GIS & Remote Sensing

Remote Sensing and GIS in Wetland MappingWetland mapping provides useful and important information for assessment of water resources and also for conservation and management of wetland. Remote Sensing and GIS techniques have huge potential for mapping, monitoring and assessment of wetland resources. There are better options to the users for wetland mapping, due to advancement in remote sensing and GIS technologies. As variety of remote sensing images are available with better and finder spatial and temporal resolution. As well as stereo satellite images are also available for effective and accurate mapping and estimation. These high resolution and stereo images can be used to wetland database and integrated with GIS for further analysis such as change simulation, scenario based predictions for better planning and monitoring.  Wetland Mapping Process through Remotely Sensed Images In the study the wetlands of Rajasthan falling in different ecological regions ranging from humid to hot ar…

Inland Wetland Environment Wetlands refer to lowlands covered with shallow and sometimes temporary or intermittent waters. Wetlands include marshes, swamps, bogs, wet meadows, potholes, shallow lakes and ponds. However deep lakes, reservoir and permanent waters of streams are not considered as Wetlands. Hence we can say wetlands are transitional lands between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface.  Importance of wetlands Wetlands posses a great ecological significance in terms of, net primary production, micro-climatic control, ground water recharge and habitat to large number of flora and fauna. It also plays a vital role in nutrient recycling and storage as well as biodiversity conservation. Wetlands help to retain water during dry periods, thus keeping the water table high and relatively stable. Threats to wetlands Rapidly expanding human population, large scale changes in land use, different development projects and improper use of w…

IntroductionThermal variations always affect the natural phenomenon whether it is land or sea. These variations bring changes on the earth features such as reduction in vegetation with increase in temperature. At the same time these thermal variations affect the coastal ecosystem and its habitats. Coral reef, which is also the part of coastal ecosystem, will also change with the variation in temperature.  The ideal temperature for coral growth is 18oC, however many coral species can survive in water temperatures between 23oC-29oC. Bleaching can be induced by short-term exposure (i.e., 1-2 days) to temperature elevations of 3oC to 4oC above normal summer ambient values or by long-term exposure (i.e., several weeks) at elevations of 1oC to 2oC.  The rise in sea surface temperature can cause stress on Coral reef ecosystem, which may result in coral bleaching followed by coral mortality.  The role of remote sensing and GIS become very significant in such type of mapping and analysis. As remo…

Our world is fighting with COVID-19, which is one of the biggest pandemic. Till the day, the lockdown is one and only effective solution implemented to control spreading of this disease. The Corona Virus affected health system and economy of many developed and developing nation. It also disrupted supply chains, markets, industries of the economy of system.
It is important to take timely measures to stop the spread of corona virus. Therefore role of government become very significant to generate real time information from ground and create awareness among public.
There are several ways of monitoring COVID patients and its spreads. Even information technology can be used by implementing smart intelligence platforms and provide all information digitally for better management. This also helps to health consultant and supporting staff as well as local authorities including police to manage the COVID affected areas.
Geographical Information System (GIS) is one of the technologies, which prov…

In this article ground water discharge/seepage in to coastal ecosystem is discussed. As ground water discharge into the sea water, it brings changes in chemical as well as nutrients properties of sea water. So Impact of ground water discharge into sea water is assessed using GIS and remote sensing technology to ascertain the affect on coastal ecosystem. The coastal ecosystems are affected by dissolved nutrient inputs from the circulating offshore water, river runoff, and groundwater seepage. Most of the research studies documented that groundwater seepage has a major influence on nutrient levels on the fringing reef in the areas where river input is not significant. Groundwater indicates higher concentrations of land-derived nutrients than seawater and river water. To estimate the submarine groundwater discharge, radon monitoring approach is quite promising. The use of radon as an submarine groundwater discharge tracer is related to the fact that radon activity in groundwater is much h…

