Remote sensing for resources development and environmental management: Remote sensing for resources development and environmental management

Damen, M. C. J.

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Multivolume work

Persistent identifier:: 856342815

Title:: Remote sensing for resources development and environmental management

Sub title:: proceedings of the 7th international Symposium, Enschede, 25 - 29 August 1986

Year of publication:: 1986

Place of publication:: Rotterdam; Boston

Publisher of the original:: A. A. Balkema

Identifier (digital):: 856342815

Language:: English

Additional Notes:: Volume 1-3 erschienen von 1986-1988

Editor:: Damen, M. C. J.

Document type:: Multivolume work

Volume

Persistent identifier:: 856343064

Title:: Remote sensing for resources development and environmental management

Sub title:: proceedings of the 7th international Symposium, Enschede, 25 - 29 August 1986

Scope:: XV, 547 Seiten

Year of publication:: 1986

Place of publication:: Rotterdam; Boston

Publisher of the original:: A. A. Balkema

Identifier (digital):: 856343064

Illustration:: Illustrationen, Diagramme

Signature of the source:: ZS 312(26,7,1)

Language:: English

Usage licence:: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Editor:: Damen, M. C. J.

Publisher of the digital copy:: Technische Informationsbibliothek Hannover

Place of publication of the digital copy:: Hannover

Year of publication of the original:: 2016

Document type:: Volume

Collection:: Earth sciences

Chapter

Title:: 2 Microwave data. Chairman: N. Lannelongue, Liaison: L. Krul

Document type:: Multivolume work

Structure type:: Chapter

Chapter

Title:: Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) interpretation of the Kashgar region in western Xinjiang, China. Dirk Werle

Document type:: Multivolume work

Structure type:: Chapter

187 milar behavior. Lonship between :ic water content 3f the results days might shed In this however irge moisture 1 experiment. Ln fig. 8 for i coherent con- the right side = best under- acting flat a mirror from ceived power angle of the lerent term the ne least depen- ase of this f y for small n into consider- te of the bad ed in the SIR-B Hz as an extra of the inter- ious types of how to extract must note imited in soil e airborne si- ncidence angles s studied more ring from bare responses. mote Sensing on rul 1982. A coherent scat- E Trans. Geosc. cat, a 6-fre- . Earsel-work- dam. an introduc- ave Remote ensing program : Netherlands. >VE program. GE-20, no.1, r in the Nether- idling and some Observation. ■moine 1984. i Flevo '84. working group :nsing of soil :mote Sensing 1982. Micro- >sive. Vol II., ldon Symposium on Remote Sensing for Resources Development and Environmental Management / Enschede / August 1986 Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) interpretation of the Kashgar region in western Xinjiang, China Dirk Werle F.G.Bercha, Ontario, Ltd., RADARSATProject Office, Ottawa, Canada ABSTRACT: The radar backscattering response of natural terrain in western Xinjiang and distinct man-made features associated with land use and water resource management in the oasis of Kashgar is investigated using SIR-A imagery. The brightness levels of the radar image signatures correlate well with the surface roughness of various terrain units. Different backscattering effects of vegetation provide a detailed assessment of cultivated areas and particularly forested windshelter belts, due to dominant volume scattering effects of the tree canopy. The elaborate pattern of windshelter belts along the irrigation and drainage canal system, road network and field boundaries serves as an excellent indicator for the classification of traditional cultivated land, recent land reclamation areas and for the success of afforestation efforts. Spaceborne imaging radar offers innovative mapping and monitoring capabilities with regard to regional terrain evaluation and land use analysis in the arid regions of Central Asia. 1 INTRODUCTION In November 1981 the experimental Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) system onboard the space shuttle 'Columbia' imaged approximately 10 million km 2 of terrain including partial coverage of China. Preliminary image analyses of arid environments have shown that the radar view provides a new way to examine problems of land reclamation, water utilization, soil erosion and salinization (Cimino and Elachi 1982) and terrain analysis (Woldai 1983). Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) offers an alternative imaging technique to optical satellite sensor systems, the operational performance of which is restricted by changing solar illumination and atmospheric conditions. Data acquisition by optical sensors is frequently limited by cloud coverage over the area of interest. Radar which uses microwave frequencies can obtain data regardless of cloud cover or darkness. Over the past decades, increasing population pressure as well as political and strategic considerations have led to further development of marginal agricultural land in Xinjiang Province along the western periphery of China (Weggel 1984). Remote sensing, and LANDSAT image interpretation in particular, has been applied in terrain analysis, regional resource assessment, land use monitoring, and for surveying and mapping purposes (Zhao 1984, Zhao and Han 1981, Zhao and Xia 1984, Chu 1982, Edelmann 1979). A combination of geographical factors, i.e. the position in the interior of the Asian continent and the framing by high mountain ranges, have created diverse environmental and physiographic conditions in the Kashgar region. This has resulted in specific adaptations of the cultural landscape in which the oasis of Kashgar, once one of the important nodal points along the ancient Silk Road, still commands a prominent position as China's westernmost outpost in Central Asia. This study is an attempt to provide a synoptic interpretation and an assessment of SIR-A imagery with regard to physical and cultural landscape features of the Kashgar region. Visual image inter pretation methods were used in the identification of terrain categories and forested windshelter belts. This was followed by an examination of the regional water supply and the associated spatial arrangements of the oasis-agriculture. 2 THE STUDY AREA The study area is defined by available SIR-A coverage along data take 7 between 74°45'E and 76°45'E and is approximately 9,000 km 2 in areal extent (Figure 1). Over a distance of less than 70 kilometres, the Kashgar region reveals a diversity of topographic features and extreme climatic gradients and hydrologic conditions. These factors determine the relationship of the oases along the fringe of the Taklimakan Desert in the Tarim Basin at 1,550 metres to the surrounding glacier-topped mountain ranges of the Pamirs with altitudes exceeding 7,500 metres. Based on an integrated landscape approach, Zhao (1984) classified terrain in western China into seven categories, all of which may be found within the study area: clay and silt level terrain, sandy level terrain, stony gravel level terrain, denudational mountain and hilly terrain, erosional high mountain terrain, nival alpine terrain, and oasis (planted vegetation). The outstanding feature of the climatic conditions in the western Tarim Basin is the exceptional aridness. Kashgar receives less than 70 mm of precipitation annually (Figure 2). The annual temperature regime characterizes the climate as cool-temperate. Westerly and north-westerly wind Figure 1. Location map of the study area.

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