MSc Projects 2013: Remote Sensing, Environmental Mapping, Climate Change
Topic: Monitoring post-fire erosion using EO data.
Supervisor: Dr. Jose Gomez-Dans (j.gomez-dans@ucl.ac.uk) and Dr. Mat Disney
(mathias.disney@ucl.ac.uk)
Fire affects vegetation, but it also affects the erodibility of the terrain. As the
vegetation cover decreases, soil is exposed to rain and wind, and erosion is likely to
increase. Eventually, sediments are collected by rivers, resulting in silting. In this
project, you will be examining EO data to monitor fire activity in some catchments
that have suffered intense fire activity in one year. EO data will also be used to
monitor the suspended sediment in the catchment, making comparisons to ascertain
whether EO data can be used to monitor post-fire erosion. The project will included
handling EO data, and identifying burnscars as well as interpreting the data to retrieve
the optical properties of water.
Topic: Monitoring post-fire erosion using EO data.
Supervisor: Supervisor: Dr. Jose Gomez-Dans (j.gomez-dans@ucl.ac.uk) and Dr.
Mat Disney (mathias.disney@ucl.ac.uk)
, possible involvement of Dr. Juan Suarez from Forest Research
SAR backscatter responds to the amount and structure of vegetation, but also to a
number of other complicating factors, such as soil moisture and roughness. Simple
backscatter models have been shown to be effective in retrieving biomass from SAR
data, but problems remain, particularly for the shorter wavelengths. A way to improve
the situation, as well as providing credible estimates of uncertainty, is to couple a
backscatter model with a "biomass evolution" model in a data assimilation
framework such as EO-LDAS <http://jgomezdans.github.com/eoldas_release/>. The
project will include obtaining and pre-processing SAR data, and the development of
the DA framework. The approach will be evaluated with comparisons with ground
observations.
Topic: Updating forest inventories using different EO data
Supervisor: Supervisor: Dr. Jose Gomez-Dans (j.gomez-dans@ucl.ac.uk) and Dr.
Mat Disney (mathias.disney@ucl.ac.uk)
Updating forest inventories is expensive, but necessary. EO data has been used for
this, but generally relies on laborious photo-interpretation of very high resolution
optical data. In this project, we seek to integrate optical and microwave data to detect
changes in forest cover, using state of the art spatial processing techniques. You will
be working with different types of EO data, and developing and using
classification/change-detection algorithms.
Topic: 3D radiative transfer model applications in African Savannahs
Supervisor: Dr. Mat Disney (mathias.disney@ucl.ac.uk)
Using the RT fire effects model, develop an emulator (or LUT!) and use that to look
at the distribution of fire effects in SAfrican savannas.
Topic: Exploring the impact of roughness (canopy and terrain) on the fundamental
controls on angular reflectance
Supervisor: Prof. Philip Lewis (p.lewis@ucl.ac.uk), Dr. Mat Disney
(mathias.disney@ucl.ac.uk)
Topic: Simulating the impact of lidar instrument and survey characteristics on
reconstructing 3D canopy structural information
Supervisor: Dr. Mat Disney (mathias.disney@ucl.ac.uk)
Topic: Substrate history of the outer Thames seabed: implications for habitat change
Supervisor: Dr. Helene Burningham (h.burningham@ucl.ac.uk)
Synopsis: The seabed of the outer Thames estuary is variably formed in mud, sand,
gravel, broken shell and solid London clay (bedrock), and associated mixtures. As
such, the seabed is a complex mosaic of substrate type that forms a significant natural
ecosystem supporting a wide range of habitats and species, recognised in the plethora
of Marine Protected Areas (including Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special
Areas of Conservation (SACs)) and inclusion in the recent Marine Conservation
Zones Project. The boundaries of these designations are often rather arbitrary, with
little link to the character and dynamics of the underlying seabed. Changes in patterns
of substrate composition are likely to have a significant control on seabed habitat
geography, with considerable implications for the range of mobile species that it
supports. The aim of this project is to reconstruct the substrate history, and hence gain
an understanding of natural variability in possible habitats across the seabed of the
outer Thames estuary.
The project is likely to involve:
- collation of historical bathymetric charts from the archives of CERU, British Library,
National Maritime Museum and the UK Hydrographic Office [scanning and georectification where necessary]
- review of seabed from these sources to establish geographic focus
- digitisation of substrate character, development of classified maps, analysis of
historical change
- review of substrate control on seabed habitats
- evaluate implications of substrate changes on the distribution of seabed habitats
Topic: Geomorphic and hydrological mapping of a sedimentary lake-wetland.
