Study of the paleochannel in the southeastern part of Pyongyang by using topographic and satellite image analysis: A possibility for successful survey of paleolithic site

Abstract

There are Quaternary paleochannels in the left bank of the lower reaches of the Taedong River in the southeastern side of Pyongyang. We aimed to determine the possibility to find Paleolithic sites by locating terraces and paleochannels using digital elevation models (DEM) and Landsat ETM+. The study on paleochannels focused on survey of terrace of the 80–100 m high, associated with the Paleolithic site, performing topography (elevation, slope and aspect) analysis with DEM data and FCC (False Color Component), BR (Band Ratio), PCA (Principal Component Analysis), ISODATA, and SAM with Landsat ETM+ image. The results show that the analysis method using DEM and ETM+ is effective to find Paleolithic sites through surveys of terrace and paleochannel and analysis of facies.