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Remote Sensing in Support of Aeolian Research

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A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2019) | Viewed by 46210

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Frank Eckardt

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Guest Editor

Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7701, South Africa
Interests: dryland remote sensing applications

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aeolian landforms and processes are mostly confined to remote regions which remain largely unmonitored by ground-based efforts. Remote sensing provides a tool for mapping aeolian landforms and processes on Earth and in the solar system, and can identify dynamics such as dune movement, human impact, dust production, composition, dispersal and deposition.

Geomorphic surface mapping and characterisation is feasible given the proliferation of accessible spatial data, including DEMs and semi-automated mapping techniques. However, many of the world’s major sand seas, dunes, deflation surfaces, yardangs, loess deposits and wind streaks are only partially mapped and identified at the appropriate spatial resolution while a global integration and coordination of such efforts is lacking. Studying the response of landforms to prevailing and changing winds remains largely local in extend but given the temporal extend of image archives, larger scale efforts are feasible.

Dust source mapping has been successful in taking us from regional basins to the landform scale, highlighting the fact that source areas are both limited in extend but are also remarkably persistent through time in both low and high latitude environments. However, mapping sources and generating event catalogues is time consuming and often limited in spatial extend but essential in guiding ground-based monitoring efforts and establishing sediment supply and availability limitations. Robust, automated dust source identification techniques are yet to be developed and applied globally. Dynamic surface roughness and surface moisture products are yet to be integrated with the study of observed dust emissions.

The altering of the surface environments and characteristics by humans is well understood but the scale and magnitude of the impact on aeolian processes has not yet been quantified.

There are few dedicated sensors, techniques or databases, catering for the aeolian land surface community. The same cannot be said for atmospheric research efforts, with numerous global scale wind and aerosol products at our disposal. These are however not well integrated with aeolian land surface processes. The long-range transfer and impact of dust to ocean and continents also deserves greater quantifications. Such gaps are to be closed by the forthcoming the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) instrument on the International Space Station (ISS).

We invite papers on the following aeolian research topics:

Dune Dynamics
Mapping of changing sand seas
Dust source identification and characterisation
land degradation and aeolian processes
Air and space borne aerosol sensors, techniques and products
Aeolian planetary environments

Dr. Frank Eckardt
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 16602 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Measuring Sand Dune Migration Rates with COSI-Corr and Landsat: Opportunities and Challenges

by Thomas Baird, Charlie S. Bristow and Pieter Vermeesch

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(20), 2423; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11202423 - 18 Oct 2019

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 6784

Abstract

It has been over a decade since COSI-Corr, the Co-Registration of Optically Sensed Images and Correlation, was first used to produce a raster map of sand dune movement, however, no studies have yet applied it to the full Landsat archive. The orthorectified and geolocated Landsat Level-1 Precision Terrain (L1TP) products offer the opportunity to simplify the COSI-Corr pre-processing steps, allowing an automated workflow to be devised. In the Bodélé Depression, Chad, this automated workflow has calculated average dune speeds of 15.83 m/year and an increase in dune movement of 2.56 m/year ±12.58 m/year from 1987 to 2009. However, this increase does not stem from a systematic increase in dune mobility. The fastest 25% of dunes from 1987 to 1998 reduced their speed by 18.16%. The overall increase stems from the acceleration of features previously moving under 13.30 m/year. While successfully applied to the Bodélé Depression, the automated workflow produces highly variable outputs when applied to the Grand Erg Oriental, Algeria. Variations within path/row scene pairings are caused by the use of mobile features, such as dune crests, as ground control points (GCPs). This has the potential to warp Landsat scenes during the L1TP processing, potentially obfuscating dune migration. Two factors appear to be crucial in determining whether a Landsat scene is suitable for COSI-Corr analysis. Firstly, dune mobility must exceed the misregistration criteria. Secondly, GPCs should be located on static features such as bedrock outcrops. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing in Support of Aeolian Research)

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32 pages, 6934 KiB

Open AccessArticle

UAV Imaging of a Martian Brine Analogue Environment in a Fluvio-Aeolian Setting

by Anshuman Bhardwaj, Lydia Sam, F. Javier Martín-Torres, María-Paz Zorzano and Juan Antonio Ramírez Luque

