Deliverable 3 Georeferencing of Scanned Aerial

Imagery and Change Detection

Tetiana Yurchenko
NIAGARA COLLEGE
 192 Queenston Street, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2R 2Z7
(905) 324-6825 • tatianayu20@gmail.com

December 13, 2018

GISC9231-D3
Mark Wilkinson
GISC9231 Course Instructor
Niagara College
135 Taylor Road,
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
L0S 1J0

Dear Mr. Wilkinson,

RE: GISC9231 Deliverable 3 Georeferencing of Scanned Aerial Imagery and Change Detection

Please accept this document as my official submission for Deliverable 3: Georeferencing of Scanned
Aerial Imagery and Change Detection for GISC9231 – Introduction to Remote Sensing.
The following document contains formal report that consists of answers for questions from Terms of
Reference. To complete this assignment aerial Images (1934 Aerial Images (A4873_19, A4873_20
and A4873_21, 1921 Aerial Images (H20-1, H20-2, H22-25, H22-91, 2003 Satellite Imagery
(IKONOS Multispectral Imagery)), ArcMap, lecture notes and some internet resources were used.
As a part of assignment georeferencing of series of panchromatic aerial images of the eastern
boundary of St. Catharines for stereoscopic viewing and full change detection analysis of this area of
4th and 3rd Welland canals were done.
If you will have any questions regarding to the Deliverable 3, please contact me at your convenience
at (905)324-6825 or by e-mail at tatianayu20@gmail.com. I look forward to your comments and
suggestions.

Regards,

Tetiana Yurchenko
GIS-GM Student
T.Y.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................. 1
1934 Aerial Images (A4873_19, A4873_20 and A4873_21).............................................................................................. 1
A) What was the operational status of each of the canals in 1934? Why and how do you draw these conclusions? ...... 1
B) Referring to A4873-20 Welland canals 1934 (jpeg), what is the wedge shaped formation at location A? What are
the striations? Why and how do you draw these conclusions? ........................................................................................ 1
C) What is the linear feature at location B? What was its status in 1934 (was it actively being used)? What is your
evidence? ......................................................................................................................................................................... 2
D) Why do you suppose the pond at C existed? Support your hypothesis thoroughly. ................................................. 2
E) What is area E? Justify your hypothesis. (2 marks) .................................................................................................. 2
1921 Aerial Images (H20-1, H20-2, H22-25, H22-91) ....................................................................................................... 3
F) What was the operational status of each of the canals in 1921? Why and how do you draw these conclusions? (4
marks) ............................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Satellite Imagery (2003 IKONOS Multispectral Imagery and 2013 St. Catharines Mosaics) ............................................ 3
G) What was the operational status of each of the canals in 2003 and 2013? Why and how do you draw these
conclusions? .................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Change Detection ................................................................................................................................................................ 4
H) Create a table that shows how locks 11 through 24 are/are-not visible to our remote sensing platforms in 1934 and
2003. For each year, note whether the lock is visible, partly visible, not visible or not shown on the imagery. For
non-visible locks, add a comment column to your table detailing why the lock is no longer visible. ............................ 4
I) Describe the changes within the lands of the Fuller Plan from 1921 through 1934 to 2003 and 2013. Speculate why
these changes may have occurred. .................................................................................................................................. 6
J) What happened to the wedge shaped landform at location A of to A4873-20 Welland canals 1934 (JPEG) that was
visible in 1921 and 1934? Support your hypothesis. ...................................................................................................... 9
k) Create two figures for your report that show (via screen save or formal ArcGIS layout) the georeferenced imagery
overlaid atop the 2013 satellite image. Create one figure for the 1921 imagery and one for the 1934 imagery. ......... 10
Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13
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TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Welland canals 1934 features .............................................................................................................................. 2

Figure 2 The evidence of 4th canal usage in 2003 .............................................................................................................. 3
Figure 3 The evidence of 4th canal usage in 2013 .............................................................................................................. 4
Figure 4 Locks of Third Canal in 1934……… .........................................................................................................5
Figure 5 Locks of Third Canal in 2003….. ......................................................................................................................... 5
Figure 6 Fuller plan in 1921 ............................................................................................................................................... 6
Figure 7 Fuller Plan in 1934 .............................................................................................................................................. 7
Figure 8 Fuller Plan in 2003 .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Figure 9 Fuller Plan in 2013 .............................................................................................................................................. 8

