Remote Sensing Commons^™

Climate Change In Gilgit-Baltistan: Satellite-Based Land Use/Land Cover Change Detection, Socio-Economic Dimensions, And Adaptation Strategies, Ali Muhammad

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Climate change is increasingly transforming the cryosphere, hydrology, and human landscape of Gilgit-Baltistan, a highly climate-sensitive mountain region in northern Pakistan. This thesis investigates these transformations through satellite-based land use/land cover (LULC) change detection in four representative tehsils of Gilgit-Baltistan—Ali Abad, Gilgit, Nagar, and Sikander Abad—selected to span a gradient of human pressure and cryospheric exposure within the region. Using summer, cloud-free (< 10%) imagery from USGS Landsat 7 (2000) and Landsat 8 (2025), it conducts a multi-temporal comparison of environmental and socio-spatial change. After atmospheric correction and band compositing, the imagery is classified in ArcGIS Pro into six classes—Water, Barren land, Vegetation, Snow, Glacier, and Built-up—using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier, with Maximum Likelihood Classification and Random Forest also tested but found less suitable for the final workflow. The analysis detects a pronounced reduction in mapped glacier-class area alongside a comparatively stable snow class, together with built-up expansion, while examining how temperature, precipitation, tourism, and population dynamics relate to observed LULC transitions. The results reveal a pattern of cryospheric decline and urban growth, with implications for water availability, ecological stability, hazard exposure, and settlement pressure. By integrating geospatial change detection with climatic and socio-economic interpretation, the thesis moves beyond mapping to explain interacting environmental and human drivers of landscape transformation and provides a reproducible remote-sensing baseline for monitoring land-surface change in heterogeneous mountainous terrain. It recommends integrated water-resource management, climate-resilient land-use planning, watershed and glacier monitoring, and sustainable tourism governance, supporting evidence-based decision-making by the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan and organizations working on climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable regional development.

Ground Electric Field, Atmospheric Weather And Electric Grid Variations In Northeast Greece Influenced By The March 2012 Solar Activity And The Moderate To Intense Geomagnetic Storms, Georgios Anagnostopoulos, Anastasios Karkanis, Athanasios Kampatagis, Panagiotis Marhavilas, Sofia-Anna Menesidou, Dimitrios Efthymiadis, Stefanos Keskinis, Dimitar Ouzounov, Nick Hatzigeorgiu, Michael Danakis

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In a recent paper, we extended a previous study on the solar solar influence to the generation of the March 2012 heatwave in the northeastern USA. In the present study we check the possible relationship of solar activity with the early March 2012 bad weather in northeast Thrace, Greece. To this end, we examined data from various remote sensing instrumentation monitoring the Sun (SDO satellite), Interplanetary space (ACE satellite), the Earth’s magnetosphere (Earth-based measurements, NOAA-19 satellite), the top of the clouds (Terra and Aqua satellites), and the near ground atmosphere. Our comparative data analysis suggests that: (i) the winter-like weather …

Relocating Lubra Village And Visualizing Himalayan Flood Damages With Remote Sensing, Ronan Wallace, Yungdrung Tsewang Gurung, Ryan Kastner

Journal of Critical Global Issues

As weather patterns change worldwide, isolated communities impacted by climate change go unnoticed and we need community-driven solutions. In Himalayan Mustang, Nepal, indigenous Lubra Village faces threats of increasing flash flooding. After every flood, residual muddy sediment hardens across the riverbed like concrete, causing the riverbed elevation to rise. As elevation increases, sediment encroaches on Lubra’s agricultural fields and homes, magnifying flood vulnerability. In the last monsoon season alone, the Lubra community witnessed floods swallowing several agricultural fields and damaging two homes. One solution considers relocating the village to a new location entirely. However, relocation poses a challenging task, as …

Quantifying Structural Vegetation Change On Arctic Tundra: A Multi-Decadal Study Integrating Remotely Sensed Imagery And Traditional Field Measurements, Anna M. Moser

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Arctic regions have experienced an amplified rate of climate warming in recent decades, contributing to well-documented increases in tundra vegetation productivity. Satellite remote sensing has historically played a crucial role in detecting and quantifying trends at regional and biome scales; however, coarse resolution imagery has proven insufficient for capturing fine-scale variability in vegetation response. Considering the spatial heterogeneity of tundra vegetation, high resolution, plot-scale remote sensing observations are necessary. This study couples traditional field measurements with high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery and plane-based aerial photos to quantify changes in vegetation on the North Slope of Alaska over a 28-year …

Trends Of Autumn Phenology In Response To Environmental And Meteorological Variables, Meagan Renee Maguire

Masters Theses

Previous studies have identified that changes in plant phenology are most likely induced by climate variability. One such change is the end of season (EOS) for deciduous forests in the United States. In essence, the EOS represents the end of plant productivity for a given year; the phase in which plant dormancy is reached. However, our wealth of knowledge on plant phenology largely overlooks the phases that occur in autumn, especially the EOS, with many previous studies focusing on spring phenology. This study uses remote sensing MODIS aerial imagery data and historical meteorological data to analyze any relationships that may …

Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning To Estimate Canopy Structure In Peatland Conifers Under A Climate Manipulation, Angela D. Seibert

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Northern peatlands are major terrestrial carbon sinks, storing 415 ± 150 Gt of carbon. The composition of peatland vegetation affects this carbon storage capacity, and thus quantifying the vegetation helps to constrain uncertainty in peatland carbon storage estimates. Ground layer vegetation, such as Sphagnum sp. moss contributes greatly to carbon storage capacity. In forested peatlands, the tree canopy structure directly influences peatland solar insolation, soil temperature, and water table levels. Each of these factors impacts the ground layer vegetation. Currently, there is uncertainty about how the peatland tree canopy structure is influenced by elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO_{2 …}

