GEO Spatial Case Studies

Land use and land cover classification of Hinda Phosphate Mines, Congo Brazzaville

Client

The client is a leading mining company based in West Africa and has interests in Phosphate and Uranium.

Project Location

The project fell in the area surrounding two villages in Republic of Congo.

Project requirement

The project requirement consisted of mapping of land use land cover classes from ortho photos.

Technical solution provided:

The SBL technical team prepared a land use classification scheme tailored to the client's specifications, based on the local geography. The land use land cover classes demarcated from the images included: buildings, vegetation, agricultural lands, pipelines, fences, roads, bridges, rail etc. Buildings and vegetation classes were also further subdivided into various categories based on the requirement of the client.

Software and Inputs used

Ortho rectified aerial photographs, Digital Terrain Model etc were used as input data for the studies. ARC GIS and Map Info software were used for the study.

Outputs

The final data was supplied in TAB format to be used in their MapInfo software. We also supplied sample files in ESRI shape.

Benefits:

Client benefits included:

  • Receipt of accurate, geo-referenced land use land cover classes and associated data that can be edited in a geospatial database as the landscape changes.
  • A contextual understanding of the local community and their needs.
  • Ability to assess the progress status of the mining activity.
  • Ability to plan further mining activity and cost implications.
  • Ability to assess the environmental factors and amount of clearances required.
  • An aid for forecasting the cost of the mining activity and associated impact.

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Digital forest inventory mapping, newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Client

A leading geospatial organization in Canada providing specialised services in forestry.

Project Location

Newfoundland and Labrador (13920 sq.km) (District 16 North and District 17 and District 18 South) in 2010 and 2011.

Project requirement

The proposed work involved the digital capture of forest parcel boundaries and their attributisation.

Technical solution provided:

  • Ortho photo creation
  • Interpretation of forest parcel boundaries with the help of certified Canadian foresters.
  • Digitisation of forest parcel boundaries, forest land use land cover boundaries, hydrographic feature capturing, base mapping (transportation and location features).
  • Features were captured in auto CAD environment and converted back to ESRI shape for efficient completion of the work.
  • Attributes (16nos) were incorporated for all polygons using in-house developed automated scripts for maintaining accuracy.

Software and Inputs used

Arial photographs, ArcGIS, DT Master, Inpho, AutoCAD

Benefits

  • SBL's quick turnaround time and clear understanding of the work resulted in the client receiving highly accurate forest parcel boundaries, forest land use land cover categories and a base mapping layer.
  • The client was able to calculate the vegetation density in a spatial domain.
  • The client also benefited from an accurate breakdown of forest species segregation thereby allowing estimation of the bio diversity and bio mass of any otherwise difficult terrain.
  • Finally, the client was able to complete their work within a cost effective budget and within the shortest possible schedule.

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Vegetation height modeling along the roadways of Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Client

The client was an infrastructure contractor in The Netherlands

Project Location

Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Project requirement

To locate tree coverage along the entire major motorways network; the preparation of a height model, along with the crown cover span.

Technical solution provided:

The input LiDAR data in las file format was corrected for anomalies. Ground and non-ground classifications were generated by creating suitable filter models. Outlier points were detected and corrected. Following this the SBL technical team then created a bare earth model and, using this model, ortho-rectified the aerial photographs. The data was clipped to the study area using municipal boundary files provided by client. Tree types were identified and their locations marked as 3d cells; heights were calculated with the help of the bare earth surface model. Finally, tree crown outlines were captured automatically, prior to undergoing a rigorous manual QA process. The output was delivered as fully-attributed ESRI shape files.

Software and Inputs used

Aerial Photography and LiDAR data in las format were used as the input data. Software used included Terra scan and Terra modeler.

Benefits:

  • This work helped to significantly reduce the time required to identify and quantify the tree coverage throughout the major roadways network.
  • The tree height model helped the client to identify tree types, condition and age. This was particularly useful in prioritizing cutting/ felling programs.
  • The client was also able to manage road side vegetation growth more efficiently as part of the ongoing transport and infrastructure planning strategy.

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Digital terrain model creation using point cloud data

Client

The client was a Denmark based leading Geospatial organisation.

Project Location

Confidential.

Project requirement

Digital Terrain Model (DTM) Creation.

Technical solution provided:

The input data provided by the client in xyz las format was corrected for anomalies. The main objective of the work was to classify the ground and off-ground points and situate them correctly and accurately. A filtering technique was adopted and the data was classified as ground and off-ground. A Digital Terrain Model was then created and anomalies were detected and corrected.

Software and Inputs used

: LiDAR data in las file format. Software used included Terra Scan and Terra Model.

Benefits:

  • The client had quick access to an accurate, editable Digital Terrain Model.
  • The size of the SBL team ensured that the client received the data quickly and efficiently. This was important given that the client’s own internal resource had been focusing on other internal functions.
  • This ensured that the project could move forward and that the end client was not kept waiting unnecessarily.

