Optimisation and interpretation of machine and deep learning models for improved water quality management in Lake Loktak.

Loktak Lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in Manipur, India, is critical for the eco-hydrology and economy of the region, but faces deteriorating water quality due to urbanisation, anthropogenic activities, and domestic sewage. Addressing the urgent need for effective pollution management, this study aims to assess the lake's water quality status using the water quality index (WQI) and develop advanced machine learning (ML) tools for WQI assessment and ML model interpretation to improve pollution management decision making. The WQI was assessed using entropy-based weighting arithmetic and three ML models - Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM), Random Forest (RF) and Deep Neural Network (DNN) - were optimised using a grid search algorithm in the H2O Application Programming Interface (API). These models were validated by various metrics and interpreted globally and locally via Partial Dependency Plot (PDP), Accumulated Local Effect (ALE) and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). The results show a WQI range of 72.38-100, with 52.7% of samples categorised as very poor. The RF model outperformed GBM and DNN and showed the highest accuracy and generalisation ability, which is reflected in the superior R2 values (0.97 in training, 0.9 in test) and the lower root mean square error (RMSE). RF's minimal margin of error and reliable feature interpretation contrasted with DNN's larger margin of error and inconsistency, which affected its usefulness for decision making. Turbidity was found to be a critical predictive feature in all models, significantly influencing WQI, with other variables such as pH and temperature also playing an important role. SHAP dependency plots illustrated the direct relationship between key water quality parameters such as turbidity and WQI predictions. The novelty of this study lies in its comprehensive approach to the evaluation and interpretation of ML models for WQI estimation, which provides a nuanced understanding of water quality dynamics in Loktak Lake. By identifying the most effective ML models and key predictive functions, this study provides invaluable insights for water quality management and paves the way for targeted strategies to monitor and improve water quality in this vital freshwater ecosystem.

Modelling built-up land expansion probability using the integrated fuzzy logic and coupling coordination degree model.

The expansion of built-up area is the most noticeable form of urbanization-induced land use/land cover (LULC) change. In the global cities of south, the urban sprawl is increasing rapidly with even higher probabilities of future built-up expansion. These cities are witnessing unsustainable urban growth with no consideration of eco-friendly environmental condition and quality of life due to rapid expansion in built-up area. Indian cities too have been witnessing rapid urban growth and built-up expansion especially in the large metropolitan cities like Delhi. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to model the built-up expansion probabilities in Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) using remote sensing datasets and an integrated fuzzy logic and coupling coordination degree model (CCDM). For this, initially, the LULC classification was done using random forest (RF) classifier to extract the built-up area. Further, analytical hierarchy process (AHP) integrated fuzzy sets were applied using the extracted built-up area along with a set of economic, demographic, proximity parameters, topographic, and utility services. Five zones of built-up expansion probabilities were made namely very high, high, medium, low and very low. The result shows that the probability of built-up expansion in Delhi NCR is maximum under very high and high probability zones, whereas minimum expansion probabilities come in the very low probability zone for both base year i.e., 2018 and future years. Moreover, between base year and future years, the probability of built-up expansion has increased maximum (5.72%) under the very high zone while it declined by 14.06% in low probability zone. The validation of built-up probability using CCDM shows that the AHP integrated fuzzy logic-based probability model is robust while predicting built-up probability. The results of this study may provide useful insights for the urban planning department and policy makers to mitigate the adverse impacts of built-up expansion. Similar approach may be utilized in the analyzing the built-up urban expansion of other major cities of the world similar geographical conditions.

Trend analysis and forecasting of streamflow using random forest in the Punarbhaba River basin.

