Article
Accounting for uncertainty in remotely-sensed measurements of river planform change
Earth-Science Reviews
(2019)
Abstract
Increased availability and resolution of remotely-sensed (RS) imagery of Earth's surface has greatly enhanced the precision, spatial extent, and temporal frequency at which we can analyze river channel migration and width changes. Despite a body of research identifying and quantifying sources of uncertainty inherent in such data, no framework has emerged to comprehensively quantify and handle uncertainty. Herein, we summarize and evaluate present best practices, test new approaches to quantify and handle uncertainty, and provide recommendations for future work using remotely-sensed measurements of river migration and width changes. While our research focuses on river systems, the principles and approaches are applicable to research delineating boundaries or using boundaries to measure changes: glacier retreat or advance, erosion or deposition along coastlines and lakeshores, changes in wetland extent, expansion or contraction of vegetation (e.g., deforestation), cliff retreat, sea level rise due to climate change, change in aeolian depositional systems, and anthropogenic/political boundary disputes.
Disciplines
Publication Date
2019
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.04.009
Citation Information
Patrick Belmont. "Accounting for uncertainty in remotely-sensed measurements of river planform change" Earth-Science Reviews Vol. 193 (2019) p. 220 - 236 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/patrick_belmont/119/