Land Surface Temperature (LST) is an important variable within global climate change. With the appearance of remote sensing techniques and advanced GIS software, it is now possible to estimate LST. In this study, the effect of lockdown during COVID-19 on the LST was assessed using Landsat 8 Imagery. LST dynamic was investigated for three different periods: Before, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown. The study was conducted in Casablanca City. The results showed that during the emergence of COVID-19 with lockdown policy applied, the LST decreases remarkably compared to the previous 4-years’ average LST. After the easing of restrictions, the LST increased to exceed the previous 4-year mean LST. Furthermore, throughout all studied periods, the LST recorded its higher values in industrial zones and areas with high urban density and urban transportation, which indicates the conspicuous impact of anthropogenic activities on the LST variation. These findings indicate an ability to assess the feasibility of planned lockdowns intended as a potential preventive mechanism to reduce LST peaks and the loss of air quality in metropolitan environments in the future.
Given Morocco's geographical position and climatic conditions, solar energy will supply a large portion of the country's energy demand. In this paper, the suitability of Moroccan lands for hosting Solar Power Plants was studied using the combination of the Geographic Information System (GIS) and the Analytical Hierarchy Method (AHP). The multi-criteria decision framework integrates technical, socio-economic and environmental constraints. For this purpose, a GIS database was created using layers from various sources. In addition, since the potential of Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) is the most relevant criterion for the selection of solar farms, a high-quality solar satellite map with a spatial resolution of 0.27 km was used, covering a period from 1994 to 2018. Obtained results show a great potential for solar energy development in Morocco, represented by the availability of 90% of areas. In fact, the resulting map was classified into 6 different classes, namely: Very high suitability, High suitability, Moderate suitability, Low suitability, Very low suitability and Exclusion areas, which 53.88%, 24.08%, 0.15%, 0%, 0% and 21.89% are respectively the percentages of their area occupation. According to the performed investigations, the most significant criteria that should be considered include: The Global Horizontal Irradiation, Slope, Temperature and Slope orientation. The obtained map was then compared to the existing solar farms, and show that all the existing projects are located within areas classified as highly suitable.
Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing techniques are increasingly widely used tools in urban and environmental studies and help making decision in land-use planning. Generally, such projects involve a large amount of spatial data derived from several sources and provided in different formats. As an urban project, abandoned quarries rehabilitation requires a suitability evaluation based on geo-environmental information. This evaluation incorporates topography, soil characteristics, water resources and socioeconomic constraints. The diversity of parameters shows the complexity of the issue and underlines the necessity of developing a methodology supporting decision makers in choosing the most appropriate and optimal solution for quarries reuse. Akreuch quarries have been abandoned for at least 8 years without any plan of rehabilitation or restoration and they are today subject to various forms of degradation processes. In this sense, this paper addresses quarries rehabilitation using GIS and Remote Sensing approaches combined with multi-criteria analysis. Four major categories were studied offering different scenarios of rehabilitation. It comes to: Construction, Landfill, Revegetation and Waterbody. A multi-criteria analysis based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was performed taking into account different parameters and has revealed the appropriate rehabilitation alternative for each quarry. As a result, suitability maps were produced and attest the efficiency and the functionality of GIS and Remote Sensing in redevelopment projects.Copy Right, IJAR, 2016,. All rights reserved.
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