Streamflow rate changes due to damming are hydro-ecologically sensitive in present and future times. Very less studies have done an investigation of the damming effect on the streamflow along with future forecasting, which can be the solution for the existing problems. Therefore, this study aims to use the Pettitt test as well as standard normal homogeneity test (SNHT) to discover trends in streamflow with the future situation in the Punarbhaba River in Indo-Bangladesh from 1978 to 2017. Trend was spotted using Mann-Kendall test, Spearman's rank correlation approach, innovative trend analysis, and a linear regression model. The current work additionally uses advanced machine learning techniques like random forest (RF) to estimate flow regimes using historical time series data. 1992 appears to be a yard mark in this continuum of time series datasets, indicating a significant transformation in the streamflow regime. The MK test as well as Spearman's rho was used to find a significant negative trend for the average (-0.57), maximum (-0.62), and minimum (-0.48) flow regimes. The consistency of the flow regime has been losing consistency, and the variability of flow regime has increased from 2.1 to 6.7% of the average water level, 1.5 to 6.5% of the maximum streamflow, and 3.1 to 5.8% of the minimum streamflow in the post-change point phase. The forecast trend using random forest for streamflow up to 2030 are negative for all four seasons with a flow volume likely to be reduced by 0.67% to-5.23%. Annual and monthly streamflows revealed very negative tendencies, according to the conclusions of unique trend analysis. Flow declination of this magnitude impacts downstream habitat and environment. According to future estimates, the seasonal flow will decrease. Furthermore, the outcome of this research will give a wealth of data for river management and other places with comparable environment.

Monitoring drought pattern for pre- and post-monsoon seasons in a semi-arid region of western part of India.

Drought has become a regular phenomenon in the western semi-arid regions of India, where severe drought occurs once in 8-9 years. Therefore, two drought indices, namely temperature condition index (TCI) and vegetation condition index (VCI), were prepared from using Landsat datasets to appraise and monitor of drought pattern for the pre- and post-monsoon seasons between 1996 and 2016 in the Latur district, the north-western part of India. Additionally, the average frequency layers (AFL) of all drought and land use indices were prepared to analyse the correlation between them. The results show a substantial increase in the area under high, very high and severe drought classes both pre- and post-monsoon seasons during the study period. The highest increase was noticed from the high drought class from 2532.45 to 4792.49 sq. km and 1559.84 to 3342.32 sq. km for pre- and post-monsoon season, respectively, based on the TCI and 1269.81 to 1787.77 sq. km in very high drought class for the post-monsoon season using the VCI. The correlation analysis showed that there exists a significant relationship between the land use indices and drought indices. However, the spatial pattern of correlation was heterogeneous for both pre- and post-monsoon seasons. The results of this research can help in the drought management and mitigation planning in the study area. In addition, a similar approach may be applied to analyse drought patterns in other places with similar geographic characteristics as both VCI and TCI are cost-effective and less time-consuming methods and produce reliable outcomes.

Measuring dam induced alteration in water richness and eco-hydrological deficit in flood plain wetland.

Along with wetland loss, the damming effect on hydrological modification in wetland is another less debated and challenging topic, which needs to have urgent attention. The present work intended to investigate the damming effect on the water richness and eco-hydrological condition of the floodplain wetland and its consequent ecological responses in Punarbhaba River Basin of India and Bangladesh. Satellite images derived hydro-period, water presence frequency (WPF), and water depth were generated for developing water richness model in pre (up to 1992) and post dam conditions (1993-2019). The range of variability (RVA) was modelled using time series satellite images based water index or normalized difference water index (NDWI). Based on RVA model, the hydrological failure rate was developed. Depth of water was used for preparing the flow duration curve (FDC) to estimate the eco-hydro-deficit and surplus condition in wetland at spatial scale for pre and post-dam periods. Satellite image based trophic state index models for pre and post dam conditions were constructed to investigate the ecological response of dam on floodplain wetlands. Results of water richness model showed that wetlands area under high wetland water richness zone decreased from 71.83% to 7.65% in the post-dam conditions. Results of hydrological failure rate showed that high failure rate captured 45% of total wetland area in the post-dam period. Results of eco-hydro-deficit exhibited that eco-hydro-deficit areas increased from 11.22% to 52.19% and 35.03%-52.67% respectively in post-dam conditions indicating growing ecological stress. The TSI models showed that most parts of the wetlands were converted from oligotrophic to meso-eutrophic state signifying the qualitative degradation of water and potential ecosystem health. The area under high TSI was observed in the wetland area having eco-hydro-deficit and high hydrological failure rate zones. These characteristics of wetland areas were found at the fringe of wetlands and fragmented smaller wetland units. The study concluded that damming over the Punarbhaba River adversely affected the water security of the floodplain wetlands in terms of modifying the hydrological richness, ecological condition of the wetland habitat, and ecological systems. The findings of the present study could provide a comprehensive research on the monitoring of surface water crisis in the wetlands, which will be the basic foundation to formulate water resource management plans for conservation, management and restoration of wetlands.

