Identifying the Application of Sewage Sludge

Application of sewage sludge to agricultural fields is used by farmers to improve the soil conditions physically, chemically, and organically. However, the application has potential risk to public health and the environment, because the heavy metals, nutrients, and pathogens may be included in sewage sludge. The location of all applications of sewage sludge is not known because some records of application are missing. Remote sensing technology has been shown to be an effective way to detect surface application of soil amendment on agricultural fields for different times of the year over large areas. The main objective of this study is to determine if Landsat TM data can be used to identify the harvested agricultural fields that have had sewage sludge applied through injection.

Autorentext

Yitong received her Master's degree in Geography from the University of Toledo in 2010, and Bachelor's degree in Land Resources Management from China Agricultural University in 2007. She started her doctoral program in Spatial and Earth Science at Indiana State University in 2011. Her current research is interpreting land surface temperature.