Modelling River Habitat Survey (RHS) and Modular River Physical Habitat Survey (MoRPH) scores from satellite imagery using Deep Learning (DL).
This project was run in partnership with The Rivers Trust to develop initial models to predict RHS and MoRPH survey scores from satellite imagery, and to develop a wider project that would involve integrating the models into national scale decision making.
RHS and MoRPH surveys are both forms of geomorphological surveys that assess the health and diversity of rivers in the UK. They are usually undertaken by trained practitioners who perform bank-side visual inspections, looking for features such as meanders, bankside vegetation, and pools and riffles. The surveys are used to assess overall river health, and identify regions for uplift. RHS and MoRPH have been uptaken by national legislation and DEFRA initiatives, with the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) using RHS to assess widespread changes in environmental health, and MoRPH being a key component in calculating Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) for UK rivers. By using satellite imagery to predict RHS and MoRPH scores at 500m intervals on the river network, we can greatly increase the amount of baseline information we have, and develop automated models to rapidly and cheaply detect changes.
This project had three distinct goals;
- Develop the initial foundation model based off of synthetic RHS data to predict scores from Sentinel-2 imagery, to be finetuned on the smaller RHS and MoRPH datasets.
- Host a workshop with stakeholders from industry, NGOs, and regulatory bodies, to discuss how the model might be implemented and the key challenges.
- Explore funding opportunities to continue the project and ensure model deployment and integration into national decision-making processes.
iCASP Project Team
Dr. Andrew Johnson – iCASP, University of Leeds
Professor Lee Brown – School of Geography, University of Leeds
Dr Xiaohui Chen – School of Engineering, University of Leeds
Wider Partners/Project Team
Michelle Walker – The Rivers Trust
Catherine McIlwraith – The Rivers Trust
Dr Andrew Bray – Colne and Calder Rivers Trust
Duration
July 2023 – January 2024
Outputs
A scoping report has been produced in partnership with the Environment Agency detailing how the model could be integrated into NCEA practices. Additionally, The Rivers Trust has provided continued support for the project as part of the Ofwat Innovation Funded Mainstreaming Nature Based Solutions (MNBS) project.