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(18), 2104; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11182104 - 9 Sep 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4105

Abstract

Understanding extraterrestrial environments and landforms through remote sensing and terrestrial analogy has gained momentum in recent years due to advances in remote sensing platforms, sensors, and computing efficiency. The seasonal brines of the largest salt plateau on Earth in Salar de Uyuni (Bolivian Altiplano) have been inadequately studied for their localized hydrodynamics and the regolith volume transport across the freshwater-brine mixing zones. These brines have recently been projected as a new analogue site for the proposed Martian brines, such as recurring slope lineae (RSL) and slope streaks. The Martian brines have been postulated to be the result of ongoing deliquescence-based salt-hydrology processes on contemporary Mars, similar to the studied Salar de Uyuni brines. As part of a field-site campaign during the cold and dry season in the latter half of August 2017, we deployed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at two sites of the Salar de Uyuni to perform detailed terrain mapping and geomorphometry. We generated high-resolution (2 cm/pixel) photogrammetric digital elevation models (DEMs) for observing and quantifying short-term terrain changes within the brines and their surroundings. The achieved co-registration for the temporal DEMs was considerably high, from which precise inferences regarding the terrain dynamics were derived. The observed average rate of bottom surface elevation change for brines was ~1.02 mm/day, with localized signs of erosion and deposition. Additionally, we observed short-term changes in the adjacent geomorphology and salt cracks. We conclude that the transferred regolith volume via such brines can be extremely low, well within the resolution limits of the remote sensors that are currently orbiting Mars, thereby making it difficult to resolve the topographic relief and terrain perturbations that are produced by such flows on Mars. Thus, the absence of observable erosion and deposition features within or around most of the proposed Martian RSL and slope streaks cannot be used to dismiss the possibility of fluidized flow within these features. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing in Support of Aeolian Research)

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24 pages, 14248 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Trace Evidence from Mars’ Past: Fingerprinting Transverse Aeolian Ridges

by Louis Scuderi, Timothy Nagle-McNaughton and Joshua Williams

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(9), 1060; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11091060 - 5 May 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4650

Abstract

Linear dunes and human fingerprints share many characteristics. Both have ridges, valleys, and defects (minutiae) in the form of bifurcations and termination of ridgeline features. For dunes, determining how defects vary across linear and transverse dunefields is critical to understanding the physics of their formative processes and the physical forcing mechanisms that produce dunefields. Unfortunately, manual extraction of defect locations and higher order characteristics (type, orientation, and quality) from remotely sensed imagery is both time-consuming and inconsistent. This problem is further exacerbated when, in the case of imagery from sensors in orbit around Mars, we are unable to field check interpretations. In this research, we apply a novel technique for extracting defects from multiple imagery sources utilizing a robust and well-documented fingerprint minutiae detection and extraction software (MINDTCT: MINutiae DecTeCTion) developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). We apply our ‘fingerprinting’ approach to Transverse Aeolian Ridges (TARs), relict aeolian features commonly seen on the surface of Mars, whose depositional and formative processes are poorly understood. Our algorithmic approach demonstrates that automating the rapid extraction of defects from orbitally-derived high-resolution imagery of Mars is feasible and produces maps that allow the quantification and analysis of these features. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing in Support of Aeolian Research)

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17 pages, 4899 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Bounding Surfaces in a Barchan Dune: Annual Cycles of Deposition? Seasonality or Erosion by Superimposed Bedforms?

by Charles S. Bristow

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(8), 965; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11080965 - 23 Apr 2019

