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first_page settings Order Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Coastal Sediment Grain Size Estimates on Gravel Beaches Using Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) by Sophie Mann 1,* [ORCID] , Alessandro Novellino 2 [ORCID] , Ekbal Hussain 2 [ORCID] , Stephen Grebby 1 [ORCID] , Luke Bateson 2 [ORCID] , Austin Capsey 3 and Stuart Marsh 1 [ORCID] 1 Nottingham Geospatial Insitute, University of Nottingham, Triumph Road, Nottingham NG7 2TU, UK 2 British Geological Survey, Nicker Hill, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK 3 UK Hydrographic Office, Admiralty Way, Taunton TA1 2DN, UK * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Remote Sens. 2024, 16(10), 1763; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16101763 Submission received: 10 April 2024 / Revised: 1 May 2024 / Accepted: 11 May 2024 / Published: 16 May 2024 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Coastal and Littoral Observation Using Remote Sensing) Download keyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Versions Notes Abstract Coastal sediment grain size is an important factor in determining coastal morphodynamics. In this study, we explore a novel approach for retrieving the median sediment grain size (D50) of gravel-dominated beaches using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) spaceborne imagery. We assessed this by using thirty-six Sentinel-1 (C-band SAR) satellite images acquired in May and June 2022 and 2023, and three NovaSAR (S-band SAR) satellite images acquired in May and June 2022, for three different training sites and one test site across England (the UK). The results from the Sentinel-1 C-band data show strong positive correlations (R2≥0.75 ) between the D50 and the backscatter coefficients for 15/18 of the resultant models. The models were subsequently used to derive predictions of D50 for the test site, with the models which exhibited the strongest correlations resulting in Mean Absolute Errors (MAEs) in the range 2.26–5.47 mm. No correlation (R2 = 0.04) was found between the backscatter coefficients from the S-band NovaSAR

We use satellite imagery to investigate the shoreline changes associated with volcanic activity in 2018–2019 at Anak Krakatau, Indonesia, spanning a major lateral collapse and period of regrowth through explosive activity. The shoreline changes have been analyzed and validated through the adaptation of an existing methodology based on Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery and developed on Google Earth Engine. This work tests the results of this method in a highly dynamic volcanic environment and validates them with manually digitized shorelines. The analysis shows that the size of the Anak Krakatau Island increased from 2.84 km2 to 3.19 km2 during 15 May 2018–1 November 2019 despite the loss of area in the 22 December 2018 lateral collapse. The lateral collapse reduced the island area to ~1.5 km2 but this was followed by a rapid increase in area in the first two months of 2019, reaching up to 3.27 km2. This was followed by a period of little change as volcanic activity declined and then by a net decrease from May 2019 to 1 November 2019 that resulted from erosion on the SW side of the island. This history of post-collapse eruptive regrowth and coastal erosion derived from the shoreline changes illuminates the potential for satellite-based automated shoreline mapping to provide databases for monitoring remote island volcanoes.

The advent of new satellite and data processing techniques have meant that routine, operational and reliable surveys of land motion on a regional and national scale are now possible. In this paper, we apply a novel satellite remote sensing technique, the Intermittent Small Baseline Subset method, to data from a new satellite mission, Sentinel-1, and demonstrate that a wide area map of ground deformation can be generated that supports the regulation of a range of energy related activities. The area for the demonstration is mainland Scotland (~75,000 km2) and the land motion map required the processing of some 627 images acquired from March 2015 to April 2017. The results show that land motion is encountered almost everywhere across Scotland, dominated by subsidence over peatland areas. However, many other phenomena are also encountered including landslides and deformation associated with mining and civil engineering activities. Considering specifically Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence areas offered under the 14th Onshore Licensing Round in the UK, examples of the types of land motion are shown, including an example related to soil restoration by a wind farm. It is demonstrated that, in Scotland at least, almost all licence areas contain deformation of one form or another and, furthermore, the causes of that subsidence are dynamic and likely to be changing from year-to-year. Therefore, maps like this are likely to be of enormous use in a regulatory framework to scope out preexisting problems in a licence area and to ensure that the correct monitoring framework is put in place once activities begin. They can also provide evidence of good practice and give assurance against litigation by third parties.

