The COVID-19 pandemic posed a serious threat to life on the entire planet, necessitating the imposition of a lockdown mechanism that restricted people’s movements to stop the disease’s spread. This period experience...The COVID-19 pandemic posed a serious threat to life on the entire planet, necessitating the imposition of a lockdown mechanism that restricted people’s movements to stop the disease’s spread. This period experienced a decline in air pollution emissions and some environmental changes, offering a rare opportunity to understand the effects of fewer human activities on the earth’s temperature. Hence, this study compares the changes in Land Surface Temperature (LST) that were observed prior to the pandemic (March & April 2019) and during the pandemic lockdown (March & April 2020) of three parishes in Louisiana. The data for this study was acquired using Landsat 8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) Level 2, Collection 2, Tier 2 from the Google Earth Engine Catalog. For better visualization, the images that were derived had a cloud cover of less than 10%. Also, images for the three study areas were processed and categorized into four main classes: water, vegetation, built-up areas, and bare lands using a Random Forest Supervised Classification Algorithm. To improve the accuracy of the image classifications, three Normalized Difference Indices namely the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Normalized Difference Built-Up Index (NDBI) were employed using the Near Infrared (NIR), Red, Green and SWIR bands for the calculations. After, these images were processed in Google Earth Engine to generate the LST products gridded at 30 m with a higher spatial resolution of 100 m according to the pre-pandemic (2019) and lockdown (2020) periods for the three study areas. Results of this study showed a decrease in LST values of the land cover classes from 2019 to 2020, with LST values in East Baton Parish decreasing from 44°C to 38°C, 42°C to 38°C in Lafayette Parish, and 43°C to 38°C in Orleans Parish. The variations in the LST values therefore indicate the impact of fewer anthropogenic factors on the earth’s temperature which requires regulatory and mitigative measures展开更多
The use of renewable energy is steadily being adopted as a mitigative measure for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By assessing biomass production and consumption estimates from Louisiana parishes, this study examin...The use of renewable energy is steadily being adopted as a mitigative measure for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By assessing biomass production and consumption estimates from Louisiana parishes, this study examines the utilization of agricultural biomass as a convenient renewable energy source, and the potential of marginal lands for growing bioenergy crops in Louisiana. This was achieved by retrieving parish-level acreage production of some biofuel crops recorded in 2021 using the Quick Stats Database, to map out the spatial locations and distribution of the biofuel crops. To examine the potential of Louisiana’s marginal lands in bioenergy crop production, data was obtained from the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database and mapped-out according to the eight Land Capability Classes numbered I-VIII. The results of the mapped-out acreage data revealed that 25% of the 64 parishes including Morehouse recorded high corn production estimates, while 43%, such as East Carroll, recorded high soybean production. Meanwhile, cotton production estimates were relatively low, as recorded in only 9 parishes, with one parish, Tensas, having the highest acreage production of around 23,000. Although the identified marginal lands in parishes such as Allen and Vernon had no records of corn, soybean, or cotton production, the soil survey database revealed that these marginal lands have high nutrient soils like Alfisols, Entisols and Inceptisols with optimal nutrient balance essential for high yield bioenergy crop production. Hence, this paper highlights Louisiana’s agricultural biomass to be leveraged as sustainable renewable sources while adhering to clear production guidelines, biofuel sustainability certification, and internationally agreed sustainability criteria.展开更多
There has been significant research in recent decades on Land use Land cover (LULC) changes and their influence on biodiversity but little to no research on its impact on air quality. This research seeks to demonstrat...There has been significant research in recent decades on Land use Land cover (LULC) changes and their influence on biodiversity but little to no research on its impact on air quality. This research seeks to demonstrate how geospatial technologies such as geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing can be used to assess the effects of LULC changes on particulate matter emissions and their impact on air quality in the East Baton Rouge area. In pursuit of these objectives, this study uses LANDSAT imageries from the past 30 years specifically Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM C2L2) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager/Thermal Infrared (OLI/TIRS C2L2) covering 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021 were collected, processed, and analyzed for the LULC change analysis using QGIS software. Additionally, Sentinel 5P and the Air quality index from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were used to assess the air quality trend over the years to establish the correlation between LULC and air quality. Results showed an increasing trend in air quality over the past 3 decades with concentrations of CO, NO<sub>2</sub>, and PM2.5 abruptly falling however, urbanization and the population expanded throughout the time. The paper concludes by outlining a policy recommendation in the form of encouraging Louisiana residents to use alternative renewable energies rather than the over-dependence on coal-fired electric generating plants that have an impact on the environment.展开更多
