Assessing suspended sediment in tropical rivers using remote sensing
This research aims to assess the feasibility of using digital cameras for assessment of suspended sediment in tropical rivers. Increasing fine sediment loads have been identified as one of the major threats to river ecosystems worldwide. In the tropics, clearance of forest for agriculture is the most significant cause of increased loads, with many rivers perpetually running brown with sediment. Digital images collected from consumer grade cameras offer great potential as an alternative approach to assessing river fine sediment loads, as it is possible to use pixel information from images to estimate suspended sediment concentrations. The ubiquity of digital cameras, and especially smartphones, potentially opens up opportunities for extensive ‘citizen science’ monitoring of rivers; moreover, cameras attached to drones makes extensive surveys of river sections and the production of continuous ‘maps’ of SSC a feasible goal. This project is using a combination of controlled laboratory tests and drone flights to assess and map suspended sediment concentrations in rivers in Malaysia. The project funds Azam’s MRes.