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5574

Abstract

A barchan dune near Tarfaya in Morocco has been surveyed using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) revealing packages of dipping strata within the dune that are truncated by bounding surfaces. The bounding surfaces dip in the downwind direction, truncate sets of cross-stratification, and are themselves downlapped by dipping strata. Models of aeolian strata suggest that the bounding surfaces could be reactivation surfaces, an erosion surface formed when a dune is reshaped by a change in wind. Alternatively, they could be superposition surfaces formed by smaller bedforms migration over the dune surface. These two hypotheses are tested using a combination of field and satellite observations. The average annual migration rate for the barchan dune derived from satellite images, gives an annual migration rate of 21.4 m·yr⁻¹. The number of reactivation surfaces imaged within the dune by GPR appears to scale with the annual migrating rate and dune turnover time suggesting that at this location, annual cycles in the wind regime are a potential control on dune stratigraphy with reactivation surfaces generated by changes in the wind direction, including wind reversals in the winter months. Alternatively, it is hypothesized that erosion in the lee of small superimposed bedforms as they pass the dune crest and approach the brink at the top of the slipface will create superposition surfaces. The migration rate of superimposed bedforms with a wavelength of 20 m has been measured at 2 m·day⁻¹. This suggests that small superimposed bedforms will arrive at the dune crest approximately every 10 days. Thus, bounding surface created by erosion in the lee of superimposed dunes will be very common. Given that the turnover time of the barchan dune is estimated at 4.3 years, the number of superposition surfaces produced by the faster bedforms could be more than 100. The number of bounding surface imaged by a GPR profile along the length of the dune appears to support the wind-driven reactivation hypothesis. However, a GPR profile across the dune images many small trough sets, instead of a single slipface, suggesting that superimposed dunes play an important role in the stratigraphy of a relatively simple barchan dune. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing in Support of Aeolian Research)

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14 pages, 6482 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

An Assessment of SEVIRI Imagery at Various Temporal Resolutions and the Effect on Accurate Dust Emission Mapping

by Mark Hennen, Kevin White and Maria Shahgedanova

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(8), 918; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11080918 - 16 Apr 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4551

Abstract

This paper evaluates the use of the ‘Dust red/green/blue (RGB)’ product derived from Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) data at 15-min, 30-min, and 60-min temporal resolutions, for monitoring dust emissions in the Middle East. From January 2006 to December 2006, observations of dust emission point sources were recorded at each temporal resolution across the Middle East. Previous work has demonstrated that using SEVIRI data is a major improvement on other remote sensing methods for mapping dust sources in the Sahara, by enabling dust-storm observations through sequential images, back to the point of first emission. However, the highest temporal resolution available (15-min observations) produces 96 images per day, resulting in significantly higher data management requirements than data provided at 30-min and 60-min intervals. To optimize future research workflows, this paper investigates the effect of lowering the temporal resolution on the number and spatial distribution of observed dust emission events in the Middle East. The results show that the number of events observed reduced by 17% for 30-min resolution and 50% for 60-min resolution. These differences change seasonally, with the highest reduction observed in summer (34% and 64% reduction, respectively). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing in Support of Aeolian Research)

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17 pages, 17632 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Distribution and Morphologies of Transverse Aeolian Ridges in ExoMars 2020 Rover Landing Site

by Anshuman Bhardwaj, Lydia Sam, F. Javier Martin-Torres and Maria-Paz Zorzano

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(8), 912; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11080912 - 15 Apr 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5155

Abstract

Aeolian processes are believed to play a major role in the landscape evolution of Mars. Investigations on Martian aeolian landforms such as ripples, transverse aeolian ridges (TARs), and dunes, and aeolian sediment flux measurements are important to enhance our understanding of past and present wind regimes, the ongoing dust cycle, landscape evolution, and geochemistry. These aeolian bedforms are often comprised of loose sand and sharply undulating topography and thus pose a threat to mobility and maneuvers of Mars rovers. Here we present a first-hand account of the distribution, morphologies, and morphometrics of TARs in Oxia Planum, the recently selected ExoMars 2020 Rover landing site. The gridded mapping was performed for contiguous stretches of TARs within all the landing ellipses using 57 sub-meter high resolution imaging science experiment (HiRISE) scenes. We also provide the morphological descriptions for all types of TARs present within the landing ellipses. We use HiRISE digital terrain models (DTMs) along with the images to derive morphometric information for TARs in Oxia Planum. In general, the average areal TAR coverage was found to be 5.4% (±4.9% standard deviation), increasing from west to east within the landing ellipses. We report the average TAR morphometrics in the form of crest–ridge width (131.1 ± 106.2 m), down-wind TAR length (17.6 ± 10.1 m), wavelength (37.3 ± 11.6 m), plan view aspect ratio (7.1 ± 2.3), inter-bedform spacing (2.1 ± 1.1), slope (10.6° ± 6.1°), predominant orientations (NE-SW and E-W), and height (1.2 ± 0.8 m). While simple TARs are predominant, we report other TAR morphologies such as forked TAR, wavy TAR with associated smaller secondary ripples, barchan-like TAR, networked TAR, and mini-TARs from the region. Our results can help in planning the rover traverses in terms of both safe passage and scientific returns favoring aeolian research, particularly improving our understanding of TARs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing in Support of Aeolian Research)