How far spatial resolution affects the ensemble machine learning based flood susceptibility prediction in data sparse region.

Although the effect of digital elevation model (DEM) and its spatial resolution on flood simulation modeling has been well studied, the effect of coarse and finer resolution image and DEM data on machine learning ensemble flood susceptibility prediction has not been investigated, particularly in data sparse conditions. The present work was, therefore, to investigate the performance of the resolution effects, such as coarse (Landsat and SRTM) and high (Sentinel-2 and ALOS PALSAR) resolution data on the flood susceptible models. Another motive of this study was to construct very high precision and robust flood susceptible models using standalone and ensemble machine learning algorithms. In the present study, fifteen flood conditioning parameters were generated from both coarse and high resolution datasets. Then, the ANN-multilayer perceptron (MLP), random forest (RF), bagging (B)-MLP, B-gaussian processes (B-GP) and B-SMOreg algorithms were used to integrate the flood conditioning parameters for generating the flood susceptible models. Furthermore, the influence of flood conditioning parameters on the modelling of flood susceptibility was investigated by proposing an ROC based sensitivity analysis. The validation of flood susceptibility models is also another challenge. In the present study, we proposed an index of flood vulnerability model to validate flood susceptibility models along with conventional statistical techniques, such as the ROC curve. Results showed that the coarse resolution based flood susceptibility MLP model has appeared as the best model (area under curve: 0.94) and it has predicted 11.65 % of the area as very high flood susceptible zones (FSz), followed by RF, B-MLP, B-GP, and B-SMOreg. Similarly, the high resolution based flood susceptibility model using MLP has predicted 19.34 % of areas as very high flood susceptible zones, followed by RF (14.32 %),B-MLP (14.88 %), B-GP, and B-SMOreg. On the other hand, ROC based sensitivity analysis showed that elevation influences flood susceptibility largely for coarse and high resolution based models, followed by drainage densityand flow accumulation. In addition, the accuracy assessment using the IFV model revealed that the MLP model outperformed all other models in the case of a high resolution imageThe coarser resolution image's performance level is acceptable but quite low. So, the study recommended the use of high resolution images for developing a machine learning algorithm based flood susceptibility model. As the study has clearly identified the areas of higher flood susceptibility and the dominant influencing factors for flooding, this could be used as a good database for flood management.

Effects of lockdown due to COVID-19 outbreak on air quality and anthropogenic heat in an industrial belt of India.

Highly urbanized and industrialized Asansol Durgapur industrial belt of Eastern India is characterized by severe heat island effect and high pollution level leading to human discomfort and even health problems. However, COVID-19 persuaded lockdown emergency in India led to shut-down of the industries, traffic system, and day-to-day normal work and expectedly caused changes in air quality and weather. The present work intended to examine the impact of lockdown on air quality, land surface temperature (LST), and anthropogenic heat flux (AHF) of Asansol Durgapur industrial belt. Satellite images and daily data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) were used for analyzing the spatial scale and numerical change of air quality from pre to amid lockdown conditions in the study region. Results exhibited that, in consequence of lockdown, LST reduced by 4.02 °C, PM10 level decreased from 102 to 18 µg/m3 and AHF declined from 116 to 40W/m2 during lockdown period. Qualitative upgradation of air quality index (AQI) from poor to very poor state to moderate to satisfactory state was observed during lockdown period. To regulate air quality and climate change, many steps were taken at global and regional scales, but no fruitful outcome was received yet. Such lockdown (temporarily) is against economic growth, but it showed some healing effect of air quality standard.

Applying deep learning to manage urban ecosystems in arid Abha, Saudi Arabia: Remote sensing-based modelling for ecological condition assessment and decision-making.

