Assessment of Paleo-Landscape Features using Advanced Remote Sensing Techniques, Modelling and GIS Methods in the Lake Manyara Basin, Northern Tanzania

In researching the evolution of hominids, the East African Rift System acts as a vital region. The rift valleys enabled some of the most sensational hominid findings to date. Various hypotheses have been developed in the last decades, which try to explain the influence of changes in paleo-climate, paleo-landscape and paleo-environment on hominin evolution in the Quaternary. Additionally, the sediments and the morphology of the East African Rift System provide excellent terrestrial archives for paleo-environmental reconstruction. Lake Manyara is located in an endorheic basin in the eastern arm of the East African Rift System in northern Tanzania. The surroundings of the Lake Manyara are in the focus of paleontological and archaeological investigations. For instance, two hominin bearing sites were found within the catchment of the Makuyuni River, as well as artefacts and fossils are periodically uncovered. The study area, which is located east of the present-day lake, provides an insight into relevant geological and geomorphological drivers of paleo-landscape evolution of the whole region. This thesis aims at contributing to the understanding of landscape evolution in the Lake Manyara region. Compared to other regions in the East African rift system, few landscape evolution studies took place for the Lake Manyara basin. As such, an integrative scientific investigation of the spatial situation of paleo-landscape features and of paleo-lake level fluctuations is missing. The proposed study utilizes state-of-the-art remote sensing based research methods in evaluating the landscape, and in concluding from present-day landforms and processes, how the landscape developed during the Pleistocene and Holocene. In striving to accomplish this goal, this cumulative dissertation comprises eight central research questions, which are introduced in a conceptual framework. The research questions have been considered in seven scientific publications, which describe the applied methodologies and results in detail. The framework of the thesis provides a coherent and detailed interpretation and discussion of the scientific findings. The research questions and outcomes of the analyses are listed below. Key drivers of landscape development in the East African Rift System are tectonic and tectonically induced processes. Drainage network, stream longitudinal profiles and basin analysis based on topographic analyses, as well as lineaments extracted from remote sensing images, were successfully used as methods in identifying tectonic activity and related features in rift areas. The application of a gully erosion model suggests that the gully channel systems in the study area are relatively stable and that they had developed prior to the last significant lake regression. The paleo-landscape and the paleo-environment are closely connected to lake level changes of the paleo-Lake Manyara. Hence, a key question concerns the extent of the Manyara Beds, which are lacustrine deposits that indicate the maximum extent of the paleo-Lake Manyara. A combined analysis, utilizing ASTER multispectral indices and topographic parameters from a digital elevation model, led to the spatial delineation of lacustrine sediments. Their extent indicates a relation to lacustrine sediments in the southern part of the basin, and reveals lacustrine / palustrine deposits further east. A methodological comparison of Support Vector Machines and Boosted Regression Trees, which served as classification methods to identify the lacustrine sediments, exhibited high accuracies for both approaches, with minor advantages for Support Vector Machines. Closely related to the previous research question is the question on the spatial distribution of surface substrates. By incorporating a WorldView-2 scene and Synthetic Aperture Radar data to the previously mentioned datasets, it was possible to distinguish between nine topsoil and lithological target classes in the study area. The surface substrates indicate the underlying lithologies, sediments and soils, as well as soil formation processes. Between the village of Makuyuni and the present-day Lake Manyara, paleo-shorelines and terraces were formed by various paleo-lake levels. Questions arise, at which elevation these features occur and what is the maximum elevation, which was reached. ALOS PALSAR and TerraSAR-X backscatter intensity information provided the possibility of an area-wide mapping of those morphological features. Some radiometric dates exist for stromatolites from a distinct paleo-shoreline level, which support the interpretation of the lake fluctuations. The paleo-shoreline, which was identified with the highest elevation, coincides with the elevation of the lowest possible outlet of the closed Manyara basin. It can be assumed that the paleo-Lake Manyara over-spilled into the neighboring Engaruka and Natron-Magadi basins. The question of the location of sites with a high probability of artefact and/or fossil presence is important for future archaeological and paleontological research. ASTER remote sensing data and topographic indices contributed likewise to the predictive modelling of probabilities of archaeological and paleontological sites in the study area. Generally, paleontological sites are found on a higher elevation, compared to Stone Age sites. In addition, fossil sites seem to be related to stable paleo-landscape features according to this study’s findings. The results of this dissertation provide new insights in the landscape development of the Lake Manyara basin. The scientific findings contribute to the understanding of the landscape evolution for the study area, as well as for the neighboring basins in the East African Rift System. The applied geospatial methodologies can be transferred to other study areas with similar research needs

Assessment of Landscape Processes, Forms and Features in the Lake Manyara Region, East African Rift Valley

