The Implications of Unreported Tidal Fluctuations in Satellite Imagery

Abstract

Remote sensing data and satellite imagery can be challenging to accurately produce, especially when tidal ranges affect the variation of land cover types daily, which are not represented in any Earth Map layer. Inconsistencies among maps create confusion and daily tidal fluctuations have effects on not only the land type and change over time, but many coastal species and their behavior like the American herring gull. Three grids were established on Fire Island, NY to understand if there had been a land change over time, if there is a difference among one forestry and three land cover Earth Map layers, their accuracy to ground cover photos collected through the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) app, tidal height differences, and difference in activity of American herring gulls between high and low tide. This was done by utilizing the GLOBE Program to establish grids, collect ground cover photos using the GLOBE observer app, a ground count at 10-minute intervals for American herring gull data, Landsat time-series for land change over time, and Collect Earth Online for land cover type categorization. The results showed that the layers presented inconsistencies among one another and when compared to ground cover photos. There was also a significant difference in daily tidal fluctuations between high tide and low tide, a significant difference in American herring gull activity between high tide and low tide, and the land had changed over time from the year of 1984 to present. These findings suggest the value of daily tidal representations in satellite imagery, especially land cover layers like those presented in Earth Map, as well as the implementation of ground cover photos in the production of satellite imagery to produce the most accurate and usable maps possible.