Earth Sciences Commons^™

Spatiotemporal Economic Impact Analysis Of The Taal Volcano Eruption Using Electricity Consumption And Nighttime Light Data, Ma Flordeliza P. Del Castillo, Toshio Fujimi, Hirokazu Tatano

SOSE Affiliate: Manila Observatory

Analyzing the spatiotemporal dimension of the economic impacts of disasters is critical for providing timely and proportionate support. However, traditional economic impact measures often lack spatiotemporal details. Hence, we estimated the daily electricity consumption (EC) loss using high-frequency EC data and analyzed temporal dimensions of the immediate impacts of Taal Volcano’s eruption on January 12, 2020. Subsequently, we computed the nighttime light (NTL) change using high-resolution NTL data to analyze the spatial distribution of these impacts. The temporal analysis revealed two EC loss peaks. The first peak coincided with the power outage and decreased energy demand, followed by a brief …

Applications Of Remote Sensing Data To Understanding Geohazards In Wyoming And Kentucky, Meredith Swallom

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Shallow geohazards such as earthquakes, landslides, and floods profoundly impact communities globally. Constraining susceptibility to these hazards is critical for effective hazard mitigation and building more resilient communities. This dissertation includes multiple studies that leverage remotely sensed datasets to address hazard susceptibility, including: (1) characterizing a potential northern extension of the Teton fault system, (2) deriving a vegetation-based metric to improve landslide susceptibility maps in eastern Kentucky, with potential global implications, and (3) combining numerical modeling, landscape models, and field constraints to understand how anthropogenic factors affect flood severity in southern Appalachian catchments.

In the first study, analysis of new …

Impacts Of Southern Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus Frontalis Zimmerman) On Loblolly Pine (Pinus Taeda L.) Canopy And Water Use In The Homochitto National Forest, Mississippi, Usa, Sasha Goodnow, Yun Yang, Hui Liu, Ashley Schulz

Endeavors: Mississippi State Undergraduate Research Journal

Abiotic and biotic forest disturbances can have many impacts to forest ecosystem services, including to forest water use. Studies on impacts to forest evapotranspiration have been conducted on the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) in western North America, but not on the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis), which is a native pest of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), in the southeastern United States. Stressed pine trees produce pheromones that attract southern pine beetles and, with enough stressed trees, beetle populations can quickly grow to epidemic levels and attack healthy trees, which results in widespread tree mortality. …

Evaluating The Causes Of Land Subsidence On The U.S. Mid-Atlantic Coast Measured With Insar, Jordan Leigh Diprima

Honors Theses and Capstones

Land subsidence is a frequently overlooked geologic hazard that is caused by natural processes and anthropogenic stressors. The goal of this study is to quantify vertical land motion (VLM) on Long Island, New York and Virginia’s Eastern Shore and evaluate the potential causes of subsidence. The causes considered in this work are glacial isostatic adjustment, groundwater extraction, infrastructure loading, and land cover. This study utilizes interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) satellite data from Sentinel-1 to calculate linear VLM trends from 2017 to 2023. Datasets for each hypothesis were qualitatively compared to VLM data. Subsidence rates in both regions were found …

Applications Of Uav In Landslide Research: A Review, Boneng Chen, Jeremy Maurer, Weibing Gong

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have gained significant popularity in landslide research due to their operational flexibility, near real-time planning capabilities, cost-effectiveness, high-resolution data outputs, and enhanced safety. This review aims to provide an analysis of UAV-based landslide investigation methodologies and their applications. It begins with an examination of UAV platforms and UAV-equipped sensors employed in landslide research, evaluating their advantages and limitations to guide appropriate platform and sensor selection. The review then explores UAV applications across three primary landslide investigation domains: landslide mapping, landslide monitoring, and landslide hazard assessment, highlighting some representative achievements in each domain. …

An Integrated Ecosystem Monitoring Technology For Coal Mining Subsidence Areas And Its Application In The Shendong Mining Area, Cheng Yang, Liu Wei, Zhang Na, Li Guanjie, Liu Kai, Zhang Chengye, Li Jun

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background The ecosystem monitoring of arid and semi-arid coal mining subsidence areas acts as a significant prerequisite for regional ecosystem conservation and management, holding critical significance for accelerating green mine construction. Methods Based on the Chinese government's regulatory requirements for mine ecosystems, this study analyzed the difficulties in ecosystem monitoring in the coal mining subsidence area of the Shendong mining area (also referred to as the Shendong coal mining subsidence area). By detailing the integrated coal-rock-water-soil-air-vegetation-carbon monitoring technology system, this study determined the factors, principal methods, and technology roadmap for the integrated ecosystem monitoring in the Shendong coal mining subsidence …