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Change detection in LULC using Remote Sensing Techniques for Kola Lands of Kerala

Client

The client is a research and development organisation working within the economic and social sectors.

Project Location

13,632 hectares of land in parts of Thrissur and Malappuram districts of Kerala.

Project requirement

The client requirements were:

  • Creation of multi temporal land use land cover mapping by adopting a classification scheme relevant to the area
  • Determination of the trend, nature, rate, location and magnitude of land use land cover changes by change detection analysis.
  • To forecast the future pattern of land use land cover in the area.
  • Statistical analysis for land consumption rate and land absorption coefficient.

Technical solution provided

SBL completed the following

  • Adopted a land use land cover classification scheme relevant to the study area.
  • Land use land cover mapping was created for the study area for multi temporal data of Survey of India topo sheets and satellite images.
  • Area statistics were prepared for the multi temporal land use land cover maps.
  • Change detection analysis was completed for the years 1981, 1986, 1997, 2007.
  • Land use land cover change statistics and future forecasting were produced using markov chain analysis modeling techniques.

Software and Inputs used

ARC GIS 9.x, Survey of India toposheets, Multi date IRS satellite images.

Benefits

The benefits to the client included:

  • Assessing the depletion of agricultural land by other land use categories.
  • Assessing the impact of changes in land use land cover on the social status of the people
  • Estimating changes in the region's economic performance
  • Demonstration of remote sensing and GIS techniques in change detection and statistical analysis of land use land cover changes.

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Planning and Sustainable Development Works, Australia

Client

The client is a town planning, conservation and sustainable development consultant.

Project Location

10,851 sq.km of land in parts of Queensland and New South Wales in Australia.

Project requirement

The main client requirement was to complete an aerial triangulation of the area of interest and to produce stereo images from it. The ultimate objective was the creation of high quality ortho photos for use in the planning, expansion and development of the areas covered.

Technical solution provided

SBL used the following techniques to complete the project:

  • Aerial triangulation of the relevant areas in Inpho Match AT.
  • Following the completion of bundle block adjustments and stereo models, a DEM was created with specified intervals of 5m.
  • DTM editing was achieved by placing soft and hard breaklines at appropriate places.
  • The edited output file containing the DTM points, mass points and breaklines were used as input in the generation of ortho photos.

Software and Inputs used

Inpho Match AT, DT Master, Ortho Master, Ortho Vista and ArcGIS

Benefits

The client received significant benefits from this project including:

  • High quality ortho photo output which was central to the planning and sustainable development of fragile ecosystems.
  • The ortho photos were also used in planning future expansion of the areas of interest.
  • The data was an important tool for predicting risks and changes to the regional economy.

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Geological Mapping of Parts of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia

Client

Located in Indonesia, the client is an independent mining company with a world-class portfolio of iron ore projects in South America and Asia.

Project Location

The study area covered the Central Sulawesi region of Indonesia viz. Waikuli, Waduk Mas Persada, CMK and Masewe and extended to an area of 435 sqkm.

Project requirement

The client required a lithological and structural map for their iron ore exploration.

Technical solution provided

SBL used the following techniques to complete the project:

  • Aster images were procured from an image acquisition agency.
  • We completed image interpretation of ASTER imagery for lithology and geological structures.
  • Various rock types were identified by geo botanical indicators.
  • The aster images were subjected to spectral analysis and band ratio to delineate ferrous iron, ferric iron, laterite, iron silicates etc.
  • GIS integration was completed for the various data results to delineate prioritised areas of skarn mineralisation.

Software and Inputs used

ARC GIS

Benefits

The benefits to the client included:

  • Interpretation through remote sensing and GIS techniques is a cost effective approach to creating a geological and structural map.
  • In a highly vegetative and cloud affected area this is an ideal technique to derive the geology of the area.
  • The client was able to concentrate the geophysical and geochemical studies on prioritised areas thereby significantly reducing waste and costs.

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Anthropological Studies In a Commune Using GIS Techniques

Client

The client is The University of North Carolina, based in the USA, specialising in Archaeological and Anthropological studies.

Project Location

The study area covered a commune in Central/ East France.

Project requirement

To study the change detection in land use, river course, and infrastructure, and assess the effects of human intervention in major locations of interest in a Commune in France for an international anthropology project.

Technical solution provided

SBL used the following techniques to complete the project:

  • The input images were a series of historic maps covering different time periods. These maps were georeferenced in the Lambert II coordinate system.
  • All agricultural land, forest land boundaries and land parcels were captured as polygon features while the roads, rivers etc were captured as lines.
  • Final output was given in an ESRI compatible spatial data base.

Software and Inputs used

ArcGIS software and scanned historic maps covering different time periods.

Benefits

  • The major benefit of this project was that it enabled the identification of the various crop patterns, land ownership details and tax patterns over a period of time.
  • The study allowed the client to understand changing life patterns over different time periods, and to analyse how the community had evolved over the years.
  • The study also identified pollution patterns over a period of time and correlated these with the changes in land use and demographics.

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