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The two communities of Sheshatshiu (south) and North West River (north) straddle the narrow outlet of Grand Lake, where its waters empty into Lake Melville. Many fascinating things can be observed in this image, both man-made and natural. What probably caught your eye first were the swirling patterns of sediment in the lake which create complex patterns and are caused by the inter-mixing of the water flows coming from three major river systems. On land, it is still the water that has the greatest influence as to what vegetation grows and in what patterns. These regular and irregular patterns of water, soil and vegetation tell stories about what is actually there and how it developed.

Human settlement also has its history and rationale, but can be more cryptic in its representation on satellite imagery. Still there is much to be seen in either summer or winter.

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Question: What will you have to do to a dock on the shoreline of Lake Melville, if located at the top or the bottom of the image?

[ Answer ]
 

About this Image

Location: Lake Melville, Labrador NTS map(s): 13 F, G Location Map: See a detailed map (1:1M) of the region Image Date: June 19, 1994 Satellites/Sensors: Landsat TM bands 3, 4, 5 = B, G, R Resolution: 43 m pixels Image Area: 30 x 30 km Image Features: String bog, town, bridge, road, river delta, suspended sediment, turbidity, shore erosion, wetlands, shoreline, pond, beach ridge, sand, sandbars, drainage, wetlands, town, forest, water, airport runway, street pattern, fire, spruce, clouds, cloud shadows Related Tour Images: Whiteshell Park, Manitoba Related Glossary Terms: These terms from the CCRS Glossary may help you to understand this image and its interpretation: image texture, tone, brightness, contrast, contrast enhancement, contrast stretch, additive colour, false colour composite, true colour, plant reflectance Related Tutorial Sections: These sections of the "Fundamentals of Remote Sensing" tutorial by CCRS will help you to better understand this image and its interpretation: 1.5    4.2    4.5    5.5    5.7 Image Credits: Received and analyzed by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing Preprocessed by RADARSAT International Inc.

 

Question:

What will you have to do to a dock on the shoreline of Lake Melville, if located at the top or the bottom of the image?

Answer:

A dock at the top of the image will (eventually) have to be lengthened lakewards, while a dock at the bottom of the image will (eventually) have to be lengthened landwards. This is because the shorelines along the top of the scene are experiencing "accretion" or growth while the shorelines at the bottom of the scene are being eroded. The very bright swath along the shoreline tells us that the soil is being removed from the shore and being put into suspension in the water. The bright swath along the shorelines of Goose Bay (bottom of image) is an indication of very high turbidity levels in the water. As the Bay water moves into the much wider part of Lake Melville, in the top part of the image, the water motion slows down, allowing the suspended sediment to settle. A considerable amount of deposition occurs along the shoreline seen at the top of the image, as evidenced by the sandbars. The shoreline there, would actually be "growing".