Estimating Medium-Term Regional Monthly Economic Activity Reductions During The Covid-19 Pandemic Using Nighttime Light Data, Ma Flordeliza P. Del Castillo, Toshio Fujimi, Hirokazu Tatano

SOSE Affiliate: Manila Observatory

Economic impact estimates of the initial lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic showed a significant reduction in economic activities globally. However, the succeeding impacts and their spatiotemporal distribution within countries remain unknown. Studies showed that nighttime light data (NTL) has effectively revealed the spatiotemporal dimensions of the economic effects of COVID-19. Thus, this study used NTL data to determine the medium-term regional monthly economic impacts of the pandemic in the Philippines in terms of the Economic Activity Reduction (EAR) index. We generated a spatial error model, regressing pre-pandemic NTL on mean temperature, maximum rainfall, and built-up area. This model explained …

Landslide Inventory And Unstable Slope Monitoring Along Highways In Eastern Tennessee, Robert Mcsweeney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research introduces an unstable slope management program (USMP) for Tennessee based on federal slope management standards, along with improved methods for landslide monitoring with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) lidar and photogrammetry. In mountainous regions, monitoring slope hazards is a critical function of transportation management. A mobile field assessment form created with Survey123 was used to collect 22 unstable slope ratings in eastern Tennessee. Location points were appended with photographs, notes, and site information. Landslide scores ranged from 325 (Fair) to 1005 (Poor). UAS monitoring of a slow-moving soil landslide along I-40 near Rockwood, TN, produced high-resolution lidar and photogrammetry …

On Spatiotemporal Trends In Meter-Scale Gris Surface Roughness And The Development Of An On-Ice Laser Distance Meter, Jamie C. Good

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Surface roughness is a critical component of the energy and mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). However, roughness is often oversimplified in predictive models due to its inherent scale dependency. Accurate quantification of roughness, including its recent changes and driving factors, is critically important for understanding and predicting GrIS surface dynamics. Using multi- and single-scale methods of roughness analysis, I assess spatiotemporal trends in GrIS meter-scale surface roughness from 2009 to 2019 with Operation IceBridge’s Airborne Topographic Mapper ILATM2 product. Additionally, with data from on-ice automated weather stations, I employ machine learning techniques to identify primary climatic controls …

Sward Production Estimated By Spectral Reflectance, G Nagy, V Zilinyi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A non-destructive spectral reflectance method was used for the measurement of aerial biomass yields of different grasslands. Vegetation indices {VI) were calculated from the green, red and near-infrared light reflectance. These indices were compared with actual grass yields cut just after the reflectance measurement. The correlation coefficient between actual yields and VI was significant (r=0.969,n=24). This non-destructive technique is therefore a reliable tool for the estimation of standing biomass of grasslands.

Application Of Neural Networks To The Extraction Of Various Types Of Grasslands In Japan Using Landsat Thematic Mapper Data, Mikinori Tsuiki, Shigeo Takahashi, Toshiki Oku

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A neural network was applied to the extraction of various types of grasslands using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data. Training fields contained 12 classes (water, paddy field, farmland, sands and rocks, urban area, coniferous forest, deciduous forest, golf course, Sasa­type grassland, Miscanthus type grassland, meadow before culling and meadow after cutting). Classification performance using the neural network was 99.4%, which was 2.4% higher than that obtained using the maximum likelihood method. For all types of grasslands, classification performance was 99.8%. The results of the classification area obtained using the neural network and the maximum likelihood method resembled each other. …

Grassland Investigation And Mapping Using Remote Sensing In Northern China, Liu Fuyuan, Li Znegyuan, Han Jinaguoguez, Xia Jingxin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A large area of grassland in north China is an important resource for animal production, The grassland vegetations of north China were investigated and mapped by means of remote sensing from 1986 to 1990, We adopted various multiple information and multitime phase satellite images which were taken to allow optical and computer processing for complicated cases and difficult areas of grassland classification, The grasslands were divided into 8 different types and 50 groups according to surface features of Landsat images, ecological environment and vegetation analysis, The warm shrub and herbosa grassland, which ls distributed mainly in the rocky mountainous regions, …

Remotely Sensed Early Warning Of Algal Blooms In An Eastern Nebraska Reservoir: A Comparison Of Temporal And Spatial Indicators, Mercy Kipenda