文摘The COVID-19 pandemic posed a serious threat to life on the entire planet, necessitating the imposition of a lockdown mechanism that restricted people’s movements to stop the disease’s spread. This period experienced a decline in air pollution emissions and some environmental changes, offering a rare opportunity to understand the effects of fewer human activities on the earth’s temperature. Hence, this study compares the changes in Land Surface Temperature (LST) that were observed prior to the pandemic (March & April 2019) and during the pandemic lockdown (March & April 2020) of three parishes in Louisiana. The data for this study was acquired using Landsat 8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) Level 2, Collection 2, Tier 2 from the Google Earth Engine Catalog. For better visualization, the images that were derived had a cloud cover of less than 10%. Also, images for the three study areas were processed and categorized into four main classes: water, vegetation, built-up areas, and bare lands using a Random Forest Supervised Classification Algorithm. To improve the accuracy of the image classifications, three Normalized Difference Indices namely the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Normalized Difference Built-Up Index (NDBI) were employed using the Near Infrared (NIR), Red, Green and SWIR bands for the calculations. After, these images were processed in Google Earth Engine to generate the LST products gridded at 30 m with a higher spatial resolution of 100 m according to the pre-pandemic (2019) and lockdown (2020) periods for the three study areas. Results of this study showed a decrease in LST values of the land cover classes from 2019 to 2020, with LST values in East Baton Parish decreasing from 44°C to 38°C, 42°C to 38°C in Lafayette Parish, and 43°C to 38°C in Orleans Parish. The variations in the LST values therefore indicate the impact of fewer anthropogenic factors on the earth’s temperature which requires regulatory and mitigative measures
文摘The use of renewable energy is steadily being adopted as a mitigative measure for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By assessing biomass production and consumption estimates from Louisiana parishes, this study examines the utilization of agricultural biomass as a convenient renewable energy source, and the potential of marginal lands for growing bioenergy crops in Louisiana. This was achieved by retrieving parish-level acreage production of some biofuel crops recorded in 2021 using the Quick Stats Database, to map out the spatial locations and distribution of the biofuel crops. To examine the potential of Louisiana’s marginal lands in bioenergy crop production, data was obtained from the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database and mapped-out according to the eight Land Capability Classes numbered I-VIII. The results of the mapped-out acreage data revealed that 25% of the 64 parishes including Morehouse recorded high corn production estimates, while 43%, such as East Carroll, recorded high soybean production. Meanwhile, cotton production estimates were relatively low, as recorded in only 9 parishes, with one parish, Tensas, having the highest acreage production of around 23,000. Although the identified marginal lands in parishes such as Allen and Vernon had no records of corn, soybean, or cotton production, the soil survey database revealed that these marginal lands have high nutrient soils like Alfisols, Entisols and Inceptisols with optimal nutrient balance essential for high yield bioenergy crop production. Hence, this paper highlights Louisiana’s agricultural biomass to be leveraged as sustainable renewable sources while adhering to clear production guidelines, biofuel sustainability certification, and internationally agreed sustainability criteria.
文摘There has been significant research in recent decades on Land use Land cover (LULC) changes and their influence on biodiversity but little to no research on its impact on air quality. This research seeks to demonstrate how geospatial technologies such as geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing can be used to assess the effects of LULC changes on particulate matter emissions and their impact on air quality in the East Baton Rouge area. In pursuit of these objectives, this study uses LANDSAT imageries from the past 30 years specifically Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM C2L2) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager/Thermal Infrared (OLI/TIRS C2L2) covering 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021 were collected, processed, and analyzed for the LULC change analysis using QGIS software. Additionally, Sentinel 5P and the Air quality index from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were used to assess the air quality trend over the years to establish the correlation between LULC and air quality. Results showed an increasing trend in air quality over the past 3 decades with concentrations of CO, NO<sub>2</sub>, and PM2.5 abruptly falling however, urbanization and the population expanded throughout the time. The paper concludes by outlining a policy recommendation in the form of encouraging Louisiana residents to use alternative renewable energies rather than the over-dependence on coal-fired electric generating plants that have an impact on the environment.
