Beata Hejmanowska

Application of GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques in Multitemporal Analyses of Soil Properties in the Foreland of the Carpathians

The paper presents a spatial and temporal analysis of the distribution of the soil salinity and its pH level of south-east Poland depending on selected environmental factors. The area under examination (Carpathian Foredeep, Carpathians flysch) is distinguished by its specific hydrological and geological conditions (the Vistula and the San valley). The research works were performed in relation to parameters that had been measured in-situ in 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010. Using specialist GIS software, proper interpolation procedures were performed, which enabled visualization in the form of raster and vector maps for the spatial distribution of the examined soil properties. Moreover, an analysis of remote sensing data was completed. Based on the analysis, it was discovered that the biggest changes in all examined soil parameters took place in 2010 - changes in the soil salinity and its pH level, as well as in the content of potassium (K) and sodium (Na). Those changes occurred mainly in the north and south parts of the examined area. The underlying reason for those changes might have been the flood, which hit the region in June 2010.

Analysis of multitemporal changes in the environment using gis and remote sensing in the aspect of construction projects

Modern changes of environment are the result of many factors, of which anthropogenic activities and the development of infrastructure play the leading role in environmental, morphometric changes. The dynamics of expansion of construction lands, which until recently have changed only as a result of natural factors, makes it invariably important to analyse time changes and forecast potential effects of construction projects on the environment. A good source of information about changes, for example the course of rivers, hydrological conditions, diversity of vegetation in the areas of investment, are cartographic sources, in particular GIS techniques, satellite images, and aerial photographs. Proper assessing of the territory using GIS techniques may allow constructing roads not only with less damage to the environment and human health, but also avoiding technical problems, such as low bearing capacity of soils. The main objective of the study is to evaluate multitemporal changes of the environment in the course of the ongoing construction project, which is the construction of the A4 motorway in its Rzeszów Wschód – Jarosław Zachód section, in the area of the Wierzbna junction. The analysis was carried out on the basis of Landsat satellite images recorded in two different investment periods of the tested object: in 2006 – prior to the start of construction works, in 2015 – in the course of the ongoing construction works. In addition, the analysis of the obtained Landsat multitemporal satellite images made it possible to examine the morphology of the substrate conditions of river valleys of the San, Wislok, and Mleczka.

Temporal Satellite Images in The Process of Automatic Efficient Detection of Changes of the Baltic Sea Coastal Zone

The goal of the research was to perform tests aimed at assessing possibilities of utilising multi-temporal Landsat satellite images for automatic efficient detection of changes (e.g. accumulation and erosion) of the sea coastal zone. The research database was composed of Landsat satellite images, and standardized NDVI vegetation indexes from the years 1998 and 2015, as well as multi-temporal vector maps and aerial orthophotomaps. The result map of Change detection allowed to locate areas, in which diametrical changes in land coverage took place. Satellite images reflecting the condition of the examined area for twenty years enabled outlining changes of Baltic coastal zone, and then determining the rate and extent of transformations of examined part of coast (erosion and accumulation), and also made it possible to trace the migration of dunes. The analysis showed the range of shifting dune displacement in the years 1998-2015 amounts to ca. 180 m. On the examined section of seashore (32 km), the process of erosion and accumulation was detected respectively on the length of 21 km and 10 km along the coast. The changes of accumulation and erosion of the sea coast are easily identifiable and clearly visible. Properly conducted workflow of processing the satellite images have allowed the rapid and efficient detection of changes coastline, dunes and vegetation.