scholarly journals A Comparative Study of Active Rock Glaciers Mapped from Geomorphic- and Kinematic-Based Approaches in Daxue Shan, Southeast Tibetan Plateau

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 4931
Author(s):  
Jiaxin Cai ◽  
Xiaowen Wang ◽  
Guoxiang Liu ◽  
Bing Yu
Keyword(s):  
Ground Deformation ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Geometric Distortion ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Acquisition Time ◽  
Time Signal ◽  
Optical Remote Sensing ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Rock Glaciers ◽  
The Mean

Active rock glaciers (ARGs) are important permafrost landforms in alpine regions. Identifying ARGs has mainly relied on visual interpretation of their geomorphic characteristics with optical remote sensing images, while mapping ARGs from their kinematic features has also become popular in recent years. However, a thorough comparison of geomorphic- and kinematic-based inventories of ARGs has not been carried out. In this study, we employed a multi-temporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique to derive the mean annual surface displacement velocity over the Daxue Shan, Southeast Tibet Plateau. We then compiled a rock glacier inventory by synergistically interpreting the InSAR-derived surface displacements and geomorphic features based on Google Earth images. Our InSAR-assist kinematic-based inventory (KBI) was further compared with a pre-existing geomorphic-based inventory (GBI) of rock glaciers in Daxue Shan. The results show that our InSAR-assist inventory consists of 344 ARGs, 36% (i.e., 125) more than that derived from the geomorphic-based method (i.e., 251). Only 32 ARGs in the GBI are not included in the KBI. Among the 219 ARGs detected by both approaches, the ones with area differences of more than 20% account for about 32% (i.e., 70 ARGs). The mean downslope velocities of ARGs calculated from InSAR are between 2.8 and 107.4 mm∙a−1. Our comparative analyses show that ARGs mapping from the InSAR-based kinematic approach is more efficient and accurate than the geomorphic-based approach. Nonetheless, the completeness of the InSAR-assist KBI is affected by the SAR data acquisition time, signal decorrelation, geometric distortion of SAR images, and the sensitivity of the InSAR measurement to ground deformation. We suggest that the kinematic-based approach should be utilized in future ARGs-based studies such as regional permafrost distribution assessment and water storage estimates.

scholarly journals Extension of the Upper Yellow River into the Tibet Plateau: Review and New Data

Quaternary ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Zhengchen Li ◽  
Xianyan Wang ◽  
Jef Vandenberghe ◽  
Huayu Lu
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Published Data ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Large Lakes ◽  
River Terraces ◽  
The Tibet Plateau

The Wufo Basin at the margin of the northeastern Tibet Plateau connects the upstream reaches of the Yellow River with the lowland catchment downstream, and the fluvial terrace sequence in this basin provides crucial clues to understand the evolution history of the Yellow River drainage system in relation to the uplift and outgrowth of the Tibetan Plateau. Using field survey and analysis of Digital Elevation Model/Google Earth imagery, we found at least eight Yellow River terraces in this area. The overlying loess of the highest terrace was dated at 1.2 Ma based on paleomagnetic stratigraphy (two normal and two reversal polarities) and the loess-paleosol sequence (12 loess-paleosol cycles). This terrace shows the connections of drainage parts in and outside the Tibetan Plateau through its NE margin. In addition, we review the previously published data on the Yellow River terraces and ancient large lakes in the basins. Based on our new data and previous researches, we conclude that the modern Yellow River, with headwaters in the Tibet Plateau and debouching in the Bohai Sea, should date from at least 1.2 Ma. Ancient large lakes (such as the Hetao and Sanmen Lakes) developed as exorheic systems and flowed through the modern Yellow River at that time.

scholarly journals A Public Dataset for Fine-Grained Ship Classification in Optical Remote Sensing Images

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 747
Author(s):  
Yanghua Di ◽  
Zhiguo Jiang ◽  
Haopeng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Image Data ◽  
Remote Sensing Image ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Optical Remote Sensing ◽  
Remote Sensing Images ◽  
Visual Categorization ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Ship Classification

