GIS and Remote Sensing and Environment (Essay Sample)

EVALUATION OF SURFACE WATER POLLUTION FROM INDUSTRIAL AND MUNICIPAL WASTE
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Abstract
This paper studied evaluation of surface water pollution from industrial and municipal waste water by using GIS and remote sensing applications and theories. The article has stated that GIS and remote sensing techniques and application are used in monitoring and evaluation of water pollution from discharge wastewater from industries and municipal sewer system because they provide spectral, spatial and temporal information. The principal merits of using the application have been outlined as extensive coverage into regions that are not easily physically accessible. On the other hand, the confusion of the phenomenon that occurs in the maps and image has been cited as the major drawback. The study also stated that the primary strategy to overcome the drawbacks was confirmation of the data and use of standard expertise. Lastly, the paper has recommended the use of GIS and remote sensing as they provide a flexible analysis of the needed data.
Introduction
Surface water pollution is the contamination of the water that occurs on the surface of the earth as the streams, lakes, rivers, seas and ocean water (Lipták, 2000). The contamination occurs when pollutants that contain hazardous substances are discharged into these water bodies without being treated. In the recent past, the assessment of surface water pollution has been high due to the increased alarming level of pollutant discharged into the surface water (Lipták, 2000). The pollution has destroyed the ecosystem and posed a health risk to animals, plant, and humans. Many governments have put emphasis on regulating the level of water pollution, for this to be done more efficiently than the pollutant deposited in the water bodies have to be detected and analysed. Remote sensing and GIS give the perfect solution to the problem of detection as they sense and analysis this pollutant even when not in contact (Bunujah, & Devi 2008).
Remote sensing is the art or science used to obtain information about areas, phenomena or object by analysing data that are acquired by a device, not in contact with the said area, object or phenomenon of investigation (Luck, 2010). On the other hand, GIS (geographical information system) is a computer system that usually captures, store, check and display data that relate to a position on the earth’s surface (Lyon, 2003). The data enable analysis and understanding of patterns and relationships. The use of remote sensing and GIS in solving water pollution started when the first satellite was launched. These tools proved to be effective as they provided spatial, spectral and temporal data on large surfaces of water even those which were inaccessible (Luck, 2010). This essay will explain the use of GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques and applications in monitoring and evaluation of water pollution from discharge wastewater from industries and municipal sewer systems. In addition, the advantages and challenges of using GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques in assessing surface water pollution from these two sources and the strategies for overcoming obstacles will also be discussed.
Industrial waste water
The integration of both GIS and the remote sensing has been broadly applied as a powerful and useful monitoring tool for the detection of waste water from industries (Werts, 2011). Many researchers have used remote sensing and GIS in their studies in analysing and monitoring industrial water waste (Ravindran, 2007). When both methods integrated, they have proved to be the cheapest way in which more detailed data can be accessed that is not readily available on the earth's surface.
A research conducted in the city of Baghdad (Ali-Hashimi & Mohsin, 2008) was used to determine the effectiveness of using the GIS and the remote sensing in monitoring the industrial water waste in the city. The report concluded that GIS and remote sensing instruments when integrated, they formed a very beneficial mean of developing maps that demonstrated the danger posed by industrial water like oil spillage (Ali-Hashimi & Mohsin, 2008). The report also added that the use of GIS and remote sensing enabled detection of every kind of insoluble waste pollution caused by industries by use of thematic maps (Werts, 2011).
Another research (Qutiesshat, 2014) was carried out to assess the level of industrial water waste in the Jordan River. The report aimed at testing the effectiveness and reliability of GIS and remote sensing as a means of evaluating industrial waste water (Werts, 2011). The report concluded that the use of these tools was effective in the determination of the nature, rate and location of the industrial waste. (Bhatta, 2008) Conducted research on how effective the imageries from GIS and remote sensing were on monitoring the industrial surface water waste. The report compares the result obtained from physical examination of the industrial water waste and those obtained by use of remote sensing and GIS instruments (Bhatta, 2008). It concluded that results from the two studies showed a very high positive correlation thus the imageries from the GIS, and remote sensing were as effective as those of direct examination (Bhatta, 2008).
The data that can be collected by use of GIS and remote sensing includes: Data on the colour of water, data on the characteristic of the habitats of animals in the affected regions, data of the changes in human use of the affected area, and data on the plant coverage change in the affected areas (Rogerson, 2004). The remote sensing that collects this type of data is the imageries that are occasionally taken from the satellites from time to time (Ravindran, 2007). These imageries can indicate changes that occur in waters around the industries, the images are stored using computers to be used in the analysis of the data (Werts, 2011). The GIS uses the images taken by use of a satellite to develop regional spatial data into a coordinated GIS database that assess the change in water uses, the characteristic of the animal’s habitats and changing crop cover change.
An example of how to use the above method can be the assessment using aircraft pictures on industrial wastewater is in the Niger Delta in Nigeria (Ayolabi, 2013). The delta is a productive oil mining and refining area, a lot of petroleum from the mines and the refining industries spill into the river delta causing immersive pollution as indicated below by a remote sensing photos (Ayolabi, 2013). These two photos were taken from an aircraft in 2009 and 2011 respectively, ILWIS (Integrated Land and Water Information System) a GIS software program used to analyse and assess data was used to evaluate the data.
Several remote sensing instrument are used to assess the industrial was waste. The nature of the instruments used depends on the accessibility as well as area and nature of the evaluation. Industries discharge’s hot water to the surface water and this can be detected using a thermal remote sensor (Khorram, 2012). Aerial photographs also are commonly used in assessing industrial pollution; they are taken by airborne objects like aircrafts and helicopters that take photo of the area to be evaluated (Khorram, 2012). Remote sensing satellites are also used to take images when a large coverage is required. The different instrument used in assessing industrial waste using remote sensing and GIS are shown in the table below (Khorram, 2012).
Devices usedType of information1Infrared thermal remote sensingIts collects data on hot water discharged by industries2Radar remote sensingIt collects data on industrial surface water oil spillage 3Optical remote sensing  Shows reflection in water. In case of foreign pollutant from industries it can detect them by variations in reflection.4Remote sensing satellite Give information on substance suspended in water from industries. It have a wider coverage.5Airborne remote sensing (aircrafts, helicopters etc.)They give a high spatial resolution information which covers a smaller region.
The first photos show a central region which has being affected by oil pollution from the nearby region. Nevertheless, the pollution as at 2009 was not extreme as it appears two years later in the year 2011. Using a remote sensing and GIS to examine size, location and rate of change as indicated in the photo, then the industrial pollution waste can be evaluated (Ayolabi, 2013). The second photo also demonstrates the level of damage caused to the surrounding habitant like the vegetation around the area by the pollution.

Advantages and Challenges
GIS and remote sensing have numerous merits when used as a tool for assessing the pollution of surface water from the industrial waste water (Bhatta, 2008). When both are integrated, they provide an analysis that is flexible to enter and display data from various sources that are considered necessary for identification, change detection and database analysis of environmental features (Christophoridis, 2013). This means that in case of industrial waste water pollution, by integrating the two methods, and then it is likely for one to identify more proof of pollution taking place by examining changes in the maps. This process also is critical as it enable assessment of industrial waste pollution even into the less accessible areas (Bhatta, 2008). Remote sensing and GIS tool also covers a very large region; it may be a whole lake, river or even a sea. The collection of data and analyses is cheap; one does not need to be in contact with the region to get the data (Christophoridis, 2013). The data collected is spatial and temporal thus it shows changes in the region as per given time differ...