| Project
funding : $22,500 National Park Service
Project
summary:
The
purpose of this project is to develop a cost effective,
long-term salt marsh change detection protocol using
remote sensing and GIS that is transferable among
broad coastal regions in National Park Service (NPS)
sites. The dramatic changes observed in salt marsh
health and coverage in Jamaica Bay (Gateway National
Recreation Area) over the past 100 years is representative
of a similar trend throughout the Northeastern US.
Therefore, it has been designated as the test site
for protocol development and validation for this project.
Researchers
from the Laboratory for Terrestrial Remote Sensing
at the University of Rhode Island have extensive experience
in studying land-cover change. The laboratory possesses
all of the necessary computing infrastructure to fulfill
the remote sensing data processing and GIS analysis
for this project.
The specific
methods used to complete this project include:
Field sampling
will be conducted along several designated transects.
GPS data will be recorded and geo-referenced photos
will be taken in each of four compass directions at
selected sampling points. A baseline salt marsh habitat
map including: hydrology, soils, sediments, nekton,
and birds will be referenced and hot-linked with field
GPS photos to establish an html-based Virtual Field
Reference Database (VFRDB). The VFRDB will provide
ground referencing sites and benchmark locations,
assist in the interpretation of satellite imagery,
and serve as a valuable record for future monitoring
efforts.
 The
NPS will provide scanned and geo-referenced historical
aerial photographs of Jamaica Bay including all available
metadata and pre-existing GIS data designating salt
marsh boundaries. QuickBird-2 satellite images of
the Jamaica Bay area collected  between
September and October 2003 have been received for
the project use. Each set of images will be interpreted
through manual delineation and digital classification
techniques to determine the spatial distribution of
salt marsh and assess the dynamic changes in salt
marsh areas in Jamaica Bay.
Following
manual interpretation of the imagery, the agreement
between satellite-derived salt marsh maps and maps
resulting from manual delineation from current and
historical aerial photographs will be compared and
validated. The overall effectiveness in terms of cost,
processing time, and accuracy of using high spatial
resolution satellite data for salt marsh change detection
will then be evaluated. |
