Remote sensing of environmental pollution on teesside

A preliminary reconnaissance is being carried out to study the methods and procedures most useful for the detection of vegetation stress resulting from the various forms of environmental pollution, in the industrial area of Teesside, NE England, by means of a multiband remote sensing programme. Present results indicate the need for a carefully integrated programme of image analysis, as well as for field and laboratory methods. Sequential aerial multiband photography is an extremely useful technique for plotting the spread of industries and pollution with time, as well as for examining the changes in vegetation and land-use. Colour-infrared film is considered to be the single most useful remote sensing device for vegetation stress determination, as plants under stress are usually accompanied by a loss of infrared reflectance from the affected verdure. Image enhancement techniques are considered to be useful tools in delimiting certain areas under stress. The use of multiband photography, together with other remote sensing techniques, can greatly assist in the determination of areas of vegetation stress.