Remote Sensing and GIS is very useful tool for mapping historical changes in coastal system and to predict future conditions of coastal ecosystem. Benthic cover is one of the important feature of coastal ecosystem, it plays significant role in maintaining coastal activities and its environment. Effective mapping of benthic cover provides many important information for maintain and development of coastal ecosystem. Mapping Changes in Benthic coverCoral reefs need our attention because of the high biodiversity and their key role in the tropical marine biosphere. These fragile ecosystems are under growing pressure from land-based sources of pollution as the result of increasing deforestation, soil loss, and excess use of fertilizers and pesticides. Coastal coral reefs, like other marine coastal ecosystems are increasingly exposed to growing loads of nutrients, sediments and pollutants discharged from the land. The deteriorating water quality from marine pollution and coastal development …

The rapid growth of megacities causes severe social, economical and ecological issues. This growth can be nurtured in a sustainable way. The challenge for land professionals is to provide the megacity ‘managers’, both political and professional, with appropriate ‘actionable intelligence’ that is up-to-date, citywide and in a timely manner to support more proactive decision making that encourages more effective sustainable development.  Spatial data has become indispensable for numerous aspects of urban development, planning and management. The increasing importance of remote sensing and GIS has been due to recent strides in acquiring spatial information (especially satellite Images and positioning), management (utilizing geographic information systems and database tools) and access (witness the growth in web mapping services), as well as the development of analytical techniques such as high resolution mapping of urban environments. These more efficient techniques can lead to a wider di…

Remote sensing is a rich source of information for urban change management due to its synoptic and periodic observation capability. Over the years, images of the land use environment including urban change have accumulated, presenting an opportunity to understand change processes that have led to changes recorded by the imagery. Integration of GIS with remote sensing data is advantageous for urban change studies. It provides big scope for modeling urban growth and a platform to integrate models and policy to understand urban growth. Complementary analysis methods need to be explored to extract other information potentially useful for urban growth management. Rapid urban change and rise in population influence the urban form and design. Urban form and design affect the access to transit service- such as core city, which usually has a grid street pattern and enhances access to transit servicewhereas the suburban area, limits access to transit service due to street network and neighborhoo…

Mapping Through Remote SensingMapping is an important component for management of land resources. Remote sensing data can be used to create information in the form of mapping of any given area. Natural features such as such as forest, grass land, water bodies includes river, pond, swamps, ocean, desert areas, mountain/hilly areas etc. can representedwith some other feature in the form of mapping. As well as manmade features, include residential, commercial, industrial and transportation network, combined with administrative boundary can be represented spatially in the form map using satellite images. As base maps, topographic maps and thematic maps are primary requirement for monitoring, evaluating, planning and management of land resources both manmade and natural. Elevation maps can be very important in planning and management of many applications such as water resources, forest resources, and large infrastructure.
The Demand of remote sensing images is rapidly growing in production …

Hydrology encompasses the study of water on and beneath the surface of the earth, occurrence of water, movement of water, physical and chemical properties of water and its relation with the surrounding environment. 'Hydro' word comes from the Greek word, which means water and logy means study. So study of water can be defined as ‘hydrology’. Hydrology studies indirectly also related to many other studies such as landuse/land cover studies, forestry, agriculture, since existence of water in these studies play significant role. Changes in hydrology are dynamic, it changes with years as well as with change in season and bring huge impact on surrounding environment. Therefore require regular and sometimes frequent observations to assess and control the negative impact on hydrology of any given area. Satellite remotely sensed observations enhance understanding of hydrological studies and impact of surrounding environment on hydrological processes by having global spatial and time se…

IntroductionAgriculture is very important for economy of both developed and developing countries. Agriculture productions provide food, which is necessity of everyone to survive. Therefore agriculture production in cost effective manner is the main need of each farmer. A farmer needs resourceful knowledge and information of products to form a viable strategy for farming. Remote sensing is a tool which help to ascertain crop health and damage, potential yield, soil conditions. Remote sensing data in the form of satellite images and aerial photographs are used for crop mapping, classification, health and monitoring farming process. Remote sensing applications in agriculture are below- Crop type mapping and classificationCrop condition assessmentEstimate crop yieldSoil behavior analysisMapping and monitoring of soil and crop
Crop Type Mapping Using Remote Sensing TechnologyCrop identification and mapping is important for both government agencies and private agencies to know the impact of c…