Utilizing Remote Sensing Technology To Relocate Lubra Village And Visualize Flood Damages, Ronan Wallace

Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Honors Projects

As weather patterns change worldwide, isolated communities impacted by climate change go unnoticed and we need community and habitat-conscious solutions. In Himalayan Mustang, Nepal, indigenous Lubra village faces threats of increasing flash flooding. After every flood, residual concrete-like sediment hardens across the riverbed, causing the riverbed elevation to rise. As elevation increases, sediment encroaches on Lubra’s agricultural fields and homes, magnifying flood vulnerability. In the last monsoon season alone, the village witnessed floods swallowing several fields and damaging two homes. One solution considers relocating the village to a new location entirely. However, relocation poses a challenging task, as eight centuries …

Fire Emissions In The Tropical Indonesia: Improved Estimation And Driving Forces Investigation, Xiaoman Lu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Indonesia has experienced frequent fires since the 1970s due to large-scale peatland conversion and extensive drainage for agricultural development. Fire emissions released from these fires have led to Indonesia being the world’s 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases in certain years. Given that fire emissions severely affect climate, weather, and the human environment, numerous approaches have been developed to estimate fire emissions. However, existing emission estimates differ largely by a factor of four in this tropical country because of frequent cloud interferences and low-temperature smoldering fires. Therefore, this dissertation aims to improve the quantification of Indonesian fire emissions through enhanced …

Detecting Recent Crop Phenology Dynamics In Corn And Soybean Cropping Systems Of Kentucky, Yanjun Yang, Bo Tao, Liang Liang, Yawen Huang, Christopher J. Matocha, Chad D. Lee, Michael Sama, Bassil El Masri, Wei Ren

Geography Faculty Publications

Accurate phenological information is essential for monitoring crop development, predicting crop yield, and enhancing resilience to cope with climate change. This study employed a curve-change-based dynamic threshold approach on NDVI (Normalized Differential Vegetation Index) time series to detect the planting and harvesting dates for corn and soybean in Kentucky, a typical climatic transition zone, from 2000 to 2018. We compared satellite-based estimates with ground observations and performed trend analyses of crop phenological stages over the study period to analyze their relationships with climate change and crop yields. Our results showed that corn and soybean planting dates were delayed by 0.01 …

Quantifying The Impacts Of Land Use, Management And Climate Change On Water Resources In Missouri River Basin, Arun Bawa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A location-specific evaluation of hydrological landscape responses concerning past and projected climate and land use land cover (LULC) changes can provide a powerful intellectual basis for developing efficient and profitable agroecosystems, and overcoming uncertain and detrimental consequences of LULC and climate shifts. This dissertation assessed the impacts of land use, management, and climate change on water resources in the Missouri River Basin (MRB) through four specific studies that included: (i) to study the responses of leached nutrient concentrations and soil health to winter rye cover crop (CC) under no-till corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation, (ii) to …

A Field Guide For Weathering: Embodied Tactics For Collectives Of Two Or More Humans, Jennifer Mae Hamilton, Astrida Neimanis

The Goose

In our inherited meteorological practices and frameworks, weather conditions are managed for us in a range of ways (for example, through architecture, technology, commodity culture, infrastructure, economic rationale). This field guide brings the weather back to the body. A traditional field guide provides tools for the individual sovereign human subject to observe and document nature “over there”. In contrast, through a range of different activities, our field guide not only invites investigation and cataloguing of the field that we also comprise, but also challenges what counts as a noteworthy observation regarding the weather and also climate.

Using Digital Mapping Techniques To Rapidly Document Vulnerable Historical Landscapes In Coastal Louisiana: Holt Cemetery Case Study, Alahna Moore

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis outlines a technique for rapid documentation of historic sites in volatile cultural landscapes. Using Holt Cemetery as an exemplary case study, a workflow was developed incorporating RTK terrain survey, UAS aerial imagery, photogrammetry, GIS, and smartphone data collection in order to create a multifaceted database of the material and spatial conditions, as well as the patterns of use, that exist at the cemetery.

The purpose of this research is to create a framework for improving the speed of data creation and increasing the accessibility of information regarding threatened cultural resources. It is intended that these processes can be …

Integrated (Remote Sensing, Gis, And Modeling) Hydrological Investigation And Landslide Susceptibility Studies In The Arabian Shield, Talal Ghazi Alharbi

Dissertations

An integrated approach (remote sensing, geographical information systems [GIS], and modeling) was applied to conduct a number of hydrologic and environmental investigations in the Arabian Peninsula (AP) aimed at: (1) identifying the spatial and temporal climate change–related variations in precipitation over the AP using readily available, remotely acquired global precipitation data sets; (2) investigating the nature of the factors controlling the observed climatic variations; (3) estimating the partitioning of precipitation over the Red Sea Hills watersheds into runoff , recharge, and initial losses using calibrated continuous rainfall runoff models (Soil Water Assessment Tool [SWAT]); (4) identifying landslide (largely caused by …

Spatial And Interannual Variability Of Dissolved Organic Matter In The Kolyma River, East Siberia, Observed Using Satellite Imagery, Claire G. Griffin, Karen E. Frey, John Rogan, Robert M. Holmes

Geography

The Kolyma River basin in northeastern Siberia, the sixth largest river basin draining to the Arctic Ocean, contains vast reserves of carbon in Pleistocene-aged permafrost soils. Permafrost degradation, as a result of climate change, may cause shifts in riverine biogeochemistry as this old source of organic matter is exposed. Satellite remote sensing offers an opportunity to complement and extrapolate field sampling of dissolved organic matter in this expansive and remote region. We develop empirically based algorithms that estimate chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the Kolyma River and its major tributaries in the vicinity of …