THE IMPACT OF DUST POLLUTION FROM UNPAVED ROADS IN THE AKAMAS PENINSULA, CYPRUS, USING UAV AND SENTINEL-2 IMAGES
Date Issued
December 13, 2023
Author(s)
Abstract
This study examines the effects of dust in the Akamas National Park in Cyprus generated from traffic over the unpaved roads on the
roadside vegetation. The Akamas National Park is located on the western tip of Cyprus and covers an area of about 230 km²,
containing valleys, gorges and wide sandy bays. Akamas is a mountainous, relatively inaccessible area to standard vehicles and
protected from man-made development. It is home to hundreds of animal species and plants that are essential for the ecology of the
Mediterranean region. There are several unpaved roads to access the area and more than one million people visit the Akamas
peninsula each year, mostly in the summer period, primarily in 4X4 and all-terrain vehicles, which are rented in the nearby area. This
unregulated traffic results in dust, especially during the dry weather conditions in the summer that can fall up to a kilometre away on
all sides of the vehicle.
In this study, images acquired from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) of the roads within the Akamas peninsula were compared
with Sentinel-2 satellite images during different seasons. Using the Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the Sentinel-2
images, it was shown that the vegetation nearest to the unpaved roads exhibited pronounced stress compared to the vegetation that
was more distant. Also, spectral signatures as well as infrared and thermal images were taken at different distance intervals from the
unpaved road.
roadside vegetation. The Akamas National Park is located on the western tip of Cyprus and covers an area of about 230 km²,
containing valleys, gorges and wide sandy bays. Akamas is a mountainous, relatively inaccessible area to standard vehicles and
protected from man-made development. It is home to hundreds of animal species and plants that are essential for the ecology of the
Mediterranean region. There are several unpaved roads to access the area and more than one million people visit the Akamas
peninsula each year, mostly in the summer period, primarily in 4X4 and all-terrain vehicles, which are rented in the nearby area. This
unregulated traffic results in dust, especially during the dry weather conditions in the summer that can fall up to a kilometre away on
all sides of the vehicle.
In this study, images acquired from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) of the roads within the Akamas peninsula were compared
with Sentinel-2 satellite images during different seasons. Using the Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the Sentinel-2
images, it was shown that the vegetation nearest to the unpaved roads exhibited pronounced stress compared to the vegetation that
was more distant. Also, spectral signatures as well as infrared and thermal images were taken at different distance intervals from the
unpaved road.
Funding
The authors acknowledge the ‘EXCELSIOR’:
ERATOSTHENES: EΧcellence Research Centre for Earth
Surveillance and Space-Based Monitoring of the Environment
H2020 Widespread Teaming project (www.excelsior2020.eu).
The ‘EXCELSIOR’ project has received funding from the
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under Grant Agreement No 857510, from the
Government of the Republic of Cyprus through the Directorate
General for the European Programmes, Coordination and
Development and the Cyprus University of Technology
ERATOSTHENES: EΧcellence Research Centre for Earth
Surveillance and Space-Based Monitoring of the Environment
H2020 Widespread Teaming project (www.excelsior2020.eu).
The ‘EXCELSIOR’ project has received funding from the
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under Grant Agreement No 857510, from the
Government of the Republic of Cyprus through the Directorate
General for the European Programmes, Coordination and
Development and the Cyprus University of Technology
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