Drought was a severe recurring phenomenon in Iraq over the past two decades due to climate change despite the fact that Iraq has been one of the most water-rich countries in the Middle East in the past.The Iraqi Kurdi...Drought was a severe recurring phenomenon in Iraq over the past two decades due to climate change despite the fact that Iraq has been one of the most water-rich countries in the Middle East in the past.The Iraqi Kurdistan Region(IKR)is located in the north of Iraq,which has also suffered from extreme drought.In this study,the drought severity status in Sulaimaniyah Province,one of four provinces of the IKR,was investigated for the years from 1998 to 2017.Thus,Landsat time series dataset,including 40 images,were downloaded and used in this study.The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI)and the Normalized Difference Water Index(NDWI)were utilized as spectral-based drought indices and the Standardized Precipitation Index(SPI)was employed as a meteorological-based drought index,to assess the drought severity and analyse the changes of vegetative cover and water bodies.The study area experienced precipitation deficiency and severe drought in 1999,2000,2008,2009,and 2012.Study findings also revealed a drop in the vegetative cover by 33.3%in the year 2000.Furthermore,the most significant shrinkage in water bodies was observed in the Lake Darbandikhan(LDK),which lost 40.5%of its total surface area in 2009.The statistical analyses revealed that precipitation was significantly positively correlated with the SPI and the surface area of the LDK(correlation coefficients of 0.92 and 0.72,respectively).The relationship between SPI and NDVI-based vegetation cover was positive but not significant.Low precipitation did not always correspond to vegetative drought;the delay of the effect of precipitation on NDVI was one year.展开更多
Mining activities often cause dramatic changes in landscapes, particularly in the dump sites and its surrounding environment. Land rehabilitation is the process of renovating damaged land to some extent of its origina...Mining activities often cause dramatic changes in landscapes, particularly in the dump sites and its surrounding environment. Land rehabilitation is the process of renovating damaged land to some extent of its original shape and aims to minimize and mitigate the environmental effects to allow new land uses. The success of different rehabilitation strategy and newly suggested urban and architecture modeling depends on the landscape characterization (topography of the study area and its derivatives such as slope and aspects, geological and geomorphologic nature of the study area). The aim of this study is to demonstrate the utility of different methodologies based on geomatics techniques (Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, Global Positioning System (GPS) and three dimensional Geographic Information System (GIS)) for highlighting landscape characterization which is needed for rehabilitation of Mahis area. Photogrammetric adjustment procedures were used to create digital elevation model and Orth-Photo model for the study area using aerial images. Remote sensing data were used for land classification to provide vital information for rehabilitation planning. GPS field observations were used to build spatial network for the study area based on ground control point collections. Finally, realistic representation of the study area with three dimensional GIS was prepared for the study area considering ease and flexible updating of the geo-spatial database.展开更多
The Kinta Valley is an area of karst in the north-western part of Peninsular Malaysia. Over 30 years of uncontrolled land use and development has led to significant changes in topography and geomorphology, such as the...The Kinta Valley is an area of karst in the north-western part of Peninsular Malaysia. Over 30 years of uncontrolled land use and development has led to significant changes in topography and geomorphology, such as the appearance of sinkholes. In this paper, geospatial techniques were utilized to the task of evaluating sinkholes susceptibility map using a spatial multi criteria evaluation approach (SMCE). Sinkhole location and a spatial database were applied to calculate eight inherent causative factors for limestone instability namely: lithology, structure (lineament), soil cover, slope, land use mining, urban area features, ponds and rivers. The preparation of the sinkhole geohazard map involved summing the weighted values for each hazard element, which permits the construction of geohazard model;the results of the analysis were validated using the previous actual sinkholes locations in the study area. The spatial distribution of sinkholes occurrence, urban development, faults distribution and ex-mining ponds are factors that are directly responsible for all sinkholes subsidence hazards. Further, the resulting geo-hazard map shows that 93% of recent sinkholes occur in areas where the model flags as “high” and “very high” potential hazard, located in the urbanized part of the valley, while less-developed areas to the west and southwest suffered less sinkhole development. The results can be used for hazard prevention and land-use planning.展开更多
文摘Drought was a severe recurring phenomenon in Iraq over the past two decades due to climate change despite the fact that Iraq has been one of the most water-rich countries in the Middle East in the past.The Iraqi Kurdistan Region(IKR)is located in the north of Iraq,which has also suffered from extreme drought.In this study,the drought severity status in Sulaimaniyah Province,one of four provinces of the IKR,was investigated for the years from 1998 to 2017.Thus,Landsat time series dataset,including 40 images,were downloaded and used in this study.The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI)and the Normalized Difference Water Index(NDWI)were utilized as spectral-based drought indices and the Standardized Precipitation Index(SPI)was employed as a meteorological-based drought index,to assess the drought severity and analyse the changes of vegetative cover and water bodies.The study area experienced precipitation deficiency and severe drought in 1999,2000,2008,2009,and 2012.Study findings also revealed a drop in the vegetative cover by 33.3%in the year 2000.Furthermore,the most significant shrinkage in water bodies was observed in the Lake Darbandikhan(LDK),which lost 40.5%of its total surface area in 2009.The statistical analyses revealed that precipitation was significantly positively correlated with the SPI and the surface area of the LDK(correlation coefficients of 0.92 and 0.72,respectively).The relationship between SPI and NDVI-based vegetation cover was positive but not significant.Low precipitation did not always correspond to vegetative drought;the delay of the effect of precipitation on NDVI was one year.
文摘Mining activities often cause dramatic changes in landscapes, particularly in the dump sites and its surrounding environment. Land rehabilitation is the process of renovating damaged land to some extent of its original shape and aims to minimize and mitigate the environmental effects to allow new land uses. The success of different rehabilitation strategy and newly suggested urban and architecture modeling depends on the landscape characterization (topography of the study area and its derivatives such as slope and aspects, geological and geomorphologic nature of the study area). The aim of this study is to demonstrate the utility of different methodologies based on geomatics techniques (Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, Global Positioning System (GPS) and three dimensional Geographic Information System (GIS)) for highlighting landscape characterization which is needed for rehabilitation of Mahis area. Photogrammetric adjustment procedures were used to create digital elevation model and Orth-Photo model for the study area using aerial images. Remote sensing data were used for land classification to provide vital information for rehabilitation planning. GPS field observations were used to build spatial network for the study area based on ground control point collections. Finally, realistic representation of the study area with three dimensional GIS was prepared for the study area considering ease and flexible updating of the geo-spatial database.
文摘The Kinta Valley is an area of karst in the north-western part of Peninsular Malaysia. Over 30 years of uncontrolled land use and development has led to significant changes in topography and geomorphology, such as the appearance of sinkholes. In this paper, geospatial techniques were utilized to the task of evaluating sinkholes susceptibility map using a spatial multi criteria evaluation approach (SMCE). Sinkhole location and a spatial database were applied to calculate eight inherent causative factors for limestone instability namely: lithology, structure (lineament), soil cover, slope, land use mining, urban area features, ponds and rivers. The preparation of the sinkhole geohazard map involved summing the weighted values for each hazard element, which permits the construction of geohazard model;the results of the analysis were validated using the previous actual sinkholes locations in the study area. The spatial distribution of sinkholes occurrence, urban development, faults distribution and ex-mining ponds are factors that are directly responsible for all sinkholes subsidence hazards. Further, the resulting geo-hazard map shows that 93% of recent sinkholes occur in areas where the model flags as “high” and “very high” potential hazard, located in the urbanized part of the valley, while less-developed areas to the west and southwest suffered less sinkhole development. The results can be used for hazard prevention and land-use planning.
