The human-induced changes of the Earth's land surfaces have been unprecedented, with outcomes often indicating degradation and loss of environmental quality. Mato Grosso State in Brazil, location of the study area, underwent extensive land-use and land-cover changes in recent decades with the rates, patterns and consequences poorly documented until now. In this context, the aim of the present research is to propose a multidisciplinary approach for quantifying historical land-use and environmental changes in the southeast part of this State, where the Cerrado biome (Brazilian savannas) has been intensively converted into agricultural lands. The methodology includes three parts: remote sensing change detection, land vulnerability mapping, and identification of key environmental indicators. Land-use/cover information was extracted from a temporal remote sensing dataset using an object-oriented classification approach, and the changes quantified employing a post-classification method. In addition, the study area was assessed for its vulnerabilities, focusing mainly on erosion risks, wetlands, and areas with limited or no suitability for crops. Finally, key environmental indicators were identified from the preceding steps and analyzed within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Pressure-State-Response (PSR) framework. The results provided an improved mapping of the Cerrados natural vegetation conversion into crops and pastures, and indicate that the Cerrado vegetation was intensively converted and also became more fragmented in the time frame studied. Between 1985 and 2005 the area lost approximately 6491 km 2 of Cerrados (42 %). Modeling based on the Universal Soil Loss Equation indicated significant increase in erosion risk from 1985 to 2005 mainly related to the increase in crop areas and the crops' encroachment into more fragile lands.The identification of environmental indicators rendered complex environmental information more generally accessible by structuring it within the PSR framework.The indicators captured key information about land-use and environmental changes in the area, showing that agricultural expansion is the major human activity exerting pressure on natural resources at a landscape scale, and that the pattern of change included high rates of crop expansion and the use of fragile environments such as wetlands and sandy erodable soils.

Projected air and ground temperatures are expected to be higher in Arctic and sub-Arcticlatitudes and with temperatures already close to the limit where permafrost can exist,resistance against degradation is low. With thawing permafrost, the landscape is modifiedwith depression in which thermokarst lakes emerge. In permafrost soils a considerableamount of soil organic carbon is stored, with the potential of altering climate even furtherif expansion and formation of new thermokarst lakes emerge, as decay releasesgreenhouse gases (C02 and CH4) to the atmosphere. Analyzing the spatial distribution andmorphometry over time of thermokarst lakes and other water bodies, is of importance inaccurately predict carbon budget and feedback mechanisms, as well as to assess futurelandscape layout and these features interaction. Different types of high-spatial resolutionaerial and satellite imageries from 1963, 1975, 2003, 2010 and 2015, were used in bothpre- and post-classification change detection analyses. Using object oriented segmentationin eCognition combined with manual adjustments, resulted in digitalized water bodies>28m2 from which direction of change and morphometric values were extracted. Thequantity of thermokarst lakes and other water bodies was in 1963 n=92, with succeedingyears as a trend decreased in numbers, until 2010-2015 when eleven water bodies wereadded in 2015 (n=74 to n=85). In 1963-2003, area of these water bodies decreased with50 651m2 (189 446-138 795m2) and continued to decrease in 2003-2015 ending at 129337m2. Limnicity decreased from 19.9% in 1963 to 14.6% in 2003 (-5.3%). In 2010 and2015 13.7-13.6%. The late increase in water bodies differs from an earlier hypothesis thatsporadic permafrost regions experience decrease in both area and quantity of thermokarstlakes and water bodies. During 1963-2015, land gain has been in dominance of the ratiobetween the two competing processes of expansion and drainage. In 1963-1975, 55/45%,followed by 90/10% in 1975-2003. After major drainage events, land loss increased to62/38% in 2010-2015. Drainage and infilling rates, calculated for 15 shorelines werevaried across both landscape and parts of shorelines, with in average 0.17/0.15/0.14m/yr.Except for 1963-1975 when rate of change in average was in opposite direction (-0.09m/yr.), likely due to evident expansion of a large thermokarst lake. Using a squaregrid, distribution of water bodies was determined, with an indistinct cluster located in NEand central parts. Especially for water bodies <250m2, which is the dominant area classthroughout 1963-2015 ranging from n=39-51. With a heterogeneous composition of bothsmall and large thermokarst lakes, and with both expansion and drainage altering thelandscape in Tavvavuoma, both positive and negative climate feedback mechanisms are inplay - given that sporadic permafrost still exist.

