Mapping Suitability Areas For Concentrated Solar Power Plants Using Remote Sensing Data

The political push to increase power generation from renewable sources such as solar energy requires knowing the best places to site new solar power plants with respect to the applicable regulatory, operational, engineering, environmental, and socioeconomic criteria. Therefore, in this paper, we present applications of remote sensing data for mapping suitability areas for concentrated solar power plants. Our approach uses digital elevation model derived from NASA s Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) at a resolution of 3 arc second (approx. 90m resolution) for estimating global solar radiation for the study area. Then, we develop a computational model built on a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform that divides the study area into a grid of cells and estimates site suitability value for each cell by computing a list of metrics based on applicable siting requirements using GIS data. The computed metrics include population density, solar energy potential, federal lands, and hazardous facilities. Overall, some 30 GIS data are used to compute eight metrics. The site suitability value for each cell is computed as an algebraic sum of all metrics for the cell with the assumption that all metrics have equal weight. Finally, we color each cell according to its suitability value. We present results for concentrated solar power that drives a stream turbine and parabolic mirror connected to a Stirling Engine.

This book discusses the design and practice of environmental resources management for smart cities. Presenting numerous city case studies, it focuses on one specific environmental resource in each city. Environmental resources are commonly owned properties that require active inputs from the government and the people, and in any smart city their management calls for a synchronous combination of e-democracy, e-governance and IOT (Internet of Things) systems in a 24/7 framework. Smart environmental resources management uses information and communication technologies, the Internet of Things, internet of governance (e-governance) and internet of people (e-democracy) along with conventional resource management tools to achieve coordinated, effective and efficient management, development, and conservation that equitably improves ecological and economic welfare, without compromising the sustainability of development ecosystems and stakeholders.

This book covers several themes related to forestry, agriculture, water, soil, urban, and atmospheric research. GIScience technology systems have increased in significance in recent decades and have the ability to acquire information at ground level with a higher spectral resolution using a field radio-spectrometer, which is a great improvement compared to other remote sensing systems. GIScience technology systems are widely used for solving and understanding the concept of forestry, crop, water resources, and related research themes. This book aims to advance the scientific understanding of GIScience technology and applications. The chapters present GIScience data integration with other sources such as LiDAR, Multi-spectral data and their applications in forestry, crop assessment, soil assessment, mineral mapping and related themes. The book will be of interest to geospatial experts, modellers, foresters, agricultural scientists, hyperspectral remote sensing and space community, ecologists and conservation communities, environmental consultants, big data compilers, and computing experts.

This edited volume is based on the best papers accepted for presentation during the 1st Springer Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences (CAJG-1), Tunisia 2018. The book compiles a wide range of topics addressing various issues by experienced researchers mainly from research institutes in the Mediterranean, MENA region, North America and Asia. Remote sensing observations can close gaps in information scarcity by complementing ground-based sparse data. Spatial, spectral, temporal and radiometric characteristics of satellites sensors are most suitable for features identification. The local to global nature and broad spatial scale of remote sensing with the wide range of spectral coverage are essential characteristics, which make satellites an ideal platform for mapping, observation, monitoring, assessing and providing necessary mitigation measures and control for different related Earth's systems processes. Main topics in this book include: Geo-informatics Applications, Land Use / Land Cover Mapping and Change Detection, Emerging Remote Sensing Applications, Rock Formations / Soil Lithology Mapping, Vegetation Mapping Impact and Assessment, Natural Hazards Mapping and Assessment, Ground Water Mapping and Assessment, Coastal Management of Marine Environment and Atmospheric Sensing.

Overuse of natural resources results in environmental deterioration, lowering the effectiveness of important ecosystem services, such as the mitigation of floods and landslides. This leads to a greater risk of disaster and, in turn, natural hazards that can further deteriorate the environment. The deterioration of the capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological aims and demands is described as environmental degradation. This degradation and the concomitant reduction of ecosystems and their irreplaceable services (the benefits humans gain) are driving disaster risk. Changes to the environment can alter the frequency and intensity of risks, as well as our exposure and sensitivity to these hazards. Addressing these issues requires improvement of the capacity to perform short and medium-term operations in disaster management based on long-term environmental considerations. At the local level, minimizing environmental degradation and ecosystem loss involves awareness of the links between unsustainable development and poverty. Communities are often driven to ruin their natural environment as a short-term coping mechanism for dealing with immediate issues; for instance, surviving a bad harvest by selling wood. Strategies for decreasing poverty by investing in environment-sensitive development should therefore support initiatives to minimize disaster risk and build resilience. There are common aspects in successful policies throughout various regions at the policy level, which extends to controlling climate change. Tools such as integrated water resources and coastal zone management, the removal of environmentally harmful subsidies, especially on fossil fuels and/or carbon taxes, renewable energy, marine protected areas, and cross-boundary biodiversity conservation, are all examples of policies used in more than one region but customized to each context. This scoping study finds and assesses available materials that relate environmental challenges and management with catastrophes and risk reduction activities in the Asia-Pacific area. This volume's analysis relies on case studies, examples, and the results of questionnaires and interviews of practitioners and organizations operating in the environment, disaster, and development domains.

Microgrids are a growing segment of the energy industry, representing a paradigm shift from centralized structures toward more localized, autonomous, dynamic, and bi-directional energy networks, especially in cities and communities. The ability to isolate from the larger grid makes microgrids resilient, while their capability of forming scalable energy clusters permits the delivery of services that make the grid more sustainable and competitive. Through an optimal design and management process, microgrids could also provide efficient, low-cost, clean energy and help to improve the operation and stability of regional energy systems. This book covers these promising and dynamic areas of research and development and gathers contributions on different aspects of microgrids in an aim to impart higher degrees of sustainability and resilience to energy systems.

Advanced imaging spectral technology and hyperspectral analysis techniques for multiple applications are the key features of the book. This book will present in one volume complete solutions from concepts, fundamentals, and methods of acquisition of hyperspectral data to analyses and applications of the data in a very coherent manner. It will help readers to fully understand basic theories of HRS, how to utilize various field spectrometers and bioinstruments, the importance of radiometric correction and atmospheric correction, the use of analysis, tools and software, and determine what to do with HRS technology and data.

"This sourcebook is intended to assist environmental managers and others who work with indicators in pursuing appropriate methods for indicator testing and production, and to offer some guidance to those responsible for the interpretation of indicators and implementation of decisions based on them. Upon reading this document, technical advisers, environmental policy makers, and remote sensing lab directors and project managers should be able to identify specific, relevant uses of remote sensing data for biodiversity monitoring and indicator development related to the CBD." --p. 8.