Modelling and Delineation of Hydrocarbon Micro - Seepage Prone Zones on Soil and Sediment in Ugwueme, South Eastern Nigeria with Soil Adjustment Vegetation Index (SAVI)

Remote Sensing is an excellent tool in monitoring, mapping and interpreting areas, associated with hydrocarbon micro-seepage. An important technique in remote sensing known as the Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), adopted in many studies is often used to minimize the effect of brightness reflectance in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), related with soil in areas of spare vegetation cover, and mostly in areas of arid and semi–arid regions. The study aim at analyzing the effect of hydrocarbon micro – seepage on soil and sediments in Ugwueme, Southern Eastern Nigeria, with SAVI image classification method. To achieve this aim, three cloud free Landsat images, of Landsat 7 TM 1996 and ETM+ 2006 and Landsat 8 OLI 2016 were utilized to produce different SAVI image classification maps for the study. The SAVI image classification analysis for the study showed three classes viz Low class cover, Moderate class cover and high class cover. The category of high SAVI density classification was observed to increase progressive from 31.95% in 1996 to 34.92% in 2006 and then to 36.77% in 2016. Moderately SAVI density classification reduced from 40.53% in 1996 to 38.77% in 2006 and then to 36.96% in 2016 while Low SAVI density classification decrease progressive from 27.51% in 1996 to 26.31% in 2006 and then increased to 28.26% in 2016. The SAVI model is categorized into three classes viz increase, decrease and unchanged. The un – changed category increased from 12.32km2 (15.06%) in 1996 to 17.17 km2 (20.96%) in 2006 and then decelerate to 13.50 km2 (16.51%) in 2016. The decrease category changed from 39.89km2 (48.78%) in 1996 to 40.45 km2 (49.45%) in 2006 and to 51.52 km2 (63.0%) in 2016 while the increase category changed from 29.57km2 (36.16%) in 1996 to 24.18 km2 (29.58%) in 2006 and to 16.75 km2 (20.49%) in 2016. Image differencing, cross tabulation and overlay operations were some of the techniques performed in the study, to ascertain the effect of hydrocarbon micro - seepage. The Markov chain analysis was adopted to model and predict the effect of the hydrocarbon micro - seepage for the study for 2030. The study expound that the SAVI is an effective technique in remote sensing to identify, map and model the effect of hydrocarbon micro - seepage on soil and sediment particularly in areas characterized with low vegetation cover and bare soil cover.