Sanitary Landfill Site Selection by Remote Sensing

An investigation was conducted to evaluate the northeastern portion of Volusia County, Florida for sites suitable for the disposal of solid waste. High altitude color infrared photography and LANDSAT imagery were used in the analysis along with available sources of supplemental data. The IMAGE 100 system was used in a supervised training mode to develop land cover classification categories. These categories depicted geological conditions related to the potential for surface and subsurface movement of leachates or contamination of the Floridan aquifer. Procedures for basic analysis of LANDSAT imagery is presented in detail. Air photo interpretation of the color infrared photography provided more detail than obtained from the analysis of LANDSAT imagery. Major structural lineaments and depositional features were more easily identified in the satellite imagery. The results of the study indicated that both forms of imagery were useful, but supplemental data was necessary to adequately evaluate the terrain and to make recommendations for selection of suitable sanitary landfill sites.