Application of Landsat imagery to monitor sand dunes movement in the Sahara Desert

Analysis of the imagery available from Landsat l and Landsat 2 for the period between 1972 to 1976 over selected test areas in the Libyan Desert has been undertaken. The first step in the use of Landsat imagery is to employ it for the identification and mapping of distinct units on the ground. T This was carried out using band 5 and band 7 imagery, which contain more information suitable for our purpose than do the other bands. The results obtained in this thesis were supported by ground truth data obtained from the selected sites in the form of topographic, geologic, and soil maps, aerial photographs, and meteorological information.

The findings of this analysis indicate that global surveillance of the status of dryland ecosystems and of land use can be achieved most economically through the use of Landsat imagery y if proper image analysis techniques are used. Sand dune movement of the magnitude of one kilometer and more can be detected easily using the proposed system.