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24 pages, 5184 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Identification of Dust Sources in a Saharan Dust Hot-Spot and Their Implementation in a Dust-Emission Model

by Stefanie Feuerstein and Kerstin Schepanski

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11010004 - 20 Dec 2018

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 7309

Abstract

Although mineral dust plays a key role in the Earth’s climate system and in climate and weather prediction, models still have difficulties in predicting the amount and distribution of mineral dust in the atmosphere. One reason for this is the limited understanding of the distribution of dust sources and their behavior with respect to their spatiotemporal variability in activity. For a better estimation of the atmospheric dust load, this paper presents an approach to localize dust sources and thereby estimate the sediment supply for a study area centered on the Aïr Massif in Niger with a north–south extent of 16

^{\circ}

–22

^{\circ}

N and an east–west extent of 4

^{\circ}

–12

^{\circ}

E. This approach uses optical Sentinel-2 data at visible and near infrared wavelengths together with HydroSHEDS flow accumulation data to localize ephemeral riverbeds. Visible channels from Sentinel-2 data are used to detect sand sheets and dunes. The identified sediment supply map was compared to the dust source activation frequency derived from the analysis of Desert-Dust-RGB imagery from the Meteosat Second Generation series of satellites. This comparison reveals the strong connection between dust activity, prevailing meteorology and sediment supply. In a second step, the sediment supply information was implemented in a dust-emission model. The simulated emission flux shows how much the model results benefit from the updated sediment supply information in localizing the main dust sources and in retrieving the seasonality of dust activity from these sources. The described approach to characterize dust sources can be implemented in other regional model studies, or even globally, and can thereby help to get a more accurate picture of dust source distribution and a more realistic estimation of the atmospheric dust load. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing in Support of Aeolian Research)

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18 pages, 9376 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Detecting Areas Vulnerable to Sand Encroachment Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques in Nouakchott, Mauritania

by Diego Gómez, Pablo Salvador, Julia Sanz, Carlos Casanova and Jose Luis Casanova

Remote Sens. 2018, 10(10), 1541; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101541 - 25 Sep 2018

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6730

Abstract

Sand dune advances poses a major threat to inhabitants and local authorities in the area of Nouakchott, Mauritania. Despite efforts to control dune mobility, accurate and adequate local studies are still needed to tackle sand encroachment. We have developed a Sand Dune Encroachment Vulnerability Index (SDEVI) to assess Nouakchott’s vulnerability to sand dune encroachment. Said index is based on the geo-physical characteristics of the area (wind direction and intensity, slope and surface height, land use, vegetation or soil properties) with Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques that can support local authorities and decision-makers in implementing preventive measures or reducing impact on the population and urban infrastructures. In order to validate this new index, we use two remote sensing approaches: optical-Sentinel 2 and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)–Sentinel 1 data. Results show that the greatest vulnerability is located in the north-eastern part of Nouakchott, where local conditions favor the advance of sand in the city, although medium to high values are also found in the eastern part. Optical images enabled us to distinguish desert sand using the ratio between near infrared/blue bands, and SAR Coherence Change Detection (CCD) imagery was used to assess the degree of stability of those sand bodies. The nature of the SDEVI index allows us to currently assess which areas are vulnerable to sand encroachment since we use long data records. Nevertheless, optical and SAR remote sensing allow sand evolution to be monitored on a near real-time basis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing in Support of Aeolian Research)

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