Amazonia Disasters

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An output raster using the Q-test algorithm showing land change in the Madre De Dios region in Peru is processed with NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) using elevation data from January 2019 derived from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), Global Digital Elevation Model 2 (GDEM2), USGS Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data (GMTED), and USGS National Elevation Dataset (NED). Darker areas of red show higher levels of elevation and lighter reds show lower elevation. Keywords: SRTM, Q-Test, elevation, Peru

Assessing Methods for Gold Mining-related Deforestation Detection in Amazonia Using NASA Earth Observations

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is responsible for a large fraction of deforestation and disturbance in Amazonia. These activities cause severe impacts on the rainforest ecosystem and socioeconomic state of the region. NASA DEVELOP partnered with the Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónica (ACCA), NASA SERVIR Science Coordination Office, and the Spatial Informatics Group to enhance ASGM-related deforestation detection methods. ACCA currently uses the Omnibus Q-test Change Point Detection Algorithm to identify changes in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) monthly-aggregated temporal data from the Sentinel-1 satellite. The team determined the algorithm's accuracy by comparing a stratified random sample of change points against data from January 2019 to June 2020 identified using PlanetScope and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) Earth observations through Collect Earth Online. Our results indicated a users' accuracy of 55% for temporal change detection and producer's and user's accuracies of 99% and 97%, respectively, for detecting when change did not occur. Of the labeled change points, only 19% were due to mining activity. This research can help our partners have a more accurate understanding of where illegal gold mining may be taking place and inform decisions to remediate this activity.

Location
Alabama - Marshall
Term
Fall 2020
Partner(s)
Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónica
NASA SERVIR Science Coordination Office
Spatial Informatics Group
NASA Earth Observations
Landsat 5 TM
Landsat 8 OLI
Landsat 8 TIRS
ISS GEDI
ISS ECOSTRESS
Terra MODIS
Team
Caley Feemster (Project Lead)
Paxton LaJoie
Marco Vallejos>
Perren Wright
Advisor(s)
Dr. Jeffrey Luvall (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center)
Dr. Robert Griffin (The University of Alabama Huntsville)
Kelsey Herndon (NASA SERVIR Science Coordination Office)
Helen Baldwin (NASA SERVIR Science Coordination Office)