Figure 10 Wedge shaped landform in 1921…. .........................................................................................................8

Figure 11 Wedge shaped landform in 1934…..................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 12 Wedge shaped landform in 2003…. .........................................................................................................8
Figure 13 Wedge shaped landform in 2013….................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 14 Welland Canal. 1921 Georeferenced Images ................................................................................................... 11
Figure 15 Welland Canal. 1934 Georeferenced Images ................................................................................................... 12
Table 1 Visibility of 3rd Canal locks in 1934 and 2003………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
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INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

The Welland Canal is a navigational canal 43.5 km long, crossing the Niagara Peninsula of
southwestern Ontario from Port Weller on Lake Ontario to Port Colborne on Lake Erie. It overcomes
a height difference of 99.4 m between the 2 lakes and bypasses the turbulent Niagara River and
Niagara Falls.
A lifeline of trade and commerce into the heart of North America, the first Welland Canal opened in
1829, an achievement attributed primarily to a St Catharines businessman, William Hamilton Merritt.
A series of major construction works has been undertaken at various times, often on different routes.
Remnants of the Second Canal (opened 1845) and the Third Canal (opened 1887), and the modern
or Fourth Canal (opened 1932), with a 13.4 km bypass at Welland (opened 1973), may be viewed
(Welland Canal, Retrieved 2018).

1.2 Methodology

Georeferencing is the process of taking a digital image, it could be an airphoto, a scanned geologic
map, or a picture of a topographic map, and adding geographic information to the image so that GIS
or mapping software can 'place' the image in its appropriate real world location (Georeferencing,
Retrieved 2018).
To start georeferencing in ArcMap base map (in this case Glendale_IKONOS_BGRNIR) and all
aerial images (in this case A4873_19, A4873_20 and A4873_21 for 1934 or H20-1, H20-2, H22-25,
H22-91 for 1921) need to be open via “Add Data” tool. If the raster image is drawn in RGB composite
we need to change it to stretched in Layer Properties – Symbology. Using georeferencing tool we can
turn off the auto adjust and display aerial image atop of the base map. Then we can start adding
control points that are connecting aerial image and base map. There should be at least 3 points for
each image. For this assignment minimum 5 points were used to warp these aerial images properly.

1934 AERIAL IMAGES (A4873_19, A4873_20 AND A4873_21)

A) What was the operational status of each of the canals in 1934? Why and how do you
draw these conclusions?

As can be seen from 1934 aerial images the Fourth Welland Canal was full of water that indicates
that it is in use, while Third Canal seems to be partly abandoned (we can see that it is dry in some
parts, but other parts contain some small amount of water that is not enough for ships to go through
it, but it still may be used as reservoir). Also according to Terms of Reference Forth Welland Canal
was open in the 1932 year and is still operated nowadays (Terms of Reference, Retrieved 2018).

B) Referring to A4873-20 Welland canals 1934 (jpeg), what is the wedge shaped
formation at location A? What are the striations? Why and how do you draw these
conclusions?

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On Figure 1 Welland canals 1934 features below you can see all features described in questions B – E.

Figure 1 Welland canals 1934 features

As it is shown in Figure 1 Welland canals 1934 featuresthere is some linear formation with sharp structure
in the location A. This fact and the fact that it is located very close to the locks of 4th Canal suggests
that it is probably made by man during constructions of the 4th Welland Canal. It is also can be
observed that this wedge shaped formation has lighter lines that can be an evidence of multiple times
usage. Based on this information, it is assumed that these are traces of construction vehicles.

C) What is the linear feature at location B? What was its status in 1934 (was it actively
being used)? What is your evidence?

