| Title | A Collection of SAR Methodologies for Monitoring Wetlands |
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| Author | White, L; Brisco, B; Daboor, M; Schmitt, A; Pratt, A |
| Source | Remote Sensing 7, 6, 2015 p. 7615-7645, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs70607615  Open Access |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2015 |
| Alt Series | Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 20150394 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Alberta |
| NTS | 84I; 84P |
| Lat/Long WENS | -112.0000 -110.0000 60.0000 58.0000 |
| Subjects | regional geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; Nature and Environment; wetlands; radar methods; radar probes; radar imagery; soils; vegetation; mapping techniques; flora; remote sensing; satellite
imagery |
| Illustrations | graphs; diagrams; location maps; Landsat images; tables; photographs |
| Program | Remote Sensing Science |
| Released | 2015 06 09 |
| Abstract | Wetlands are an important natural resource that needs to be protected. One of the first steps in environmental monitoring is to determine the quantity and location of that resource. Synthentic
Aperature Radar (SAR) can help answer these questions by mapping and monitoring change in surface water, flooded vegetation, and changes from one land cover class to another within a wetland. This paper will review some commonly used techniques such
as grey-level thresholding to map surface water and polarimetric decompositions to map flooded vegetation and changes from one land cover class to another. The Curevlet-based change detection and the Wishart-Chernoff Distance method, which are not
as well known, will be introduced and used to demonstrate the ability to improve flooded vegetation mapping and to flag areas of change respectively. We recommend that due to reliability of acquiring SAR data and its proven ability to map various
components of a wetland demonstrate that it should be included as part of a wetland monitoring system together with other sources of data, for example optical imagery. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Wetlands are an important part of Canada's natural landscape. However, they are declining due to stresses from a variety of factors including climate
change, industrial practices and conversion to agriculture or urban areas. To help monitor and preserve wetlands, an inventory which maps the location and the dynamic seasonal and annual changes is needed. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), such as
that onboard Canada's RADARSAT-2 satellite, can provide important information to such an inventory. This paper provides an overview of some SAR methods well-suited to mapping and monitoring various aspects of wetlands; specifically, surface water,
flooded vegetation and flagging areas of wetland change. These methodologies are presented through case studies from several field sites at different locations. The results demonstrate that SAR data can be used to effectively map important aspects
of wetlands, and should be considered as a critical component of a wetland monitoring system. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 297509 |
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