The rift valleys of the East African Rift Systems form two branches (Eastern and Western rift). Within the Eastern rift, there is a southward propagation in the onset of volcanism, and hence rifting that has led to the formation of a narrow graben commonly referred to as the Gregory rift (in Tanzania). The endorheic basin at its southern end where the present saline Lake Manyara was formed. The lakes largest tributary is the Makuyuni River that is providing fresh water from northwest volcanic highlands. Along the Makuyuni River, where first and second tributaries cut deep into the sediments, the landscape is dominated by erosion features. These sediments reveal exposed and outcropping artefacts and fossils, which have been found starting in the 1930s in archaeological and paleontological expeditions. In the close vicinity of Makuyuni town, two hominin bearing sites were discovered in 2008. As few is known about the landscape itself, this study has set its focus on the surrounding landscapes of Makuyuni and its geomorphic implications. Key drivers of landscape development in Northern Tanzania are the tectonics and tectonically induced processes. The thus disrupt drainage networks and analyses thereof can reveal the effects on the morphology of stream longitudinal profiles. These transformations in turn, have an impact on driving river incision, in general on linear erosion phenomena. The triggered rill and gully erosion features will eventually lead to soil loss. Gully erosion is a major threat concerning landscape degradation in semiarid ecosystems, as they remove fertile topsoil and as such prevent agricultural use. The study showed, that most of the gully systems are there for decades and in stable conditions. There are, however, areas of exposed risk for erosion. A detailed examination of soil loss areas, innovative automatic surface runoff detector (SRD) devices have been installed. They measure runoff height and duration. This data contribute to a better understanding of the water cycle as well as to soil functions in semiarid environments. The specific research questions have been considered in five different publications that describe the applied methodologies and results in detail. In order to understand the different geomorphic processes, different methods and scales have been used. Field surveying was an important factor and surface runoff, soil characteristics and erosion phenomena have been sampled and measured. Specifically, this study examined rill and gully erosion features and underwent a detailed mapping around Makuyuni in order to describe and understand the occurring landscape systems. Laboratory procedures involved soil parameter analysing and digital data analysis involved digital elevation model analysis, remote sensing imagery, sophisticated statistical models and in the end a detailed geomorphic map compiling of the greater area. Many studies have focused on partial aspects of geomorphic processes. The frame-work of this doctoral thesis seeks to answer a holistic approach, in order to understand, interpret and discuss related geomorphic processes, their spatial extents and locations. This work contributes to the knowledge of present geomorphic processes and features and the landscape evolution within the Lake Manyara area in Northern Tanzania. The above mentioned methods and analyses may be applicable to similar areas in the African rift.Der große Ostafrikanische Grabenbruch teilt sich im südlichen Äthiopien in zwei Hauptsysteme, den östlichen und den westlichen Graben. Im östlichen Graben nehmen die vulkanischen Aktivitäten und daher auch die aktive Grabenbildung nach Süden zu, was zu der heutigen Bildung einer engen Grabenschlucht geführt hat, das sogenannte Gregory Rift in Tansania. An dessen südlichem Ende hat sich ein endorheisches Becken gebildet, wo sich heute der flache Salzsee Manyara befindet. Sein größter Zubringer ist der Fluss Makuyuni, welcher Frischwasser aus den vulkanischen Hochlanden nordwestlich des Beckens mit sich führt. Entlang diesen Flusses haben sich weitere Verzweigungen tief in die Sedimente gegraben; die Landschaft wird von Erosionsformen dominiert. In diesen Sedimenten zeigen sich nun freigelegte Artefakte und Fossilien, welche seit den 1930er Jahren bei archäologischen wie paläontologischen Expeditionen entdeckt wurden. In der Nähe der Siedlung Makuyuni wurden 2008 zwei Knochenreste von frühen Hominiden gefunden. Wenig Forschung gibt es über die Landschaft selber, die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich daher mit der Umgebung Makuyunis und seinen geomorphologischen Eigenschaften. Wesentlich für die Formung der Landschaft Nordtansanias sind die tektonischen und tektonisch-getriebenen Prozesse. Die dadurch gestörten Abflussnetzwerke und deren Analysen können die Auswirkungen auf die Morphologie der Abflusslängsprofile aufzeigen. Diese Veränderungen wiederum wirken sich auf die Einschneidungsdynamiken der Flüsse und Bäche aus, generell also auf lineare Abflussprozesse. Die so entstehenden Rillen- und Gullyerosionsformen führen zu Bodenverlusten. Die Gullyerosion ist eine der größten Naturgefahren in semiariden Ökosystemen, da sie große Teile des Oberbodens abtragen und so die Landschaft einer agrarischen Nutzung entziehen. Die Arbeit konnte aufzeigen, dass viele der Gullysysteme seit mehreren Jahrzehnten bestehen und stabil sind. Es gibt jedoch Bereiche, die von potentiellen Abtragungsrisiken betroffen sind. Um diese Bodenabtragungen genauer zu untersuchen, wurde mit innovativen Oberflächenabflussdetektoren gearbeitet. Diese messen den Oberflächenabfluss in seiner Höhe und Dauer. Diese Daten tragen zu einem besseren Verständnis des Wasserkreislaufes sowie allgemein zu Bodenfunktionen semiarider Ökosysteme bei. Die jeweiligen Forschungsfragen wurden in fünf Artikeln abgehandelt, diese beschreiben die angewandten Methoden und Resultate im Detail. Um die verschiedenen geomorphologischen Prozesse zu untersuchen, wurde mit verschiedenen Methoden und verschiedenen Skalen gearbeitet. Die Feldarbeit nahm einen wichtigen Teil ein und es wurden u.a. Oberflächenabfluss, Bodenwerte und Erosionsformen beprobt und vermessen. Im Speziellen wurden auf die Rillen- und Gullyerosion eingegangen sowie auf eine detaillierte Kartierung der Umgebung Makuyunis um die verschiedenen Landschaftssysteme zu beschreiben und zu verstehen. Im Labor wurden die Bodenproben analysiert und mit den digitalen Geländemodellen, den Fernerkundungsdaten und statistischen Methoden wurden einzelne Studien durchgeführt und am Ende eine geomorphologische Karte des Gebiets erarbeitet. Viele Studien untersuchten Teilbereiche geomorphologischer Prozesse. Im Rahmen dieser Doktorarbeit wurde daher ein ganzheitlicher Ansatz verfolgt, um die geomorphologischen Prozesse, ihre räumliche Ausdehnung und Verortung zu verstehen, zu interpretieren und die wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse als Ganzes zu diskutieren. Diese Arbeit trägt daher zu neuem Wissen aktueller geomorphologischer Prozesse und Formen sowie der Landschaftsentwicklung als solche in der Umgebung des Manyarasees in Nordtansania bei. Die dabei verwandten Methoden und Analysen sind in ähnlichen Ökosystemen entlang des Ostafrikanischen Grabens anwendbar