This study aims to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the impact of urbanisation on the urban ecosystem in the city of Abha, Saudi Arabia, by analysing land use changes, urbanisation processes and their ecological impacts. Using a multidisciplinary approach, a novel remote sensing-based urban ecological condition index (RSUSEI) will be developed and applied to assess the ecological status of urban surfaces. Therefore, the identification and quantification of urbanisation is important. To do so, we used hyper-tuned artificial neural network (ANN) as well as Land Cover Change Rate (LCCR), Land Cover Index (LCI) and Landscape Expansion Index (LEI). For the development of (RSUSEI), we have used four advanced models such as fuzzy Logic, Principle Component Analysis (PCA), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to integrate various ecological parameters. In order to obtain more information for better decision making in urban planning, sensitivity and uncertainty analyses based on a deep neural network (DNN) were also used. The results of the study show a multi-layered pattern of urbanisation in Saudi Arabian cities reflected in the LCCR, indicating rapid urban expansion, especially in the built-up areas with an LCCR of 0.112 over the 30-year period, corresponding to a more than four-fold increase in urban land cover. At the same time, the LCI shows a remarkable increase in 'built-up' areas from 3.217% to 13.982%, reflecting the substantial conversion of other land cover types to urban uses. Furthermore, the LEI emphasises the complexity of urban growth. Outward expansion (118.98 km2), Edge-Expansion (95.22 km2) and Infilling (5.00 km2) together paint a picture of a city expanding outwards while filling gaps in the existing urban fabric. The RSUSEI model shows that the zone of extremely poor ecological condition covers an area of 157-250 km2, while the natural zone covers 91-410 km2. The DNN based sensitivity analysis is useful to determine the optimal model, while the integrated models have lower input parameter uncertainty than other models. The results of the study have significant implications for the management of urban ecosystems in arid areas and the protection of natural habitats while improving the quality of life of urban residents. The RSUSEI model can be used effectively to assess urban surface ecology and inform urban management techniques.

Future groundwater potential mapping using machine learning algorithms and climate change scenarios in Bangladesh.

The aim of the study was to estimate future groundwater potential zones based on machine learning algorithms and climate change scenarios. Fourteen parameters (i.e., curvature, drainage density, slope, roughness, rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, lineament density, land use and land cover, general soil types, geology, geomorphology, topographic position index (TPI), topographic wetness index (TWI)) were used in developing machine learning algorithms. Three machine learning algorithms (i.e., artificial neural network (ANN), logistic model tree (LMT), and logistic regression (LR)) were applied to identify groundwater potential zones. The best-fit model was selected based on the ROC curve. Representative concentration pathways (RCP) of 2.5, 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5 climate scenarios of precipitation were used for modeling future climate change. Finally, future groundwater potential zones were identified for 2025, 2030, 2035, and 2040 based on the best machine learning model and future RCP models. According to findings, ANN shows better accuracy than the other two models (AUC: 0.875). The ANN model predicted that 23.10 percent of the land was in very high groundwater potential zones, whereas 33.50 percent was in extremely high groundwater potential zones. The study forecasts precipitation values under different climate change scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6, and RCP8.5) for 2025, 2030, 2035, and 2040 using an ANN model and shows spatial distribution maps for each scenario. Finally, sixteen scenarios were generated for future groundwater potential zones. Government officials may utilize the study's results to inform evidence-based choices on water management and planning at the national level.

Empowering real-time flood impact assessment through the integration of machine learning and Google Earth Engine: a comprehensive approach.