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) detrimentally affect human, animal, and ecosystem health. Remotely sensed early warning systems for cyanoHABs in inland lakes could contribute to more proactive water quality monitoring and help mitigate negative impacts. Advances in freely available remote sensing imagery, with finer spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions, present new opportunities for the development and comparative analysis of methods to detect sudden deterioration in lake water quality. In this thesis, I compared and tested for temporal and spatial early warning signals of cyanoHABs in field-based and remotely sensed datasets from 2019 to 2023 in Pawnee Lake in southeast Nebraska, …

Integrating Satellite Images And Species-Based Vegetation Maps To Manage Native Grasslands, M Hall-Beyer, Q.H. J. Gwyn

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Satellite image mapping of grasslands is problematic when species diversity occurs at a sub-pixel scale. We propose a method, called melody classification, to map ground cover units that group several spectral classes (colours). Melodies are defined as the normalized expected frequencies of each class within the ground cover unit. Starting from an unsupervised classification, an image is created showing the probability of finding each spectral class in the vicinity of each pixel. Each pixel is classified by comparing the melody in its neighbourhood with that of each ground cover unit. Accuracies are greatly enhanced over those of supervised classification. Melody …

The Ecosystem As Super-Organ/Ism, Revisited: Scaling Hydraulics To Forests Under Climate Change, Jeffrey D. Wood, Matteo Detto, Marvin Browne, Nathan J.B. Kraft, Alexandra G. Konings, Joshua B. Fisher, Gregory R. Quetin, Anna T. Trugman, Troy S. Magney, Camila D. Medeiros, Nidhi Vinod, Thomas N. Buckley, Lawren Sack

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Classic debates in community ecology focused on the complexities of considering an ecosystem as a super-organ or organism. New consideration of such perspectives could clarify mechanisms underlying the dynamics of forest carbon dioxide (CO₂) uptake and water vapor loss, important for predicting and managing the future of Earth's ecosystems and climate system. Here, we provide a rubric for considering ecosystem traits as aggregated, systemic, or emergent, i.e., representing the ecosystem as an aggregate of its individuals, or as a metaphorical or literal super-organ or organism. We review recent approaches to scaling-up plant water relations (hydraulics) concepts developed for …

Microwave Emission Model Parameter Tuning For Surface Soil Moisture Retrieval Using Uav-Mounted Dual Polarization L-Band Radiometer, Santiago Hoyos Echeverri

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Surface soil moisture retrieval from L-band brightness temperature has been developed for the past decades due to multiple beneficial characteristics of 1-2 GHz frequency bands for remote sensing of the environment. Numerous microwave emission models have been proposed for tower and satellite-based operations with successful retrieval of surface soil moisture and vegetation water content. As a result of the development of cost-effective and low-mass microwave L-band radiometers such as the Portable L-band Radiometer (PoLRa), surface soil moisture surveying traditionally developed by satellite missions SMOS and SMAP can now be developed at local scales, bringing these operations to commercial small unmanned …

Triggers Of Rapid Change In Glacier Dynamics, Jukes Liu

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The loss of land ice has become the greatest contributor to global mean sea level rise since 2006 (Oppenheimer et al., 2019). Glaciers have contributed ∼20% to global sea level rise over the last ∼2 decades (Oppenheimer et al., 2019; Hugonnet et al., 2021), while the ice sheets have contributed 33% (Oppenheimer et al., 2019). For the outlet glaciers and ice streams that drain the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, changes to their dynamics (flow speed, thickness, and length) dominate their present and future mass loss (King et al., 2020; Diener et al., 2021). One of the main limitations in …

Remote Sensing Techniques To Determine Volcanic Gas Components And Fluxes: Application For Lascar, Chile And Fagradalsfjall, Iceland Volcanos., Felipe S. Rojas Vilches

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Volcanic plumes allow us to understand different aspects of a volcanic system including magma movements, dynamics, mass transfer, overall gas emissions to the atmosphere, and many processes that impact human life. However, the H₂O gas is poorly constrained due to the intrinsic difficulties of this gas, with high background values and easily dispersed/integrated into the background. In this work we study the gas emissions from Lascar volcano, and Fagradalsfjall volcano, in Chile and Iceland, respectively, using a combination of different ground-based remote sensing techniques and in situ plume measurements, we measure H₂O, SO₂, CO₂, CO, and H₂S from longer and …

