HR: 17:50h
AN: H44A-07    [Abstracts]
TI: WATER BODIES AND VEGETATION IN THE CALIFORNIA-BAJA CALIFORNIA BORDER REGION A REMOTE SENSORS PERSPECTIVE.
AU: * Hinojosa, A
EM: alhinc@cicese.mx
AF: Earth Sciences Division CICESE, Km. 107 Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, BC 22880, Mexico
AU: Mexicano-Vargas, M L
EM: cliomex@yahoo.com
AU: Serrato, B A
EM: bserrato@cicese.mx
AB: The California-Baja California border region although they share watersheds, similar climate and landscape, there is a big contrast in the vegetation cover and water bodies between the two countries as seen from remote sensors. There is a stronger signature of vegetation and larger number of water bodies in the California side. To do a quantitative estimate of these differences, a comparative analysis of vegetation and water bodies was perfomerd along a strip of 100 km from both sides of the border with remote sensing techniques using Landsat TM images from 1984 to 2006. The strong absorption of water to short wave infrared radiation captured by band 5 of TM Landsat sensor (1.55- 1.75 micrometers) is use to detect water bodies. The histogram segmentation technique was used with TM 5/1 band ratios reinforced with a shades prediction technique using the sun position and a digital elevation model. The aerial extent of detected water bodies is estimated. Also an analysis from 1972 trough 2002 of the Mexican portion of Colorado river delta will be presented, with emphasis on flood events induced by abnormal snowmelts and higher precipitations in the high basin; 250 Landsat image previews were collected , from which 157 were selected to integrate 63 scenes that provide a dynamic picture of the Colorado delta river over 30 years. A regression with the annual averages of inundated areas and annual water flow data from E.U. to Mexico was made with a correlation coefficient of 0.912. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used to estimate the vegetation greenness in the agricultural valleys and in natural vegetated areas along the mountains on both sides of the border. The spatial distribution of the NDVI and the differences between zones with the same land use regime on both sides of the border is presented.
DE: 1640 Remote sensing (1855)
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly