Satellite based bio-thermal impact insights into MSW open dumps: a pair-unified proximity scenario

Abstract

Emissions from open Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) dumps are a serious threat to ecology in their close vicinity. Proper assessment of associated damage and its radial extent of influence constitute basic information to plan a sustainable remedial approach. This study emphasizes on twin dumping facilities as unified source of pollution in a geotechnical environment, and is limited to the use of freely available medium resolution satellite imagery to provide alternative of expensive ground measurements for obtaining base-level monitoring data to aid decision support systems in developing world. Proximity statistics have been applied to products derived from Landsat-8, with range and severity of hazardous influence being computed using curve flattening analysis of distance dependent profiles of various products. The combined average bio-influence and thermal-influence ranges of pair-unified dumps are 705 m and 1035 m, respectively. The developed methodology leads towards deeper understanding of seasonal changes in the influence zones, correlation amongst the two types of influence zones and relationship between severity and range of influence. The proximity statistical sequence has rendered the analysis sensitive enough to distinguish land covers having potential to cause misinterpretation of results by introducing effects in the bio-thermal continuum, similar to those of MSW emissions.

Keywords

• municipal solid waste dumps
• geospatial analysis
• bio-thermal indicators
• twin-unified source
• satellite data