Tidal Wetland Inundation and Vegetation Phenology from Space: A Synthesis of Approaches for Characterizing Ecological Status and Inundation Dynamics in Tidal Wetlands with Remote Sensing Observations
type: CreativeWork
description: This dissertation focuses on the monitoring and characterization of tidal marshes using remote sensing-based approaches. Chapter 1 introduces the topics of wetland ecology and remote sensing. Chapters 2-4 are the main research chapters of the dissertation covering the topics of tidal marsh mapping, tidal marsh vegetation characterization, and assessment of tidal marsh inundation patterns. Chapter 5 summarizes the preceding chapters and highlights future research directions. The primary research objective of Chapter 2 is the mapping and study of tidal marshes of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. This chapter also features a thematic focus on the evaluation of various forms of satellite imagery for wetlands studies in general. In this chapter, Chesapeake and Delaware Bay tidal marshes were mapped with producer’s accuracy greater than 88% and user’s accuracy greater than 83% using a random forest classification. A second classification effort focused on the mapping of wetlands vegetation at the Jug Bay wetlands complex in the Patuxent River. This classification, which also utilized the random forest technique, yielded accuracies of greater than 90% for all mapped wetlands vegetation types. These two classifications made use of SAR and optical/IR satellite imagery as input layers. Post-classification analysis demonstrated that optical/IR images were most useful for providing accurate classifications for Chesapeake Bay tidal marshes while the SAR images were most useful for classifying different wetlands vegetation at Jug Bay. This highlights the importance of SAR-optical/IR fusion for providing flexibility in achieving accurate classifications when mapping diverse wetlands types with a single classifier. Chapter 3 builds on many of the findings from the evaluation portion of Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, a mapping methodology utilizing SAR-optical/IR fusion is used to expand tidal marsh mapping beyond the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays and into the entire Mid-Atlantic region. …
abstract: This dissertation focuses on the monitoring and characterization of tidal marshes using remote sensing-based approaches. Chapter 1 introduces the topics of wetland ecology and remote sensing. Chapters 2-4 are the main research chapters of the dissertation covering the topics of tidal marsh mapping, tidal marsh vegetation characterization, and assessment of tidal marsh inundation patterns. Chapter 5 summarizes the preceding chapters and highlights future research directions. The primary research objective of Chapter 2 is the mapping and study of tidal marshes of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. This chapter also features a thematic focus on the evaluation of various forms of satellite imagery for wetlands studies in general. In this chapter, Chesapeake and Delaware Bay tidal marshes were mapped with producer’s accuracy greater than 88% and user’s accuracy greater than 83% using a random forest classification. A second classification effort focused on the mapping of wetlands vegetation at the Jug Bay wetlands complex in the Patuxent River. This classification, which also utilized the random forest technique, yielded accuracies of greater than 90% for all mapped wetlands vegetation types. These two classifications made use of SAR and optical/IR satellite imagery as input layers. Post-classification analysis demonstrated that optical/IR images were most useful for providing accurate classifications for Chesapeake Bay tidal marshes while the SAR images were most useful for classifying different wetlands vegetation at Jug Bay. This highlights the importance of SAR-optical/IR fusion for providing flexibility in achieving accurate classifications when mapping diverse wetlands types with a single classifier. Chapter 3 builds on many of the findings from the evaluation portion of Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, a mapping methodology utilizing SAR-optical/IR fusion is used to expand tidal marsh mapping beyond the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays and into the entire Mid-Atlantic region. …
author: Lamb, Brian T.
keywords: Environmental Monitoring, Hydrology, remote sensing, tidal marshes, wetlands, radar, radiometric modeling, tidal inundation
date published: 2020-09-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:00:26Z
provider: City University of New York - Graduate Center
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York