Remote Sensing methods for power line corridor surveys

AbstractTo secure uninterrupted distribution of electricity, effective monitoring and maintenance of power lines are needed. This literature review article aims to give a wide overview of the possibilities provided by modern remote sensing sensors in power line corridor surveys and to discuss the potential and limitations of different approaches. Monitoring of both power line components and vegetation around them is included. Remotely sensed data sources discussed in the review include synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, optical satellite and aerial images, thermal images, airborne laser scanner (ALS) data, land-based mobile mapping data, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data. The review shows that most previous studies have concentrated on the mapping and analysis of network components. In particular, automated extraction of power line conductors has achieved much attention, and promising results have been reported. For example, accuracy levels above 90% have been presented for the extraction of conductors from ALS data or aerial images. However, in many studies datasets have been small and numerical quality analyses have been omitted. Mapping of vegetation near power lines has been a less common research topic than mapping of the components, but several studies have also been carried out in this field, especially using optical aerial and satellite images. Based on the review we conclude that in future research more attention should be given to an integrated use of various data sources to benefit from the various techniques in an optimal way. Knowledge in related fields, such as vegetation monitoring from ALS, SAR and optical image data should be better exploited to develop useful monitoring approaches. Special attention should be given to rapidly developing remote sensing techniques such as UAVs and laser scanning from airborne and land-based platforms. To demonstrate and verify the capabilities of automated monitoring approaches, large tests in various environments and practical monitoring conditions are needed. These should include careful quality analyses and comparisons between different data sources, methods and individual algorithms

Remote sensing contributing to assess earthquake risk: from a literature review towards a roadmap

Remote sensing data and methods are widely deployed in order to contribute to the assessment of numerous components of earthquake risk. While for earthquake hazardrelated investigations, the use of remotely sensed data is an established methodological element with a long research tradition, earthquake vulnerability–centred assessments incorporating remote sensing data are increasing primarily in recent years. This goes along with a changing perspective of the scientific community which considers the assessment of vulnerability and its constituent elements as a pivotal part of a comprehensive risk analysis. Thereby, the availability of new sensors systems enables an appreciable share of remote sensing first. In this manner, a survey of the interdisciplinary conceptual literature dealing with the scientific perception of risk, hazard and vulnerability reveals the demand for a comprehensive description of earthquake hazards as well as an assessment of the present and future conditions of the elements exposed. A review of earthquake-related remote sensing literature, realized both in a qualitative and quantitative manner, shows the already existing and published manifold capabilities of remote sensing contributing to assess earthquake risk. These include earthquake hazard-related analysis such as detection and measurement of lineaments and surface deformations in pre- and post-event applications. Furthermore, pre-event seismic vulnerability–centred assessment of the built and natural environment and damage assessments for post-event applications are presented. Based on the review and the discussion of scientific trends and current research projects, first steps towards a roadmap for remote sensing are drawn, explicitly taking scientific, technical, multi- and transdisciplinary as well as political perspectives into account, which is intended to open possible future research activities

One Decade of Glacier Mass Changes on the Tibetan Plateau Derived from Multisensoral Remote Sensing Data

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) with an average altitude of 4,500 meters above sea level is characterized by many glaciers and ice caps. Glaciers are a natural indicator for climate variability in this high mountain environment where meteorological stations are rare or non-existent. In addition, the melt water released from the Tibetan glaciers is feeding the headwaters of the major Asian river systems and contributes to the rising levels of endorheic lakes on the plateau. As many people directly rely on the glacier melt water a continuous glacier monitoring program is necessary in this region. In situ measurements of glaciers are important, but are spatial limited due to large logistical efforts, physical constrains and high costs. Remote sensing techniques can overcome this gap and are suitable to complement in situ measurements on a larger scale. In the last decade several remote sensing studies dealt with areal changes of glaciers on the TP. However, glacier area changes only provide a delayed signal to a changing climate and the amount of melt water released from the glaciers cannot be quantified. Therefore it is important to measure the glacier mass balance. In order to estimate glacier mass balances and their spatial differences on the TP, several remote sensing techniques and sensors were synthesized in this thesis. In a first study data from the Ice Cloud and Elevation Satellite (ICESat) mission were employed. ICESat was in orbit between 2003 and 2009 and carried a laser altimeter which recorded highly accurate surface elevation measurements. As in mid-latitudes these measurements are rather sparse glaciers on the TP were grouped into eight climatological homogeneous sub-regions in order to perform a statistical sound analysis of glacier elevation changes. To assess surface elevation changes of a single mountain glacier from ICESat data, an adequate spatial sampling of ICESat measurements need to be present. This is the case for the Grosser Aletschgletscher, located in the Swiss Alps which served as a test site in this thesis. In another study data from the current TanDEM-X satellite mission and from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) conducted in February 2000 were employed to calculate glacier elevation changes. In a co-authored study, these estimates could be compared with glacier elevation changes obtained from the current French Pléiades satellite mission. In order to calculate glacier mass balances, the derived elevation changes were combined with assumptions about glacier area and ice density in all studies. In this thesis contrasting patterns of glacier mass changes were found on the TP. With an ICESat derived estimate of -15.6±10.1 Gt/a between 2003 and 2009 the average glacier mass balance on the TP was clearly negative. However, some glaciers in the central and north-western part of the TP showed a neutral mass balance or a slightly positive anomaly which was also confirmed by data from the current TanDEM-X satellite mission. A possible explanation of this anomaly in mass balance could be a compensation of the temperature driven glacier melt due to an increase in precipitation

Wissenschaftliche Monitoringkonzepte für die Deutsche Bucht (WIMO) - Abschlussbericht

The state and development of coastal marine systems and an understanding of the interaction of organisms, sea floor, water column, and biochemical and physical processes can only be obtained by a combination of long-term monitoring and modelling approaches of different complexity. A need for the development and evaluation of monitoring strategies is driven by a framework of different European and German regulations. The research project WIMO (Scientific Monitoring Concepts for the German Bight) has developed concepts and methods that aim at a fundamental scientific understanding of marine systems and also meet monitoring requirements of European legislation and regulations like the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. In this final report examples of common descriptors of ecosystem state like seabed integrity, eutrophication, and biodiversity are discussed. It has been assessed to what extent established measuring procedures used to survey the characteristics of the sea floor, and newly developed technologies are eligible for governmental monitoring. The significance of integrative modelling for linking and visualising results of measurements and models is illustrated. It is shown how new concepts have been implemented into governmental monitoring in the form of web based data sheets. These insights enable continuous analyses and developments in the future

Development of Some Novel Spatial-Domain and Transform-Domain Digital Image Filters

Some spatial-domain and transform-domain digital image filtering algorithms have been developed in this thesis to suppress additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). In many occasions, noise in digital images is found to be additive in nature with uniform power in the whole bandwidth and with Gaussian probability distribution. Such a noise is referred to as Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN). It is difficult to suppress AWGN since it corrupts almost all pixels in an image. The arithmetic mean filter, commonly known as Mean filter, can be employed to suppress AWGN but it introduces a blurring effect. Image denoising is usually required to be performed before display or further processing like segmentation, feature extraction, object recognition, texture analysis, etc. The purpose of denoising is to suppress the noise quite efficiently while retaining the edges and other detailed features as much as possible