Between 2018 and 2023, Lunar Lake, a unique geoheritage site, went through big changes in its surroundings that were caused by both natural and human activities. This study uses GIS and remote sensing to look at many geoheritage indicators, such as turbidity, the normalized difference salinity index (NDSI), the vegetation index (VI), and the amounts of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution. Using Sentinel-2, Sentinel-5P, and MODIS data from different time periods, the study looks at changes in a 1000-m buffer zone around the lake. This gives us important information about how the lake's geology and ecology are changing. The results show that turbidity is generally going up. The largest area (0.7407 km2) has positive changes in the turbidity index, which means that the water is getting less clear. Large drops in the NDSI, spanning 46.9746 and 152.9415 km2, show that land use has changed a lot because of development and soil encroachment. On the other hand, a big rise in NDSI (0.36–0.81) within the lake (0.3348 km2) suggests that a lot of salt is being deposited. NDVI changes show different trends in the health of the vegetation, with 180.6462 km2 showing small improvements and 30.2931 km2 showing big increases. This shows that efforts to reforest and control the land are working. But places with less vegetation cover (17.4672 km2) show that environmental stressors are still happening. The amount of NO2 pollution changes a lot, from a moderate rise of 103.00 km2 to a significant rise of 69.00 km2. This shows that human actions are having an effect. Overall, this study shows how important it is to use a variety of geoheritage indicators to get a full picture of how the world is changing. The results give us important information for making targeted conservation plans and policy choices that will help protect and manage Lunar Lake's ecological and geological integrity. To make sure that this important geoheritage site stays healthy and strong in the long run, it needs to be actively managed and monitored.

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Impact of Natural and Anthropogenic Activities on Lonar Lake: A Geoheritage Perspective

  • Saurabh Kumar Gupta

摘要

Between 2018 and 2023, Lunar Lake, a unique geoheritage site, went through big changes in its surroundings that were caused by both natural and human activities. This study uses GIS and remote sensing to look at many geoheritage indicators, such as turbidity, the normalized difference salinity index (NDSI), the vegetation index (VI), and the amounts of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution. Using Sentinel-2, Sentinel-5P, and MODIS data from different time periods, the study looks at changes in a 1000-m buffer zone around the lake. This gives us important information about how the lake's geology and ecology are changing. The results show that turbidity is generally going up. The largest area (0.7407 km2) has positive changes in the turbidity index, which means that the water is getting less clear. Large drops in the NDSI, spanning 46.9746 and 152.9415 km2, show that land use has changed a lot because of development and soil encroachment. On the other hand, a big rise in NDSI (0.36–0.81) within the lake (0.3348 km2) suggests that a lot of salt is being deposited. NDVI changes show different trends in the health of the vegetation, with 180.6462 km2 showing small improvements and 30.2931 km2 showing big increases. This shows that efforts to reforest and control the land are working. But places with less vegetation cover (17.4672 km2) show that environmental stressors are still happening. The amount of NO2 pollution changes a lot, from a moderate rise of 103.00 km2 to a significant rise of 69.00 km2. This shows that human actions are having an effect. Overall, this study shows how important it is to use a variety of geoheritage indicators to get a full picture of how the world is changing. The results give us important information for making targeted conservation plans and policy choices that will help protect and manage Lunar Lake's ecological and geological integrity. To make sure that this important geoheritage site stays healthy and strong in the long run, it needs to be actively managed and monitored.