Watersheds in the Southwest, particularly the San Simon Watershed in Arizona, have been experiencing degradation since the turn of the century through processes of erosion and vegetation change. Mitigation and management actions rely on long-term assessment of landcover change; however, traditional methods of ground assessment are time-consuming and specific to particular sites. Remote sensing techniques can be an alternative method to assess landcover change over extensive areas. Forage inventory surveys and historical monitoring data were assessed for utility in landcover change detection. The contemporary remotely-sensed classifications included 2001 SwReGAP data and a CART classification of 2010 Landsat TM data. The CART classification was aided by shrub cover analysis of NAIP aerial photography. It was found that 1930s Grazing inventories were compatible with contemporary satellite image classifications for large-scale landcover change detection.

The goal of quantifying the woody cover and biomass of tropical savannas, woodlands and forests using satellite data is becoming increasingly important, but limitations in current scientific understanding reduce the utility of the considerable quantity of satellite data currently being collected. The work contained in this thesis reduces this knowledgegap, using new field data and analysis methods to quantify changes using optical, radar and LiDAR data. The first paper shows that high-resolution optical data (Landsat & ASTER) can be used to track changes in woody vegetation in the Mbam Djerem National Park in Cameroon. The method correlates a satellite-derived vegetation index with field-measured canopy cover, and the paper concludes that forest encroached rapidly into savanna in the region from 1986-2006. Using the same study area, but with radar remote sensing data from 1996 and 2007 (ALOS PALSAR & JERS-1), the second paper shows that radar backscatter correlates well with field-measured aboveground biomass (AGB). This dataset confirms the woody encroachment within the park; however, in a larger area around the park, deforestation dominates. The AGB-radar relationships described above are expanded in the next paper to include field plots from Budongo Forest (Uganda), the Niassa Reserve (north Mozambique), and the Nhambita Community Project (central Mozambique). A consistent AGB-radar relationship is found in the combined dataset, with the RMSE for predicted AGB values for a site increasing by <30 %, compared with a site-specific equation, when using an AGB-radar equation derived from the three other sites. The study of the Nhambita site is extended in the following paper to assess the ability of radar to detect change over short time periods in this environment, as will be needed for REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation). Using radar mosaics from 2007 and 2009, areas known (from detailed ground data) to have been degraded decreased in AGB in the radar change detection, whereas areas of agroforestry and forest protection showed small increases.

Um dos problemas que vêm sendo discutidos pela comunidade cartográfica brasileira é a atualização de documentos cartográficos, gerando estudos que procuram alternativas confiáveis, rápidas e econômicas para esta atividade. Este trabalho apresenta uma proposta metodológica rápida e econômica de atualização cartográfica, onde a premissa básica será a utilização de um estereopar híbrido, composto por uma fotografia aérea 23 x 23 cm (que foi utilizada no mapeamento existente) digitalizada matricialmente, e por uma imagem aérea digital recente obtida com uma câmara digital. Além disso, este trabalho apresenta discussões e resultados sobre a visualização estereoscópica do estereopar híbrido, quando utilizada para a detecção das alterações, e a extração das feições identificadas, completando assim o processo de atualização cartográfica. Esta estratégia de combinação de fontes diferentes de dados, para a formação de modelos estereoscópicos, pode acelerar o processo de revisão e atualização cartográfica reduzindo os custos e obtendo resultados satisfatórios. / Updating of cartographic documents have been discussed by the Brazilian cartographic community, generating studies that look for reliable, fast and economical alternatives for this activity. This work presents a fast and economical methodological proposal for cartographic updating, in which the basic approach is the use of a hybrid stereo-pair, composed by a 23 x 23 cm scanned aerial photography (that was used in the existing mapping), and by a recent digital aerial image, acquired by a digital camera. Besides that, discussions and results on the stereoscopic visualization of the hybrid stereo-pair are presented, focusing on change detection and extraction of the identified features, aiming cartographic updating. This strategy of combinating different sources of data, for stereoscopic models reconstruction can speed up the revision process and cartographic updating, reducing the costs and obtaining reliable results.