Fine-grained visual categorization (FGVC) is an important and challenging problem due to large intra-class differences and small inter-class differences caused by deformation, illumination, angles, etc. Although major advances have been achieved in natural images in the past few years due to the release of popular datasets such as the CUB-200-2011, Stanford Cars and Aircraft datasets, fine-grained ship classification in remote sensing images has been rarely studied because of relative scarcity of publicly available datasets. In this paper, we investigate a large amount of remote sensing image data of sea ships and determine most common 42 categories for fine-grained visual categorization. Based our previous DSCR dataset, a dataset for ship classification in remote sensing images, we collect more remote sensing images containing warships and civilian ships of various scales from Google Earth and other popular remote sensing image datasets including DOTA, HRSC2016, NWPU VHR-10, We call our dataset FGSCR-42, meaning a dataset for Fine-Grained Ship Classification in Remote sensing images with 42 categories. The whole dataset of FGSCR-42 contains 9320 images of most common types of ships. We evaluate popular object classification algorithms and fine-grained visual categorization algorithms to build a benchmark. Our FGSCR-42 dataset is publicly available at our webpages.

scholarly journals Characterizing the Spatial and Temporal Availability of Very High Resolution Satellite Imagery in Google Earth and Microsoft Bing Maps as a Source of Reference Data

Land ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myroslava Lesiv ◽  
Linda See ◽  
Juan Laso Bayas ◽  
Tobias Sturn ◽  
Dmitry Schepaschenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Reference Data ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Training Data ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Very High

Very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery from Google Earth and Microsoft Bing Maps is increasingly being used in a variety of applications from computer sciences to arts and humanities. In the field of remote sensing, one use of this imagery is to create reference data sets through visual interpretation, e.g., to complement existing training data or to aid in the validation of land-cover products. Through new applications such as Collect Earth, this imagery is also being used for monitoring purposes in the form of statistical surveys obtained through visual interpretation. However, little is known about where VHR satellite imagery exists globally or the dates of the imagery. Here we present a global overview of the spatial and temporal distribution of VHR satellite imagery in Google Earth and Microsoft Bing Maps. The results show an uneven availability globally, with biases in certain areas such as the USA, Europe and India, and with clear discontinuities at political borders. We also show that the availability of VHR imagery is currently not adequate for monitoring protected areas and deforestation, but is better suited for monitoring changes in cropland or urban areas using visual interpretation.

scholarly journals Characterizing Hydrological Connectivity of Artificial Ditches in Zoige Peatlands of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiwei Li ◽  
Peng Gao ◽  
Yuchi You
Keyword(s):  
Google Earth ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Water Volume ◽  
Hydrological Connectivity ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Zoigê Basin ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau ◽  
Peatland Degradation

Peats have the unique ability of effectively storing water and carbon. Unfortunately, this ability has been undermined by worldwide peatland degradation. In the Zoige Basin, located in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China, peatland degradation is particularly severe. Although climate change and (natural and artificial) drainage systems have been well-recognized as the main factors catalyzing this problem, little is known about the impact of the latter on peatland hydrology at larger spatial scales. To fill this gap, we examined the hydrological connectivity of artificial ditch networks using Google Earth imagery and recorded hydrological data in the Zoige Basin. After delineating from the images of 1392 ditches and 160 peatland patches in which these ditches were clustered, we calculated their lengths, widths, areas, and slopes, as well as two morphological parameters, ditch density (Dd) and drainage ability (Pa). The subsequent statistical analysis and examination of an index defined as the product Dd and Pa showed that structural hydrological connectivity, which was quantitatively represented by the value of this index, decreased when peatland patch areas increased, suggesting that ditches in small patches have higher degrees of hydrological connectivity. Using daily discharge data from three local gauging stations and Manning’s equation, we back-calculated the mean ditch water depths (Dm) during raining days of a year and estimated based on Dm the total water volume drained from ditches in each patch (V) during annual raining days. We then demonstrated that functional hydrological connectivity, which may be represented by V, generally decreased when patch areas increased, more sensitive to changes of ditch number and length in larger peatland patches. Furthermore, we found that the total water volume drained from all ditches during annual raining days only took a very small proportion of the total volume of stream flow out of the entire watershed (0.0012%) and this nature remained similar for the past 30 years, suggesting that during annual rainfall events, water drained from connected ditches is negligible. This revealed that the role of connected artificial ditches in draining peatland water mainly takes effect during the prolonged dry season of a year in the Zoige Basin.

scholarly journals A Comparison of Methods for Determining Forest Composition from High-Spatial-Resolution Remotely Sensed Imagery

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1290
Author(s):  
Benjamin T. Fraser ◽  
Russell G. Congalton
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
High Spatial Resolution ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Remotely Sensed Imagery ◽  
Composition Classes