According to Terms of Reference, there is a Merritton Tunnel in this area (Terms of Reference,
Retrieved 2018). The liner feature at the location B is a part of a railroad line that is close to the
Merritton Tunnel, which is known as the Blue Ghost Tunnel. It can be seen that it is abandoned
because there is a railway that goes through 4th and 3rd canals via the bridges on the north from this
railroad.

D) Why do you suppose the pond at C existed? Support your hypothesis thoroughly.

In the location C there is a pond that did not exist in 1921, but already can be observed in 1934. It
could be created accidentally during construction of the 4th canal (materials could create a sink) and
probably being used after that as a reservoir.

E) What is area E? Justify your hyp othesis.

The rectangular shape and sharp structure indicate that it was created by man. There is a drainage
system that goes from the canal from North to South that probably helps to keep this area wet. This
and the fact that it is divided into smaller parts of different tones indicates that this is an agricultural
area of crops.

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1921 AERIAL IMAGES (H20-1, H20-2, H22-25, H22-91)

F) What was the operational status of each of the canals in 1921? Why and how do
you draw these conclusions?

In the 1921 year the 4th Canal was under construction. The actual construction of the Ship Canal was
begun in 1913 and carried on despite the outbreak of the First World War. In the spring of 1916,
however, in the face of material and manpower shortages, construction was suspended and remained
so until 1919. Work was resumed in 1919 and carried on under the supervision of Mr. A. J. Grant, to
completion in 1932. (Historic Welland, Revised: April 2, 1973)
It can also be observed from the 1921 Aerial Images that the 4th canal is not filled with water, while
the 3rd canal is. According to Terms of Reference at that time 3rd Canal remained the main (Terms of
Reference, Retrieved 2018).

SATELLITE IMAGERY (2003 IKONOS MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY AND 2013

ST. CATHARINES MOSAICS)

G) What was the operational status of each of the canals in 2003 and 2013? Why and
how do you draw these conclusions?

In both 2003 and 2013 the 3rd Welland Canal is not in use anymore as we can see that most of the
locks are barely visible or not visible at all due to vegetation. Meanwhile, the 4th Welland Canal is
the only one operational canal in this area nowadays. In Figure 2 The evidence of 4th canal usage in 2003 and
Figure 3 The evidence of 4th canal usage in 2013 it can be clearly seen that the 4th Canal is used as there are
ships going through the canal.

Figure 2 The evidence of 4th canal usage in 2003

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Figure 3 The evidence of 4th canal usage in 2013

CHANGE DETECTION

H) Create a table that shows how locks 11 through 24 are/are-not visible to our remote
sensing platforms in 1934 and 2003. For each year, note whether the lock is visible,
partly visible, not visible or not shown on the imagery. For non -visible locks, add a
comment column to your table detailing why the lo ck is no longer visible.

In Figure 4 Locks of Third Canal in 1934 Figure 5 Locks of Third Canal in 2003and
Figure 4 Locks of
Third Canal in 1934 Figure 5 Locks of Third Canal in 2003 below you can see locks of the Third
Welland Canal in 1934 and 2003 years. Please note these are just fragments of the maps that is why
it does not have map attributes (title, scale, north arrow etc.). Maps are located at the end of section
Change Detection.

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Figure 4 Locks of Third Canal in 1934 Figure 5 Locks of Third Canal in 2003

Table 1 Visibility of 3rd Canal locks in 1934 and 2003

Lock # 1934 Comment 2003 Comment

11 Visible n/a Partly visible n/a
12 Visible n/a Partly visible n/a
13 Visible n/a Partly visible n/a
14 Visible n/a Partly visible n/a
15 Visible n/a Partly visible n/a
16 Visible n/a Partly visible n/a
17 Visible n/a Partly visible n/a
18 Visible n/a Partly visible n/a
19 Not visible Area changed a lot Not visible Area changed
since 1921. The is since 1934. Now it
a dam to the South, is under the
but the lock can stagnant water that
not be seen is overgrown with
anymore. vegetation
20 Not visible This lock is fully Not visible This lock is fully
covered by water covered by water
in the lake in the lake
21 Visible n/a Partly visible n/a
22 Visible n/a Partly visible n/a
23 Not shown on the n/a Not visible Does not exist
imagery anymore. The area
is reconstructed
24 Not shown on the n/a Not visible Does not exist
imagery anymore. The area
is reconstructed

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I) Describe the changes within the lands of the Fuller Plan from 1921 through 1934 to
2003 and 2013. Speculate why these changes may have occurred.