Supervisor: Dr. Helene Burningham (h.burningham@ucl.ac.uk)
Synopsis: Sedimentary lakes are aquatic systems that usually form within a
sedimentary (depositional) environment, where water flow is restricted and obstructed,
causing a backing up of water, and the development of lake and wetland
environments. These systems are usually very shallow, but have the potential to
extend large distances. Sheskinmore Lough and its wetland (northwest Ireland)
starting forming in response to large-scale shifts in neighbouring coastal dunes around
1000 years ago that blocked part of the adjacent estuary, and caused infilling of a lowlying depression with freshwater and then aquatic and marginal plants. The focus of
this project is to fully map the topographic context of the lake and its surrounding
environment, and explore the sub-surface sedimentary and hydrological
characteristics to establish the likely environmental history of the site.
The project would include:
- dGPS surveying of the wetland and lake environment
- survey water table depth and possibly some stratigraphic markers across the site
- post-processing of dGPS data to create a continuous DTM, and spatial mapping of
subsurface sedimentary and hydrological characteristics
Around a week of fieldwork, in Donegal, will be involved. The National Parks and
Wildlife Service can provide accommodation for the duration of field-based research.
Topic: Diversity of diversity: exploring scales of variability in the multiple habitats of
a backshore-foredune system
Supervisor: Dr. Helene Burningham (h.burningham@ucl.ac.uk)
Synopsis: The backshore-foredune environment – the supratidal beach and dune front
– is well known for harsh conditions (increased salinity, threat of inundation, frequent
and rapid changes in sediment erosion and deposition, and low nutrient content)
which ensure that it remains a niche habitat for only a small range of adapted species.
In these environments though, the potential for diversity in these niche habitats is
relatively high – alongshore changes in factors such as sediment supply and tidal
debris deposition produce localised changes in topography, drainage and nutrient
provision – small changes in which can make a significant difference to the species
that occupy this marginal environment. This project explores the importance of
patchiness in environmental (physical and edaphic) setting on the species assemblages
that occupy the backshore-foredune environment. The study site is the supratidal
beach and dune front at Tramore Strand, west Donegal, northwest Ireland. Evidence
from past maps and aerial photographs shows that this environment has developed
over a relatively short period (<30 years) as a result of increased sediment availability
supplied through the erosion of dunes elsewhere in the adjacent Loughros More
estuary. Ponding of water within this prograding system has maximised the local
diversity of habitats, and the system is characterised by a complex suite of aeolian,
coastal and limnological ecosystems, the boundaries of which are rarely distinct.
Map and aerial photography can be used to delimit the chronology of the evolving
backshore-foredune environment, and fieldwork at the site to survey 1) species
presence and abundance and 2) the physical and edaphic environment will form the
primary dataset to examine species-environment relationships. GIS or other spatial
mapping will be used to explore spatial scales of variability. The project will require
fieldwork on site in Donegal, northwest Ireland. The National Parks and Wildlife
Service can provide accommodation for the duration of field-based research.
Topic: Saltmarsh fragmentation in southeast England
Supervisor: Dr. Helene Burningham (h.burningham@ucl.ac.uk)
Synopsis: Saltmarshes in southeast England have been eroding significantly over the
last 100 years. In combination with the heavily reclaimed nature of these coastal
environments, this decline in saltmarsh is a considerably priority for coastal
management and conservation. Whatever the cause of this erosion, there has been
little high-resolution quantification of the rate and nature this loss. It is essential that
the characteristics of change in saltmarsh habitat, the potential for re-colonisation and
the quality of remaining habitat are all understood to inform local and national
conservation strategies. This project aims to evaluate the changes in vegetated extent
of saltmarsh in southeast England, and examine the characteristics of these changes
against the existing theories for mechanisms driving the loss.
This project will involve:
 image analysis of aerial photographs acquired over the past 50 years and
development of an automated approach to the identification of vegetated and
non-vegetated regions within saltmarsh environments
 analysis of recent historical change in vegetated saltmarsh extent
 evaluation of change against existing theories of saltmarsh decline
Although fieldwork is not essential in this project, field surveys could be conducted to
provide a more robust understanding of current vegetation patterns and species
assemblages associated with different saltmarsh environments.