In this paper, we investigate land motion and groundwater level change phenomena using differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) over the Northumberland and Durham coalfield in the United Kingdom. The study re-visits earlier research that applied a persistent scatterers interferometry (PSI) technique to ERS (European Remote Sensing) and ENVISAT (Environmental Satellite) data. Here, the Intermittent Small Baseline Subset (ISBAS) DInSAR technique is applied to ERS, ENVISAT and Sentinel-1 SAR datasets covering the late 1990s, the 2000s and the mid-2010s, respectively, to increase spatial coverage, aid the geological interpretation and consider the latest Sentinel-1 data. The ERS data identify surface depressions in proximity to former collieries, while all three data sets ascertain broad areas are experiencing regional scale uplift, often occurring in previously mined areas. Uplift is attributed to increases in pore pressure in the overburden following the cessation of groundwater pumping after mine closure. Rising groundwater levels are found to correlate to ground motion measurements at selected monitoring sites, most notably in the surrounding area of Ashington. The area is divided by an impermeable EW fault; to the south, surface heave was identified as groundwater levels rose in the 1990s, whereas to the north, this phenomenon occurred two decades later in the 2010s. The data emphasize the complexity of the post-mining surface and subsurface environment and highlight the benefit that InSAR, utilizing the ISBAS technique, can provide in its characterization.

Remote sensing-based approaches to lithological mapping are traditionally pixel-oriented, with classification performed on either a per-pixel or sub-pixel basis with complete disregard for contextual information about neighbouring pixels. However, intra-class variability due to heterogeneous surface cover (i.e., vegetation and soil) or regional variations in mineralogy and chemical composition can result in the generation of unrealistic, generalised lithological maps that exhibit the “salt-and-pepper” artefact of spurious pixel classifications, as well as poorly defined contacts. In this study, an object-based image analysis (OBIA) approach to lithological mapping is evaluated with respect to its ability to overcome these issues by instead classifying groups of contiguous pixels (i.e., objects). Due to significant vegetation cover in the study area, the OBIA approach incorporates airborne multispectral and LiDAR data to indirectly map lithologies by exploiting associations with both topography and vegetation type. The resulting lithological maps were assessed both in terms of their thematic accuracy and ability to accurately delineate lithological contacts. The OBIA approach is found to be capable of generating maps with an overall accuracy of 73.5% through integrating spectral and topographic input variables. When compared to equivalent per-pixel classifications, the OBIA approach achieved thematic accuracy increases of up to 13.1%, whilst also reducing the “salt-and-pepper” artefact to produce more realistic maps. Furthermore, the OBIA approach was also generally capable of mapping lithological contacts more accurately. The importance of optimising the segmentation stage of the OBIA approach is also highlighted. Overall, this study clearly demonstrates the potential of OBIA for lithological mapping applications, particularly in significantly vegetated and heterogeneous terrain.

This document describes the assessment of opportunities for mainstreaming the satellite Earth Observation (EO) information products / services delivered by the British Geological Survey (BGS) via the framework of the European Space Agency (ESA) eoworld2 initiative. The products /services were delivered to the Caribbean region and the World Bank (WB) primarily via the ‘Caribbean Handbook on Risk Information Management’ project (CHARIM) which is financed by the EU-funded ACP-EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program, managed by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, led by the WB team, and implemented with the University of Twente, ITC and the local users from various Government Ministries in the Caribbean region. The prospect of increased exploitation and additional opportunities in further WB operations, programmes and initiatives is briefly addressed, as is an evaluation of further actions to be taken to further grow uptake of EO products / services across the WB in future.

This document describes the assessment of the Earth Observation (EO) information products / services delivered by the British Geological Survey (BGS) via the framework of the European Space Agency (ESA) eoworld2 initiative. The products / services were delivered to the Caribbean region and the World Bank (WB) primarily via the ‘Caribbean Handbook on Risk Information Management’ project (CHARIM) which is financed by the EU-funded ACP-EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program, managed by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, led by the WB team, and implemented with the University of Twente, ITC and the local users from various Government Ministries in the Caribbean region.

The primary objective of this ESA project is to raise awareness within the World Bank (WB) of the capabilities of Earth Observation (EO) data and specialist service providers to supply information customised to the specific needs of individual projects. This project was set up within the ESA/WB eoworld initiative to contribute to the WB Caribbean Risk Information Program that is operating under a grant from the ACP-EU Natural Risk Reduction Program. The Caribbean is heavily affected by natural (and geo-) hazards with over 5 billion US$ in losses in the last 20 years (source: CRED database). Figure 1 illustrates the division of natural disaster by occurrence in the region over the last 30 years, providing an insight into the impact in the region over a significant time period. A specific example of the environmental, social, economic and political issues that the project is addressing is highlighted by the effects of Hurricane Tomas on St Lucia in October 2010. The hurricane resulted in seven deaths with 5952 people severely affected, while the cost of the damage was estimated at US$336.2 million, representing 43.4% of GDP (ECLAC, 2011). Understanding and mitigating these “geo-environmental disasters” (as they are termed in ECLAC, 2011) is a primary concern in the region.