbed area. The threshold for the non-instantaneous disturbance, i.e. flood, was found to be 107% whereas it was 111% for instantaneous disturbance, i.e. forest fire. The thresholds were applied on the MGDI images to delineate disturbed caused by flood and fire, separately for each year. The time-series disturbance areas were integrated over the years (2001–2011) to generate the classified disturbance prone maps.
Part of the book: Remote Sensing
Shoreline Change Analysis of Hooghly Estuary Using Multi-Temporal Landsat Data and Digital Shoreline Analysis System
Long-term (1973–2021) shoreline displacement, rate of change, and temporal pattern were examined using multi-date Landsat data and Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) along the 200 km coast of Hooghly estuary. Orthogonal transects of 100 m apart were casted for calculation of End Point Rate and Weighted Linear Regression rate on different temporal scales for seven analysis zones. The shoreline change pattern was established using Hierarchical agglomerative clustering. The study reveals that almost 43.45% of the beachfront has eroded and 56.55% has accreted during the past four decades. The average erosion rate varies between −0.01 and −13.71 m yr.−1 and accretion of −0.01 to −22.30 m yr.−1. The littoral drift resulted in a maximum seaward aggression by 1096.89 m in the zone 1. Landward movement was maximum (−602.96 m) in the zone 4. Although west bank is prograding @ 3.47 m yr.−1 (±5.83), the east bank is eroding @ 1.30 m yr.−1 (±4.08). Based on the cluster analysis about –1.87% of the shoreline exhibits consistent erosion over all the intervals, whereas trend was evident in 4.73% of the coastline. The portions of coastlines, which exhibit high erosion rate and consistent erosion need immediate attention and policy intervention.
Part of the book: Geographic Information Systems and Applications in Coastal Studies
Open-Source Geospatial Technology for Coastal Asset Mapping and Management
Coastal areas are highly productive in terms of natural resources and important for their strategic location. This leads to the development of industry, ports, and townships/cities in coastal areas. Therefore, many assets/ infrastructures are developed in coastal areas which are managed by respective administrations. Proper management of these assets requires a geographic information system (GIS) that can integrate and disseminate geospatial data along with ground photographs. The advancement of open-source geospatial technology enables the development of feature-rich yet cost-effective GIS applications. In the present chapter, one such web GIS framework is discussed for mapping and management of coastal assets using open-source geospatial technology.
Part of the book: Geographic Information Systems and Applications in Coastal Studies