Floods cause substantial losses to life and property, especially in flood-prone regions like northwestern Bangladesh. Timely and precise evaluation of flood impacts is critical for effective flood management and decision-making. This research demonstrates an integrated approach utilizing machine learning and Google Earth Engine to enable real-time flood assessment. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from Sentinel-1 and the Google Earth Engine platform were employed to generate near real-time flood maps of the 2020 flood in Kurigram and Lalmonirhat. An automatic thresholding technique quantified flooded areas. For land use/land cover (LULC) analysis, Sentinel-2's high resolution and machine learning models like artificial neural networks (ANN), random forests (RF) and support vector machines (SVM) were leveraged. ANN delivered the best LULC mapping with 0.94 accuracy based on metrics like accuracy, kappa, mean F1 score, mean sensitivity, mean specificity, mean positive predictive value, mean negative value, mean precision, mean recall, mean detection rate and mean balanced accuracy. Results showed over 600,000 people exposed at peak inundation in July-about 17% of the population. The machine learning-enabled LULC maps reliably identified vulnerable areas to prioritize flood management. Over half of croplands flooded in July. This research demonstrates the potential of integrating SAR, machine learning and cloud computing to empower authorities through real-time monitoring and accurate LULC mapping essential for effective flood response. The proposed comprehensive methodology can assist stakeholders in developing data-driven flood management strategies to reduce impacts.

Mapping and evaluating sustainable and unsustainable urban areas for ecological management towards achieving low-carbon city: an empirical study of Asir Region, Saudi Arabia.

Urbanisation can cause a variety of environmental and health issues, which has prompted experts to evaluate degraded areas and develop management strategies aimed at promoting urban sustainability and reducing carbon emissions. In low-carbon cities, sustainable urban areas have low carbon emission and prioritised carbon reduction by implementing sustainable transportation, green infrastructure, and energy-efficient buildings. On the other hand, unsustainable urban areas tend to lack these priorities and rely heavily on non-renewable energy sources and have high carbon emission. Therefore, this study aims to identify the most sustainable and unsustainable regions in the Abha-Khamis Mushayet Twin City region of Saudi Arabia in respect to urbanisation and carbon emission during the period between 1990 and 2020. To do so, we used Landsat datasets to create land use land cover (LULC) maps and then calculated carbon storage, emission, and absorption using InVest software. Additionally, the study examined micro-climatic conditions by calculating the urban heat island (UHI) effect, which allowed determining sustainable and unsustainable regions by comparing the UHI model and carbon similarity and mismatch model using coupling coordination degree model (CCDM). The study found that during the last three decades, the LULC pattern of the region underwent significant alterations, resulting in a substantial decline in carbon storage from 710,425 Mg C/hm2 in 1990 to approximately 527,012.9 Mg C/hm2 in 2020. Conversely, carbon emissions were observed to be very high in areas with high built-up density, with emission levels exceeding 20 tons per annum. Whilst the areas of excess carbon have decreased significantly, the areas of excess carbon emission have increased over time, resulting in the UHI effect due to high greenhouse gases. By comparing the UHI and carbon similarity and mismatch model, the researchers found that over 280 km2 of the study area is unsustainable and has increased since 1990. In contrast, only about 410 km2 of the study area is currently sustainable. To promote sustainability, the study recommends several strategies such as carbon capture, utilisation, and storage; green infrastructure; and the use of renewable energy to manage carbon emissions.

Analysis of peri-urban land use/land cover change and its drivers using geospatial techniques and geographically weighted regression.

The rate of transformation of natural land use land cover (LULC) to the built-up areas is very high in the peri-urban areas of Indian metropolitan cities. Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) is an inter-state planning region, located in the central part of India. The region has attracted a larger chunk of population by providing better economic opportunities during last few decades. This has resulted in large-scale transformation of the LULC pattern in the region. Thus, this study is intended to analyze and quantify the LULC change and its drivers in the peri-urban areas of Delhi NCR using Landsat datasets. Based on an extensive literature survey, several potential drivers of the LULC change have been analyzed using ordinary least squares (OLS) and geographical weighted regression (GWR) for the Delhi NCR. The results from LULC classification showed that the built-up area has increased from 1.67 to 7.12% of the total area of Delhi NCR during 1990-2018 while other LULC types have declined significantly. The OLS results showed that migration and employment in the tertiary sector are the most important drivers of built-up expansion in the study area. The standard residuals and local R2 results from GWR showed spatial heterogeneity among the coefficients of the explanatory variables throughout the study area. This study can be helpful for the urban policy makers and planners for making better master plan of Delhi NCR and other cities of developing countries.