Automated Glacier Classification In High Mountain Asia Using Machine Learning And A Random Forest Classifier, Victoria Elizabeth Halvorson

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

High Mountain Asia (HMA) is home to the largest mass of glaciers and ice outside the north and south polar regions. HMA glaciers are projected to experience accelerated mass loss from higher greenhouse gas emissions through the end of the century. Many studies of glacier mass balance and mass loss in HMA obtain glacier area from the Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI). However, the RGI is designed to show glacier area across the world that is accurate to the year 2000 and, as a result, is not an accurate representation of the current state of glacier area in HMA. Additionally, glacier …

Predicting Forage Provision Of Grasslands Across Climate Zones By Hyperspectral Measurements, F. A. Männer, J. Muro, J. Ferner, S. Schmidtlein, A. Linstädter

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The potential of grasslands’ fodder production is a crucial management measure, while its quantification is still laborious and costly. Remote sensing technologies, such as hyperspectral field measurements, enable fast and non-destructive estimation. However, such methods are still limited in transferability to other locations or climatic conditions. With this study, we aim to predict forage nutritive value, quantity, and energy yield from hyperspectral canopy reflections of grasslands across three climate zones. We took hyperspectral measurements with a field spectrometer from grassland canopies in temperate, tropical and semi-arid grasslands, and analyzed corresponding biomass samples for their quantity (BM), metabolizable energy content (ME) …

Drone And Digital Camera Imagery Estimate C3 And C4 Grass Ratios In Pastures, J. A. Bush, C. D. Teutsch, S. R. Smith, J. C. Henning

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The following study investigates the accuracy and practicality of exploiting the color dichotomy present between C3 and C4 grass species to estimate their respective proportions from drone or camera captured imagery. Understanding the proportions of C3 and C4 grasses in pastures is vital to sound decision making for livestock production. The ability to monitor these proportions remotely will also allow for large scale monitoring as well as detection of changes in botanical composition over time and in response to weather events, management, or climate change. A free green canopy cover (GCC) analyzing software, Canopeo, was used to quantify green plants …

Prospects For Improving Alfalfa Yield Using Genomic- And Phenomic-Based Breeding, M. W. Francis, D. Pap, A. Krill-Brown, E. C. Brummer

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a perennial outcrossing legume that is cultivated as an important forage crop in many parts of the world. Yield is the most important trait for profitable alfalfa production, yet over the last 30 years yield improvement in California has stagnated. Current breeding methods focus on recurrent phenotypic selection; however, alternatives incorporating genomic- and phenomic-based information may enhance genetic gain and help to address the lack of yield improvement. Here we attempt to increase the yield potential of alfalfa using genomic selection (GS) in combination with high throughput phenotyping (HTP). A total of 193 families …

A Uav Based Cmos Ku-Band Metasurface Fmcw Radar System For Low-Altitude Snowpack Sensing, Adrian Tang, Nacer Chahat, Yangyho Kim, Arhison Bharathan, Gabriel Virbila, Hans-Peter Marshall, Thomas Van Der Weide, Gaurangi Gupta, Raunika Anand, Goutam Chattopadhyay, Mau-Chung Frank Chang

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article presents development of a UAV based frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar system for remotely sensing the water contained within snowpacks. To make the radar system compatible with the payload requirements of small UAV platforms, the radar electronics are implemented with CMOS technology, and the antenna is implemented as an extremely compact and lightweight metasurface (MTS) antenna. This article will discuss how the high absorption losses of snowpacks lead to dynamic range requirements much stricter than FMCW radars used for automotive and other sensing applications, and how these requirements are met through antenna isolation, leakage calibration and exploitation …

Rates And Patterns Of Permafrost Thaw Induced Landcover Change At Scotty Creek, Canada, Mason Dominico

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the peatland-dominated regions of discontinuous permafrost in northwestern Canada, permafrost thaw is altering landscapes at rates without precedent in the historical record. The present study uses a combination of remote sensing and ground based methods to examine the rates and patterns of permafrost thaw and how such thaw is changing the form and function of the landscape. The area within a 4 km2 area of interest underlain by permafrost decreased from 51% in 1977 to 43% in 2010, and to 40% in 2018, indicating an increase in the permafrost thaw rate from 0.24% yr-1 between 1977 and 2010, and …