The Fuller Plan is a plan of Reverend Thomas Fuller, who wanted to subdivide the land for housing
(Terms of Reference, Retrieved 2018).
Originally in 1921 the area of the Fuller Plan was just a farm place with a couple of houses and had
all prerequisites for becoming a great place to carry out a plan for building a housing. An old
abandoned railroad that goes across the land of the Fuller Plan can also be seen on the aerial image.
It was already closed by that time (in 1915) because of the accident in the Merritton Tunnel. (see
Figure 6 Fuller plan in 1921) (Merritton Tunnel, Retrieved 2018).

Figure 6 Fuller plan in 1921

However, in the 1934 year the land looks different than it looked like in 1921 (see Figure 7 Fuller
Plan in 1934).

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Figure 7 Fuller Plan in 1934

It can be seen that there are no farmlands and houses anymore, there are some remnants of vegetation
and detached trees. Just old railroad remains the same.
Finally, looking at IKONOS images we can say that in 2003 and 2013 area is covered by vegetation.
There are no houses, farmlands, old railroad etc. The difference between 2003 and 2013 is expressed
in tone. In 2003 aerial images were probably taken in summer, while in 2013 they were taken during
the fall. We can also observe the road on the North of the area of Fuller Plan that did not exist before
(see Figure 8 Fuller Plan in 2003 and Figure 9 Fuller Plan in 2013).

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Figure 8 Fuller Plan in 2003

Figure 9 Fuller Plan in 2013

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J) What happened to the wedge shaped landform at location A of to A4873 -20 Welland
canals 1934 (JPEG) that was visible in 1921 and 1934? Support your hypothesis.

From the figures 10 – 13 it can be seen that the wedge shaped landform at location A did not actually
change the shape, however, we can not see linear structure in 2003 and 2013 compared to 1921 and
1934. In 1934 we can observe a pathway that is changing to the road by 2003. In 2003 and 2013 it is
fully covered by vegetation that interferes with the visibility of the area.

Figure 10 Wedge shaped landform in 1921 Figure 11 Wedge shaped landform in 1934

Figure 12 Wedge shaped landform in 2003 Figure 13 Wedge shaped landform in 2013

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K) Create two figures for your report that show (via screen save or formal ArcGIS
layout) the georeferenced imagery overlaid atop the 2013 satellite image. Create one
figure for the 1921 imagery and one for the 1934 imagery.

In Figure 14 Welland Canal. 1921 Georeferenced Images and Figure 15 Welland Canal. 1934 Georeferenced Images
below you can see two maps that illustrate the Welland Canal in the 1921 year and 1934 year
respectively. It was done in ArcGIS using georeferencing tool that overlays old aerial images atop of
nowadays satellite image (2013).

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Figure 14 Welland Canal. 1921 Georeferenced Images

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Figure 15 Welland Canal. 1934 Georeferenced Images

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CONCLUSIONS

Georeferencing of the aerial images helped to examine the area of the eastern boundary of St.
Catharines and to make proper assumptions about changes from 1921 to 2013.
As a conclusion analysis showed that the area totally changed from 1921 to 2013. 3rd Welland Canal
is abandoned, while the 4th Welland Canal became the welcome card of the Niagara region.
Nowadays the canal carries about 3,000 ships which carry about 40,000,000 tons of cargo a year
(Welland Canal, Retrieved 2018)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Georeferencing. (Retrieved 2018). Retrieved from Teaching with GeoPads:

https://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/geopad/georeferencing.html
Historic Welland. (Revised: April 2, 1973). Retrieved from Welland Public Library:
http://www.welland.library.on.ca/digital/history.htm
Merritton Tunnel. (Retrieved 2018). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merritton_Tunnel
(Retrieved 2018). Terms of Reference. Niagara College.
Welland Canal. (Retrieved 2018). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welland_Canal

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