Djquandt projpresent
9
Land Classification of Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Daniel Quandt I used LANDSAT 5 TM images to depict the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and classify features to determine what if any effect the nuclear accident at Chernobyl had on the surrounding area. Research Questions: How has the area surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant been effected by the nuclear incident that occurred on 26 April 1986? Did radiation destroy large areas of vegetation? What feature class became dominant after the incident and evacuation?
Transcript of Djquandt projpresent
Land Classification of Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
Daniel QuandtI used LANDSAT 5 TM images to depict the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and classify features
to determine what if any effect the nuclear accident at Chernobyl had on the surrounding area.
Research Questions: How has the area surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant been effected by the nuclear
incident that occurred on 26 April 1986?
Did radiation destroy large areas of vegetation?
What feature class became dominant after the incident and evacuation?
Data Summary
Data Source Name Data & Type Acquisition Date Resolution
USGS Global Visualization Viewer
http://glovis.usgs.gov/LT51810241984299XXX03
LANDSAT 5 TM1984 Raster
7 Band TIFFs25 October 1984 30m
USGS Global Visualization Viewer
http://glovis.usgs.gov/LT51820241986151XXX10
LANDSAT 5 TM1986 Raster
7 Band TIFFs31 May 1986 30m
All metadata for imagery available for download via USGS
Data Summary
Data Source Name Data & Type Acquisition Date Resolution
USGS Global Visualization Viewer
http://glovis.usgs.gov/LT51820241987250XXX02
LANDSAT 5 TM1987 Raster
7 Band TIFFs7 September 1987 30m
USGS Global Visualization Viewer
http://glovis.usgs.gov/LT51820241994253XXX02
LANDSAT 5 TM1994 Raster
7 Band TIFFs10 September 1994 30m
All metadata for imagery available for download via USGS
Method of Analysis
• Layer Stack
• Subset
• Supervised Classification
Image Processing ProceduresBand 1
TIFF
Band 2
TIFF
Band 3 TIFF
Band 4 TIFF
Band 5 TIFF
Band 6 TIFF
Band 7 TIFF
Layer Stack4, 3, 2
FCC Image Subset Subset
ImageSupervised
ClassificationLand
Classification
Procedures used for each data set(1984, 1986, 1987 and 1994)
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
Reactor 4
Red Forest
Pripyat 2009
Supervised Classifications
October 1984 May 1986
LegendEvergreen
Urban
Deciduous
Bare Ground
Herbaceous
Water
Legend
RedForest
Supervised Classifications
September 1987 September 1994
LegendEvergreen
Urban
Deciduous
Bare Ground
Herbaceous
Water
Legend
Results
• Were large areas of vegetation destroyed as a result of the nuclear accident?
• No. I expected more vegetation to be destroyed as a result of radiation and contamination. Recent studies show plants have adapted easily to the high levels of radiation and contamination in the exclusion zone. Other studies show that decomposers such as insects and microbes have also been effected by the radiation. In areas with high radiation levels vegetation isn’t decaying properly and this has led to higher levels of litter (fallen trees and leaves) and increased risk of fire.
• What features became dominant after the Soviet government permanently evacuated the region?
• I expected there to be more destruction of vegetation and bare ground to be dominant. The herbaceous class seemed to expand after the nuclear accident. The evergreen and deciduous classes seemed to remain relatively constant.