Integrating Remote Sensing With Ground-Based Observations To Quantify The Effects Of An Extreme Freeze Event On Black Mangroves (Avicennia Germinans) At The Landscape Scale, Melinda Martinez, Michael J. Osland, James B. Grace, Nicholas M. Enwright, Camille L. Stagg, Camille L. Stagg, Simen Kaalstad, Gordon H. Anderson, Elena A. Flores, Alejandro Fierro-Cabo

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Climate change is altering the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Quantifying ecosystem responses to extreme events at the landscape scale is critical for understanding and responding to climate-driven change but is constrained by limited data availability. Here, we integrated remote sensing with ground-based observations to quantify landscape-scale vegetation damage from an extreme climatic event. We used ground- and satellite-based black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) leaf damage data from the northern Gulf of Mexico (USA and Mexico) to examine the effects of an extreme freeze in a region where black mangroves are expanding their range. The February 2021 …

Seasonality In Terminus Ablation Rates For The Glaciers In Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), Aman K. C.

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1990s, the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) has undergone accelerated mass loss, with a substantial portion due to the dynamic effects of terminus retreat. Conventional assessments of dynamic mass loss, however often overlook the critical aspect of terminus change, focusing primarily on inland ice flow. In this thesis, I construct and analyze mass loss due to both temporal variations in ice flow and detachment of ice from the glacier terminus, called terminus ablation, for 55 marine-terminating glaciers in Greenland over a ten-year period from 2013 to 2023. I calculated terminus ablation rates using openly accessible data for terminus positions, …

Uas-Based Quantification Of Dynamic Lahar Channel Morphology At Volcán De Fuego, Guatemala, Jerry Clay Mock

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Lahars are responsible for 26% of the deaths associated with volcanic activity reported since 1500 AD, and are extremely destructive to infrastructure (Thouret et al., 2020). Secondary lahars are volcanic mudflows commonly triggered by rainfall. Valuable land and buildings may be covered or destroyed by thick deposits including heavy boulders, mud, and debris. Bridges and roads can be washed out, cutting people off from vital services and potentially placing them in danger from other hazards. Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala actively produces pyroclastic material in small Strombolian eruptions every 15-20 minutes. Fuego occasionally has larger eruptions and has produced over …

Causes And Effects Of Shisper Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Event In Karakoram In 2022, Sandeep Kumar Mondal, Vatsal D. Patel, Rishikesh Bharti, Ramesh P. Singh

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Karakoram Himalayas are vulnerable to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), which cause catastrophic floods in the surrounding areas. The increasing natural and anthropogenic activities, especially in the Indo-Gangetic Plains at the southern flank of the towering Himalayas, could be the cause of climate change affecting the frequency of the natural hazards in the Himalayas. In the present study, a detailed analysis of the Shisper Lake breach of 7 May 2022 is carried out using satellite remote sensing. A decreasing trend in the glacial mass balance is observed between 2017 and 2021; in this period, frequent GLOF episodes occurred. A pronounced …

Snowpack Relative Permittivity And Density Derived From Near-Coincident Lidar And Ground-Penetrating Radar, Randall Bonnell, Daniel Mcgrath, Andrew R. Hedrick, Ernesto Trujillo, Tate G. Meehan, Keith Williams, Hans-Peter Marshall, Graham Sexstone, John Fulton, Michael J. Ronayne, Steven R. Fassnacht, Ryan Webb, Katherine E. Hale

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Depth-based and radar-based remote sensing methods (e.g., lidar, synthetic aperture radar) are promising approaches for remotely measuring snow water equivalent (SWE) at high spatial resolution. These approaches require snow density estimates, obtained from in-situ measurements or density models, to calculate SWE. However, in-situ measurements are operationally limited, and few density models have seen extensive evaluation. Here, we combine near-coincident, lidar-measured snow depths with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) two-way travel times (twt) of snowpack thickness to derive >20 km of relative permittivity estimates from nine dry and two wet snow surveys at Grand Mesa, Cameron Pass, and Ranch Creek, Colorado. …

Using Landsat Imagery To Analyse Land Cover Change In The Njoro Watershed, Kenya, T. J. Baldyga, S. N. Miller, K. L. Driese, C. Maina-Gichaba

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In developing nations where resources are scarce and increased population pressures create stress on available resources, methods are needed to examine effects of human migration and resultant changes in land cover. Widespread availability and low cost of remotely sensed imagery and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are making such methods a reality to develop quantitative resource mapping and land cover change detection in developing nations (Sheng et al., 1997). However, difficulties arise in tropical regions when trying to analyse traditional vegetation bands (Bands 3 and 4), or indices such as NDVI because saturated pixels limit spectral distinction.