WEBVTT

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<v ->Coastal areas are environmentally significant</v>

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because of their biodiversity.

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Nevertheless, these areas are affected

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by human socioeconomic factors.

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These factors play a major role in deforestation,

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land erosion, and the extension or degradation

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of many local species of plants and animals.

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It's also known that coastal human population densities

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are three times higher than that

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of the global average densities.

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In addition, climate change side effects

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such as rising sea levels, rising sea surface temperatures,

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and the increased intensity of tropical storms

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significantly degrade coastal environments.

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As a result, there is a general effort

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to develop reliable methods to monitor

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and identify land use and land cover changes.

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Land use refers to the way humans use the landscape,

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whether for development, conservation, or mixed use.

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Land cover refers to the physical material

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on earth's surface,

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whether it be vegetation, water, or concrete.

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This is a classified image

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of Mobile metropolitan area.

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Can you guess which one is 2015?

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If you guessed the one to the right, you'll be correct.

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The bright red and the dark red are low-density

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and high density urban environments, respectively,

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while the dark green and the bright blue

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are forests and forested wetlands, respectively.

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As you can see by this image,

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in the past four decades, low-density urban environments

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have taken over large areas from forests

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and forested wetlands.

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In my study, I aim to use Landsat satellite data

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to study the land cover change of the Mobile bay area,

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which is considered one of the most important

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estuary environments in the United States.

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To develop a general understanding of this area,

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I will use nine satellite images

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from 1975 to 2015

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to produce nine different land views and land cover changes.

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By comparing these classifications,

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I can build a general profile

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of the land cover change for this area.

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The results of my study can be used by federal,

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state, and local officials

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to be integrated into mitigation plans

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to help reduce the degradation

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for this environmentally sensitive area.

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(light music)