Remotely sensed imagery has been used to support forest ecology and management for decades. In modern times, the propagation of high-spatial-resolution image analysis techniques and automated workflows have further strengthened this synergy, leading to the inquiry into more complex, local-scale, ecosystem characteristics. To appropriately inform decisions in forestry ecology and management, the most reliable and efficient methods should be adopted. For this reason, our research compares visual interpretation to digital (automated) processing for forest plot composition and individual tree identification. During this investigation, we qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated the process of classifying species groups within complex, mixed-species forests in New England. This analysis included a comparison of three high-resolution remotely sensed imagery sources: Google Earth, National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery, and unmanned aerial system (UAS) imagery. We discovered that, although the level of detail afforded by the UAS imagery spatial resolution (3.02 cm average pixel size) improved the visual interpretation results (7.87–9.59%), the highest thematic accuracy was still only 54.44% for the generalized composition groups. Our qualitative analysis of the uncertainty for visually interpreting different composition classes revealed the persistence of mislabeled hardwood compositions (including an early successional class) and an inability to consistently differentiate between ‘pure’ and ‘mixed’ stands. The results of digitally classifying the same forest compositions produced a higher level of accuracy for both detecting individual trees (93.9%) and labeling them (59.62–70.48%) using machine learning algorithms including classification and regression trees, random forest, and support vector machines. These results indicate that digital, automated, classification produced an increase in overall accuracy of 16.04% over visual interpretation for generalized forest composition classes. Other studies, which incorporate multitemporal, multispectral, or data fusion approaches provide evidence for further widening this gap. Further refinement of the methods for individual tree detection, delineation, and classification should be developed for structurally and compositionally complex forests to supplement the critical deficiency in local-scale forest information around the world.

scholarly journals Accurate extraction of surface water in complex environment based on Google Earth Engine and Sentinel-2

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0253209
Author(s):  
Jianfeng Li ◽  
Biao Peng ◽  
Yulu Wei ◽  
Huping Ye
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Water Extraction ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Commission Error ◽  
Complex Environment ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Water Index ◽  
Google Earth Engine ◽  
Sentinel 2

To realize the accurate extraction of surface water in complex environment, this study takes Sri Lanka as the study area owing to the complex geography and various types of water bodies. Based on Google Earth engine and Sentinel-2 images, an automatic water extraction model in complex environment(AWECE) was developed. The accuracy of water extraction by AWECE, NDWI, MNDWI and the revised version of multi-spectral water index (MuWI-R) models was evaluated from visual interpretation and quantitative analysis. The results show that the AWECE model could significantly improve the accuracy of water extraction in complex environment, with an overall accuracy of 97.16%, and an extremely low omission error (0.74%) and commission error (2.35%). The AEWCE model could effectively avoid the influence of cloud shadow, mountain shadow and paddy soil on water extraction accuracy. The model can be widely applied in cloudy, mountainous and other areas with complex environments, which has important practical significance for water resources investigation, monitoring and protection.

In situ creep of frozen soil, Fenghuo Shan, Tibet Plateau, China

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 545-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Wang ◽  
Hugh M. French
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Power Flow ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Frozen Soil ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Soil Creep ◽  
Extreme Variability ◽  
The Mean

Field measurements of frozen soil creep in the upper 3.0 m of permafrost indicate that creep occurs in both winter and summer. Between 1992 and 1993, the mean rate of creep ranged from 0.44 cm at 1.6 m depth to 0.16 cm at 2.8 m depth but there was extreme variability. Creep parameters n and A, as defined by the power flow law, were calculated from field data. Parameter n ranged between 1.96 and 2.29 and increased with depth, while A decreased with depth. Comparisons of creep rates for different permafrost environments suggest that ground temperature largely controls the magnitude of permafrost creep. Key words : permafrost, creep parameters, Tibet Plateau.

A Statistical Discourse of the Climate of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 15-33
Author(s):  
M Odigwe ◽  
S. I. Efe ◽  
A. O. Atubi
Keyword(s):  
Niger Delta ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Trend Test ◽  
Delta Region ◽  
Niger Delta Region ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Mean

The study aimed at investigating the climate of the Niger Delta Region (NDR) of Nigeria. This is to ascertain the variations in rainfall and temperature in the Niger Delta Region. The study utilized the ex-post facto research design. The study utilized the annual rainfall and temperature time series data from 1925 – 2018 periods. That was generated from the archive of the Climate Research Unit (CRU) Ts 4.03 using Google earth. The grided points of 5ox5o high resolution of thirty-two (32) CRU Ts 4.03 stations were utilized for the study. In order to analyse the data on rainfall and temperature the descriptive statistical techniques were employed. While testing the formulated hypotheses, the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilized to decide the significant difference in stations, additionally the Turkey Test was utilized to decide were the difference in the mean lies, while the Mann-Kendell Trend Test was used to determine the upward and downward trends in rainfall and temperature. Thus, the study revealed that the mean distribution of rainfall and temperature in the Niger Delta region for the past ninety-four (94) years showed a downward and upward trend with a mean of 2238.3mm and 26.7oC in rainfall and temperature respectively. While, the highest and lowest rainfall (2600.7mm and 1854mm), was recorded in 1955 and 1984 which indicates an increase of 746.7mm. The highest and lowest temperature (27.4oC and 25.9oC) was recorded in 2017, 1976 and 1977 respectively which indicate a rise of 1.5oC. Furthermore, the study revealed that there is a statistically significant variation in rainfall in the Niger

