Environmental investigation at Tonle Sap Lake using MODIS and ground truth data | |
| Author | Penaflor, Eileen L. |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.SR-03-11 |
| Subject(s) | Lakes Remote-sensing images Tonle Sap Lake |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The unique hydrological cycle coupled with high abundance in aquatic resources of the Tonle Sap lake has attracted the attention of many. The role of the flood plain areas in enhancing the fish stocks and the factors affecting the productivity in the lake are among the areas being focused in various researches. In this study, an effort to investigate the environment of the lake was done using MODIS images and ground-collected data. There are two areas that are highly considered in this study, which are the seasonal changes in land cover and the water quality of the lake. In the seasonal land cover analysis, twelve MODIS images that represent the twelve months in year 2002 are used. Selection of target areas in the images was initially done using a high spatial resolution image of Landsat 7 ETM+. These target areas were then applied to the MODIS images to determine the seasonal variations in NDVI. The variations in NDVI values represent how land cover changes throughout the year as affected by human-induced activities, climatic, and water level change. Results show that much of the changes in the area are due to the changing water level in the lake, comprising to about 53% of the total sampled areas. The combined ground truth and MODIS data, on the other hand, proved to be useful in providing the synoptic distribution of suspended sediment in the lake in a rainy season. High suspended sediment, with an estimated maximum concentration of slightly over 100 mg/L, can be observed in the area where the water from Mekong flows. This part of the lake also exhibits the lowest water clarity as compared with the other parts of the lake, though the entire lake has considerably low water clarity with an estimated Secchi depth of 0.04 - 1.05 m. The use of MODIS thermal band 31 in conjunction with ground truth data was less successful. This is mainly due to the areas visited during the survey, which exhibit less variation in temperature as can be observed in the thermal band image. However, the result is good enough in identifying areas that have significant change in temperature for future research. |
| Year | 2003 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Advanced Technologies (SAT) |
| Department | Department of Information and Communications Technologies (DICT) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Space Technology Application and Research (SR) |
| Chairperson(s) | Yokoyama, Ryuzo;Samarakoon, Lal |
| Examination Committee(s) | Phonekeo, Vivarad;Matsumura, Satsuki |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of Japan;Asian Development Bank - Japan Scholarship Program (ADB-JSP) |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2003 |