Este trabalho examina as características evolutivas de manguezais (Sistema Estuarino de Santos, estado de São Paulo) através da oportunidade de acessar os impactos cumulativos de mudanças ambientais e suas consequências na vegetação. Para atingir este objetivo foi testado uma metodologia de detecção de mudança baseado no processamento de 9 imagens Landsat. Fora estabelecido uma rotina de trabalho o qual proporcionou a extração de bosques de mangue através de uma classificação orientada a objetos. Análises subseqüentes de índices de vegetação foram efetuadas para caracterizar a evolução de aspectos espectrais relativos aos manguezais. Também foram aplicados a extração de medidas de métricas relativas a estrutura da paisagem. Dados auxiliares, como um Modelo Digital de Elevação e imagens de alta resolução espacial propiciaram um melhor entendimento das análises efetuadas. Todos os dados gerados foram integrados em Sistema de Informação Geográfica (SIG). Os resultados apontaram que a área como um todo apresentou tendências de recobrimento de manguezais em termos de área e vigor entre 1985 e 1999, quando se tronou relativamente estável, mostrando variações locais de regeneração e degradação. A avaliação geral das formas e padrões dos bosques de manguezais baseados na delimitação de áreas e medidas da estrutura da paisagem mostraram melhores resultados quando comparados com análises de índices de vegetação, que parecem ser sensíveis a flutuações ambientais ocorridas quando da aquisição das imagens. / This work examines the evaluative characteristics of an impacted mangrove system (Santos/São Vicente region, São Paulo State) providing opportunities to assess the cumulative impact of environmental changes and their consequences on the vegetation. To achieve this objective it was tested a methodology of Time Change Detection techniques (TCD) based on the processing of series of 9 Landsat images. It was established a detailed study framework based on the individual mangroves extraction from object oriented classification. Subsequently analysis of vegetation indices values was performed in order to characterize the evolution of the spectral aspects of the mangroves. This work also assessed models of landscape patterns and structure. Other types of data such as High Resolution Satellite images, Aerial photographs and Satellite altimetry were also used to better understand the whole estuarine system. Thus it was also proposed the implementation of a geographically referenced database in a GIS in order to analyze variables which could affect mangrove dynamics. The results of the analysis demonstrated that the area as a whole confirms a tendency of recovering in terms of area and vigor since 1985 until 1999 when it became quite stable showing local variations in terms of recovering and degradation. The overall evaluation of form and shape of the mangrove forests, based in the delimitation of areas and landscape metrics, showed better results when comparing with the Vegetation Indices analysis, which seems quite influenced by the environmental conditions at the time satellite images were taken.

Um dos problemas que vêm sendo discutidos pela comunidade cartográfica brasileira é a atualização de documentos cartográficos, gerando estudos que procuram alternativas confiáveis, rápidas e econômicas para esta atividade. Este trabalho apresenta uma proposta metodológica rápida e econômica de atualização cartográfica, onde a premissa básica será a utilização de um estereopar híbrido, composto por uma fotografia aérea 23 x 23 cm (que foi utilizada no mapeamento existente) digitalizada matricialmente, e por uma imagem aérea digital recente obtida com uma câmara digital. Além disso, este trabalho apresenta discussões e resultados sobre a visualização estereoscópica do estereopar híbrido, quando utilizada para a detecção das alterações, e a extração das feições identificadas, completando assim o processo de atualização cartográfica. Esta estratégia de combinação de fontes diferentes de dados, para a formação de modelos estereoscópicos, pode acelerar o processo de revisão e atualização cartográfica reduzindo os custos e obtendo resultados satisfatórios. / Updating of cartographic documents have been discussed by the Brazilian cartographic community, generating studies that look for reliable, fast and economical alternatives for this activity. This work presents a fast and economical methodological proposal for cartographic updating, in which the basic approach is the use of a hybrid stereo-pair, composed by a 23 x 23 cm scanned aerial photography (that was used in the existing mapping), and by a recent digital aerial image, acquired by a digital camera. Besides that, discussions and results on the stereoscopic visualization of the hybrid stereo-pair are presented, focusing on change detection and extraction of the identified features, aiming cartographic updating. This strategy of combinating different sources of data, for stereoscopic models reconstruction can speed up the revision process and cartographic updating, reducing the costs and obtaining reliable results.