Modeling the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of land surface temperature and its relationship with land use land cover using geo-statistical techniques and machine learning algorithms.

Rapid changes in land use and land cover (LULC) have ecological and environmental effects in metropolitan areas. Since the 1990s, Saudi Arabia's cities have undergone tremendous urban growth, causing urban heat islands, groundwater depletion, air pollution, loss of ecosystem services, etc. This study evaluates the variance and heterogeneity in land surface temperature (LST) because of LULC changes in Abha-Khamis Mushyet, Saudi Arabia, from 1990 to 2020. The research aims to determine the impact of urban biophysical parameters on the High-High (H-H) LST cluster using geospatial, statistical, and machine learning techniques. The support vector machine (SVM) was used to map LULC. The land surface temperature (LST) has been derived using the mono-window algorithm (MWA). The local indicator of spatial associations (LISA) model was implemented on the spatiotemporal LST maps to identify LST clusters. Also, the parallel coordinate plot (PCP) approach was employed to examine the relationship between LST clusters and urban biophysical variables as a proxy of LULC. LULC maps show that urban areas rose by > 330% between 1990 and 2020. Built-up areas had an 83.6% transitional probability between 1990 and 2020. In addition, vegetation and agricultural land have been transformed into built-up areas by 17.9% and 21.8% respectively between 1990 and 2020. Uneven LULC changes in terms of built-up areas lead to increased LST hotspots. High normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) was linked to LST hotspots but not normalized difference water index (NDWI) or normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). This research could help policymakers develop mitigation strategies for urban heat islands.

Assessment of coastal vulnerability using integrated fuzzy analytical hierarchy process and geospatial technology for effective coastal management.

The vulnerability of coastal regions to climate change is a growing global concern, particularly in Bangladesh, which is vulnerable to flooding and storm surges due to its low-lying coastal areas. In this study, we used the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) method to assess the physical and social vulnerability of the entire coastal areas of Bangladesh, using 10 critical factors to evaluate the coastal vulnerability model (CVM). Our analysis indicates that a significant portion of the coastal regions of Bangladesh is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. We found that one-third of the study area, encompassing around 13,000 km2, was classified as having high or very high coastal vulnerability. Districts in the central delta region, such as Barguna, Bhola, Noakhali, Patuakhali, and Pirojpur, were found to have high to very high physical vulnerability. Meanwhile, the southern parts of the study area were identified as highly socially vulnerable. Our findings also showed that the coastal areas of Patuakhali, Bhola, Barguna, Satkhira, and Bagerhat were particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The coastal vulnerability map we developed using the FAHP method showed satisfactory modeling, with an AUC of 0.875. By addressing the physical and social vulnerability factors identified in our study, policymakers can take proactive steps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of coastal residents in the face of climate change.

Application of advanced trend analysis techniques with clustering approach for analysing rainfall trend and identification of homogenous rainfall regions in Delhi metropolitan city.

In the era of global urbanization, the cities across the world are experiencing significant change in the climate pattern. However, analysing the trend and pattern of rainfall over the urban areas has a number of challenges such as availability of long-term data as well as the uneven distribution of rain-gauge stations. In this research, the rainfall regionalization approach has been applied along with the advanced statistical techniques for analysing the trend and pattern of rainfall in the Delhi metropolitan city. Fuzzy C-means and K-means clustering techniques have been applied for the identification of homogeneous rainfall regions while innovative trend analysis (ITA) along with the family of Mann-Kendall (MK) tests has been applied for the trend analysis of rainfall. The result shows that in all rain-gauge stations of Delhi, an increasing trend in rainfall has been recorded during 1991-2018. But the rate of increase was low as the trend slope of ITA and Sen's slope in MK tests are low, which varies between 0.03 and 0.05 and 0.01 and 0.16, respectively. Furthermore, none of the rain-gauge stations have experienced a monotonic trend in rainfall as the null hypothesis has not been rejected (p value > 0.05) for any stations. Furthermore, the study shows that ITA has a better performance than the family of MK tests. The findings of this study may be utilized for the urban flood mitigation and solving other issues related to water resources in Delhi and other cities.