scholarly journals Distinguishing Glaciers between Surging and Advancing by Remote Sensing: A Case Study in the Eastern Karakoram

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 2297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingyang Lv ◽  
Huadong Guo ◽  
Jin Yan ◽  
Kunpeng Wu ◽  
Guang Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Stable Mode ◽  
Optical Images ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Glacier Surges ◽  
Elevation Model

The Karakoram has had an overall slight positive glacier mass balance since the end of 20th century, which is anomalous given that most other regions in High Mountain Asia have had negative changes. A large number of advancing, retreating, and surging glaciers are heterogeneously mixed in the Karakoram increasing the difficulties and inaccuracies to identify glacier surges. We found two adjacent glaciers in the eastern Karakoram behaving differently from 1995 to 2019: one was surging and the other was advancing. In order to figure out the differences existing between them and the potential controls on surges in this region, we collected satellite images from Landsat series, ASTER, and Google Earth, along with two sets of digital elevation model. Utilizing visual interpretation, feature tracking of optical images, and differencing between digital elevation models, three major differences were observed: (1) the evolution profiles of the terminus positions occupied different change patterns; (2) the surging glacier experienced a dramatic fluctuation in the surface velocities during and after the event, while the advancing glacier flowed in a stable mode; and (3) surface elevation of the surging glacier decreased in the reservoir and increased in the receiving zone. However, the advancing glacier only had an obvious elevation increase over its terminus part. These differences can be regarded as standards for surge identification in mountain ranges. After combining the differences with regional meteorological conditions, we suggested that changes of thermal and hydrological conditions could play a role in the surge occurrence, in addition, geomorphological characteristics and increasing warming climate might also be part of it. This research strongly contributes to the literatures of glacial motion and glacier mass change in the eastern Karakoram through remote sensing.

Coherent structures and dominant frequencies in a turbulent three-dimensional diffuser

2012 ◽  
Vol 699 ◽  
pp. 320-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Malm ◽  
Philipp Schlatter ◽  
Dan S. Henningson
Keyword(s):  
Coherent Structures ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Bulk Velocity ◽  
Time Signal ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Dominant Frequencies

AbstractDominant frequencies and coherent structures are investigated in a turbulent, three-dimensional and separated diffuser flow at $\mathit{Re}= 10\hspace{0.167em} 000$ (based on bulk velocity and inflow-duct height), where mean flow characteristics were first studied experimentally by Cherry, Elkins and Eaton (Intl J. Heat Fluid Flow, vol. 29, 2008, pp. 803–811) and later numerically by Ohlsson et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 650, 2010, pp. 307–318). Coherent structures are educed by proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) of the flow, which together with time probes located in the flow domain are used to extract frequency information. The present study shows that the flow contains multiple phenomena, well separated in frequency space. Dominant large-scale frequencies in a narrow band $\mathit{St}\equiv fh/ {u}_{b} \in [0. 0092, 0. 014] $ (where $h$ is the inflow-duct height and ${u}_{b} $ is the bulk velocity), yielding time periods ${T}^{\ensuremath{\ast} } = T{u}_{b} / h\in [70, 110] $, are deduced from the time signal probes in the upper separated part of the diffuser. The associated structures identified by the POD are large streaks arising from a sinusoidal oscillating motion in the diffuser. Their individual contributions to the total kinetic energy, dominated by the mean flow, are, however, small. The reason for the oscillating movement in this low-frequency range is concluded to be the confinement of the flow in this particular geometric set-up in combination with the high Reynolds number and the large separated zone on the top diffuser wall. Based on this analysis, it is shown that the bulk of the streamwise root mean square (r.m.s.) value arises due to large-scale motion, which in turn can explain the appearance of two or more peaks in the streamwise r.m.s. value. The weak secondary flow present in the inflow duct is shown to survive into the diffuser, where it experiences an imbalance with respect to the upper expanding corners, thereby giving rise to the asymmetry of the mean separated region in the diffuser.

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