abstract: Motion estimation is a core task in computer vision and many applications utilize optical flow methods as fundamental tools to analyze motion in images and videos. Optical flow is the apparent motion of objects in image sequences that results from relative motion between the objects and the imaging perspective. Today, optical flow fields are utilized to solve problems in various areas such as object detection and tracking, interpolation, visual odometry, etc. In this dissertation, three problems from different areas of computer vision and the solutions that make use of modified optical flow methods are explained. The contributions of this dissertation are approaches and frameworks that introduce i) a new optical flow-based interpolation method to achieve minimally divergent velocimetry data, ii) a framework that improves the accuracy of change detection algorithms in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, and iii) a set of new methods to integrate Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1HMRSI) data into threedimensional (3D) neuronavigation systems for tumor biopsies. In the first application an optical flow-based approach for the interpolation of minimally divergent velocimetry data is proposed. The velocimetry data of incompressible fluids contain signals that describe the flow velocity. The approach uses the additional flow velocity information to guide the interpolation process towards reduced divergence in the interpolated data. In the second application a framework that mainly consists of optical flow methods and other image processing and computer vision techniques to improve object extraction from synthetic aperture radar images is proposed. The proposed framework is used for distinguishing between actual motion and detected motion due to misregistration in SAR image sets and it can lead to more accurate and meaningful change detection and improve object extraction from a SAR datasets. In the third application a set of new methods that aim to improve upon the current state-of-the-art in neuronavigation through the use of detailed three-dimensional (3D) 1H-MRSI data are proposed. The result is a progressive form of online MRSI-guided neuronavigation that is demonstrated through phantom validation and clinical application. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 2018

A challenge to research on auditory and speech perception has been a lack of correlation between measures of each ability, despite their shared acoustical basis. The hypothesis presented here is that stimuli in the auditory domain stimuli generally have a static quality whereas stimuli in the speech domain generally have a dynamic quality, but attempts to correlate the two assume that static and dynamic stimuli are processed similarly by auditory short-term memory (ASTM). This thesis utilizes a change-detection task, which is popular for investigating the function of visual short-term memory, to more closely examine the function of ASTM for the purpose of evaluating the plausibility of this hypothesis. Across three experiments the temporal dynamics of ASTM are explored by manipulating the interstimulus interval (ISI), the stimulus duration, and the type of feature change in a change-detection task. This final manipulation (Experiment 3) also involves change-detection in a sequence of stimuli rather than just pairs of stimuli (as in Experiments 1 & 2). Individual differences in ASTM function are also evaluated in order to ensure that any differences found are present for all listeners and to further understand the function of ASTM. It is found that ASTM for static stimuli is consistently better than dynamic stimuli, even for listeners with high ASTM performance. Longer ISIs lead to poorer performance only for dynamic stimuli and only for participants who show poor ASTM function at long ISIs. Longer durations lead to better performance for all stimuli to a point, but performance for dynamic stimuli plateaus, and even decreases, at the longest durations, while the static stimuli continue to show gains. This result generally holds for all listeners. Lastly, changes in temporal order and changes to stimuli at the end of the sequence are detected more often than changes in frequency and large changes are detected more often than small changes. These first two effects hold for all stimuli while the second effect is more true of static stimuli. These results are discussed within the context of ASTM and the impact of each manipulation on the encoding, maintenance, and comparison processes is considered.

The thesis describes Random Coefficient Autoregressive time series mo- dels (RCA models). In first chapter we introduce different types of estimati- ons for coefficients of RCA model. Main part is in second chapter, where we describe detection changes procedures for all methods mentioned in chapter one, here the thesis expands the current theory about change detection of wei- ghted least square method and functional estimation. In last chapter we sum- marize results of simulation study. 1