Assessment of long-term mangrove distribution using optimised machine learning algorithms and landscape pattern analysis.

Mangrove ecosystems provide numerous benefits, including carbon storage, coastal protection and food for marine organisms. However, mapping and monitoring of mangrove status in some regions, such as the Red Sea area, has been hindered by a lack of data, accurate and precise maps and technical expertise. In this study, an advanced machine learning algorithm was proposed to produce an accurate and precise high-resolution land use map that includes mangroves in the Al Wajh Bank habitat in northeastern Saudi Arabia. To achieve this, high-resolution multispectral images were generated using an image fusion technique, and machine learning algorithms were applied, including artificial neural networks, random forests and support vector machine algorithms. The performance of the models was evaluated using various matrices, and changes in mangrove distribution and connectivity were assessed using the landscape fragmentation model and Getis-Ord statistics. The research gap that this study aims to address is the lack of accurate and precise mapping and assessment of mangrove status in the Red Sea area, particularly in data-scarce regions. Our study produced high-resolution mobile laser scanning (MLS) imagery of 15-m length for 2014 and 2022, and trained 5, 6 and 9 models for artificial neural networks, support vector machines and random forests (RF) to predict land use and land cover maps using 15-m and 30-m resolution MLS images. The best models were identified using error matrices, and it was found that RF outperformed other models. According to the 15-m resolution map of 2022 and the best models of RF, the mangrove cover in the Al Wajh Bank is 27.6 km2, which increased to 34.99 km2 in the case of the 30-m resolution image of 2022, and was 11.94 km2 in 2014, indicating a doubling of the mangrove area. Landscape structure analysis revealed an increase in small core and hotspot areas, which were converted into medium core and very large hotspot areas in 2014. New mangrove areas were identified in the form of patches, edges, potholes and coldspots. The connectivity model showed an increase in connectivity over time, promoting biodiversity. Our study contributes to the promotion of the protection, conservation and planting of mangroves in the Red Sea area.

Analysis of self-organizing maps and explainable artificial intelligence to identify hydrochemical factors that drive drinking water quality in Haor region.

Water contamination undermines human survival and economic growth. Water resource protection and management require knowledge of water hydrochemistry and drinking water quality characteristics, mechanisms, and factors. Self-organizing maps (SOM) have been developed using quantization and topographic error approaches to cluster hydrochemistry datasets. The Piper diagram, saturation index (SI), and cation exchange method were used to determine the driving mechanism of hydrochemistry in both surface and groundwater, while the Gibbs diagram was used for surface water. In addition, redundancy analysis (RDA) and a generalized linear model (GLM) were used to determine the key drinking water quality parameters in the study area. Additionally, the study aimed to utilize Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) techniques to gain insights into the relative importance and impact of different parameters on the entropy water quality index (EWQI). The SOM results showed that thirty neurons generated the hydrochemical properties of water and were organized into four clusters. The Piper diagram showed that the primary hydrochemical facies were HCO3--Ca2+ (cluster 4), Cl---Na+ (all clusters), and mixed (clusters 1 and 4). Results from SI and cation exchange show that demineralization and ion exchange are the driving mechanisms of water hydrochemistry. About 45 % of the studied samples are classified as "medium quality"," that could be suitable as drinking water with further refinement. Cl- may pose increased non-carcinogenic risk to adults, with children at double risk. Cluster 4 water is low-risk, supporting EWQI findings. The RDA and GLM observations agree in that Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, Cl- and HCO3- all have a positive and significant effect on EWQI, with the exception of K+. TDS, EC, Na+, and Ca2+ have been identified as influencing factors based on bagging-based XAI analysis at global and local levels. The analysis also addressed the importance of SO4, HCO3, Cl, Mg2+, K+, and pH at specific locations.

Coupling of machine learning and remote sensing for soil salinity mapping in coastal area of Bangladesh.

