System and method for remote dam monitoring

1. A method comprising:

acquiring, by a processor executing computer-readable instructions stored on a memory, satellite imagery of an area of an embankment;

generating, by the processor, a set of optical images from the satellite imagery;

determining, by the processor, an anomalous vegetation area and an anomalous wetness area indicative of seepage in the embankment from the set of optical images, wherein determining the anomalous vegetation area and the anomalous wetness area comprises:

performing, by the processor, a Tasseled Cap transformation on the set of optical images for obtaining a first set of data points corresponding to a greenness Tasseled Cap band and a second set of data points corresponding to a wetness Tasseled Cap band;

determining, by the processor, principal component eigenvalues from each of the first set of data points and the second set of data points;

identifying, by the processor, the anomalous vegetation area based upon a first standard deviation of the principal component eigenvalues of the first set of data points from a first mean principal component eigenvalue, using a threshold based on a multiple of the first standard deviation; and

identifying, by the processor, the anomalous wetness area based upon a second standard deviation of the principal component eigenvalues of the second set of data points from a second mean principal component eigenvalue; and

generating, by the processor, an alert to a dam operator, wherein the alert comprises at least one of the anomalous vegetation area and the anomalous wetness area.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

removing, by the processor, at least one anomaly in the set of optical images to obtain a cleaned set of optical images by removing data points associated with the at least one anomaly; and

performing, by the processor, the Tasseled Cap transformation on the cleaned set of optical images.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the processor, that a data gap exists in the first set of data points; and

filling, by the processor, the data gap by:

identifying, by the processor, a predetermined number of nearby data points adjacent to the data gap; and

computing, by the processor, an average of a Tasseled Cap value of the nearby data points to obtain an additional data value for the data gap.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the processor, that a data gap exists in the second set of data points; and

filling, by the processor, the data gap by:

identifying, by the processor, a predetermined number of nearby data points adjacent to the data gap; and

computing, by the processor, an average of a Tasseled Cap value of the nearby data points to obtain an additional data value for the data gap.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a process comprising:

acquiring satellite imagery of an area of an embankment;

generating a set of optical images from the satellite imagery;

determining an anomalous vegetation area and an anomalous wetness area indicative of seepage in the embankment from the set of optical images, wherein determining the anomalous vegetation area and the anomalous wetness area comprises:

performing a Tasseled Cap transformation on the set of optical images for obtaining a first set of data points corresponding to a greenness Tasseled Cap band and a second set of data points corresponding to a wetness Tasseled Cap band;

determining principal component eigenvalues from each of the first set of data points and the second set of data points;

identifying the anomalous vegetation area based upon a first standard deviation of the principal component eigenvalues of the first set of data points from a first mean principal component eigenvalue, using a threshold based on a multiple of the first standard deviation; and

identifying the anomalous wetness area based upon a second standard deviation of the principal component eigenvalues of the second set of data points from a second mean principal component eigenvalue; and

generating an alert to a dam operator, wherein the alert comprises at least one of the anomalous vegetation area and the anomalous wetness area.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5 , wherein the process further comprises:

removing at least one anomaly in the set of optical images to obtain a cleaned set of optical images by removing data points associated with the at least one anomaly; and

performing the Tasseled Cap transformation on the cleaned set of optical images.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5 , wherein the process further comprises:

determining that a data gap exists in the first set of data points; and

filling the data gap by:

identifying a predetermined number of nearby data points adjacent to the data gap; and

computing an average of a Tasseled Cap value of the nearby data points to obtain an additional data value for the data gap.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5 , wherein the process further comprises:

determining that a data gap exists in the second set of data points; and

filling the data gap by:

identifying a predetermined number of nearby data points adjacent to the data gap; and

computing an average of a Tasseled Cap value of the nearby data points to obtain an additional data value for the data gap.

9. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory including computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform a process including:

acquiring satellite imagery of an area of an embankment;

generating a set of optical images from the satellite imagery;

determining an anomalous vegetation area and an anomalous wetness area indicative of seepage in the embankment from the set of optical images, wherein determining the anomalous vegetation area and the anomalous wetness area comprises:

performing a Tasseled Cap transformation on the set of optical images for obtaining a first set of data points corresponding to a greenness Tasseled Cap band and a second set of data points corresponding to a wetness Tasseled Cap band;

determining principal component eigenvalues from each of the first set of data points and the second set of data points;

identifying the anomalous vegetation area based upon a first standard deviation of the principal component eigenvalues of the first set of data points from a first mean principal component eigenvalue, using a threshold based on a multiple of the first standard deviation; and

identifying the anomalous wetness area based upon a second standard deviation of the principal component eigenvalues of the second set of data points from a second mean principal component eigenvalue; and

generating an alert to a dam operator, wherein the alert comprises at least one of the anomalous vegetation area and the anomalous wetness area.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the process further comprises:

removing at least one anomaly in the set of optical images to obtain a cleaned set of optical images by removing data points associated with the at least one anomaly; and

performing the Tasseled Cap transformation on the cleaned set of optical images.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the process further comprises:

determining that a data gap exists in the first set of data points; and

filling the data gap by:

identifying a predetermined number of nearby data points adjacent to the data gap; and

computing an average of a Tasseled Cap value of the nearby data points to obtain an additional data value for the data gap.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the process further comprises:

determining that a data gap exists in the second set of data points; and

filling the data gap by:

identifying a predetermined number of nearby data points adjacent to the data gap; and

computing an average of a Tasseled Cap value of the nearby data points to obtain an additional data value for the data gap.