1 2004
metria
:dicáo,
ios de
1 SBC,
v-Hill.
USING SATELLITE IMAGES TO DETERMINE ENVIRONMENTAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN AREA : AN APPLICATION
G. Atay’, E. Ayhan®
"KTU, Engineering and Architecture Faculty, Dept. of Geodesy and Photogrammetry,61080 Trabzon,
Turkey — (gatay,eayhan)@ktu.edu.tr
Commission VII/, WGVII/4
KEY WORDS: Remote Sensing, Land , Land Use, Land Cover, Image Processing, Ikonos, DEM.
ABSTRACT:
For agricultural and environmental applications remote sensing techniques can be very important by providing information on
processes such as land use, land cover, residential areas and monitoring areas which were influenced from flood. Availability of high-
resolution imagery, such as IKONOS, has opened new possibilities for satellite based mapping. The whole study focuses on a
selected river called Degirmendere in Trabzon, TURKEY. This study aims to get a visual risk zone state for this area and to
investigate performance of IKONOS image such an application. At the end of the study, information about environmental
characteristics and settlement of the workspace was gained and
workspace. And then possible precautions that can be taken in this area discussed. This application is only a sample study for more
detailed applications.
1. INTRODUCTION
Flooding is a localized hazard that is generally the result of
excessive precipitation. Floods can be generally considered in
two categories: flash floods, the product of heavy localized
precipitation in a short time period over a given location; and
general floods, caused by precipitation over a longer time period
and over a given river basin. Flooding is the most common
environmental hazard, due to the widespread geographical
distribution of river valleys and coastal areas, and the attraction
of human settlements to these areas. (URL 1).
Earth observation techniques can contribute toward more
accurate flood hazard modeling and they can be used to asses
damage to residential properties, infrastructure and agricultural
crops. (Van der Sande, de Jong and de Roo, 2003).
1.1 Definition of Problem
Flood disaster is one of the most important problems of
Trabzon. The first flood disaster in Trabzon occurred on 5-8
July 1929 and by the reason of this disaster 146 people lost their
lives. Then hundreds of people also lost their lives in 1939 and
1959 because of flood disasters too. The disaster in 1959
occurred in Degirmendere. In this flood disaster, between
Black Sea and Degirmendere remained under water. On 19-20
June 1990 a big flood disaster occurred and as a result 65 people
lost their lives, 1005 residences and 82 offices were demolished.
(Trabzon Environment Situation Report). In 2000 a flood
disaster also occurred.
By the reason of climate, physical characteristics of the region,
flood disasters occur very often. The aim of this project is to
obtain a visual risk zone state for this area. With probable water
height values of Degirmendere, we aim to get a visual result of
movement of water. Under the lights of these result we aim to
guide people to think alternative settlement places except risk
zone.
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for a probable flood disaster a risk zone was defined for the
1.2 Project Area
1.3
The project area covers an area of approximately 8 square
kilometers in Trabzon in Turkey. The name of the project area
is Degirmendere. It is the biggest river in the city. Near
Degirmendere river and also in the same valley (Degirmendere)
there is a road. This road provides connection between the city
and the east of the country. Drinking water of the city
(Trabzon) is obtained from this river. These characteristics
make this area very important. But such an important area has a
problem “flood disaster”. The reason for choosing this area as
workspace is being a probable flood area. The area comprises
agricultural land, residential areas and a few industrial sites.
The whole project area was imaged with I-meter resolution
panchromatic and 4-meter multi-spectral IKONOS Imagery.
The area is a rolling, hilly terrain, characterized by hills and
valleys with elevations going from 0 to 320 meters above sea
level, so the maximal variations reach about 320 meters. Figure
1 shows the location of workspace.
Figure 1. The location of workspace