Soil salinity is a pressing issue for sustainable food security in coastal regions. However, the coupling of machine learning and remote sensing was seldom employed for soil salinity mapping in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. The research aims to estimate the soil salinity level in a southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh. Using the Landsat OLI images, 13 soil salinity indicators were calculated, and 241 samples of soil salinity data were collected from a secondary source. This study applied three distinct machine learning models (namely, random forest, bagging with random forest, and artificial neural network) to estimate soil salinity. The best model was subsequently used to categorize soil salinity zones into five distinct groups. According to the findings, the artificial neural network model has the highest area under the curve (0.921), indicating that it has the most potential to predict and detect soil salinity zones. The high soil salinity zone covers an area of 977.94 km2 or roughly 413.51% of the total study area. According to additional data, a moderate soil salinity zone (686.92 km2) covers 30.56% of Satkhira, while a low soil salinity zone (582.73 km2) covers 25.93% of the area. Since increased soil salinity adversely affects human health, agricultural production, etc., the study's findings will be an effective tool for policymakers in integrated coastal zone management in the southwestern coastal area of Bangladesh.

Integration of satellite image-derived temperature and water depth for assessing fish habitability in dam controlled flood plain wetland.

The present study attempted to investigate the changes in temperature conducive to fish habitability during the summer months in a hydrologically modified wetland following damming over a river. Satellite image-driven temperature and depth data calibrated with field data were used to analyse fish habitability and the presence of thermally optimum habitable zones in some fishes, such as labeo rohita, cirrhinus mrigala, tilapia fish, small shrimp, and catfish. The study was conducted both at the water's surface and at the optimum depth of survival. It is very obvious from the analysis that a larger part of the wetland has become an area that destroyed aquatic habitat during the post-dam period, and existing wetlands have suffered significant shallowing of water depth. This has resulted in a shrinking of the thermally optimum area of fish survival in relation to surface water temperature (from 100.09 to 74.24 km2 before the dam to 93.97 to 0 km2 after the dam) and an improvement in the optimum habitable condition in the comfortable depth niche of survival. In the post-dam period, it increased from 75.49 to 99.76%. Since the damming effect causes a 30.53 to 100% depletion of the optimum depth niche, improving the thermal environment has no effect on fish habitability. More water must be released from dams for restoration. Image-driven depth and temperature data calibrated with field information has been successfully applied in data sparse conditions, and it is further recommended in future work.

Selecting optimal conditioning parameters for landslide susceptibility: an experimental research on Aqabat Al-Sulbat, Saudi Arabia.

Landslides and other disastrous natural catastrophes jeopardise natural resources, assets, and people's lives. As a result, future resource management will necessitate landslide susceptibility mapping (LSM) using the best conditioning factors. In Aqabat Al-Sulbat, Asir province, Saudi Arabia, the goal of this study was to find optimal conditioning parameters dependent hybrid LSM. LSM was created using machine learning methods such as random forest (RF), logistic regression (LR), and artificial neural network (ANN). To build ensemble models, the LR was combined with RF and ANN models. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to validate the LSMs and determine which models were the best. Then, utilising random forest (RF), classification and regression tree (CART), and correlation feature selection, sensitivity analysis was carried out. Through sensitivity analysis, the most relevant conditioning factors were determined, and the best model was applied to the important parameters to build a highly robust LSM with fewer variables. The ROC curve was also used to evaluate the final model. The results show that two hybrid models (LR-ANN and LR-RF) were predicted the very high as 29.67-32.73 km2 and high LS regions as 21.84-33.38 km2, with LR predicting 22.34km2 as very high and 45.15km2 as high LS zones. The LR-RF appeared as best model (AUC: 0.941), followed by LR-ANN (AUC: 0.915) and LR (AUC: 0.872). Sensitivity analysis, on the other hand, allows for the exclusion of aspects, hillshade, drainage density, curvature, and TWI from LSM. The LSM was then predicted using the LR-RF model based on the remaining nine conditioning factors. With fewer variables, this model has achieved greater accuracy (AUC: 0.927). This comes very close to being the best hybrid model. As a result, it is strongly advised to choose conditioning parameters with caution, as redundant parameters would result in less resilient LSM. As a consequence, both time and resources would be saved, and precise LSM would indeed be possible.