Improvement of Urban Impervious Surface Estimation in Shanghai Using Landsat7 ETM+ Data

This paper explores the potential to improve the impervious surface estimation accuracy using a multi-stage approach on the basis of vegetation-impervious surface-soil (V-I-S) model. In the first stage of Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA) process, pixel purity index, a quantitative index for defining endmember quality, and a 3-dimensional endmember selection method were applied to refining endmembers. In the second stage, instead of obtaining impervious surface fraction by adding high and low albedo fractions directly, a linear regression model was built between impervious surface and high/low albedo using a random sampling method. The urban impervious surface distribution in the urban central area of Shanghai was predicted by the linear regression model. Estimation accuracy of spectral mixture analysis and impervious surface fraction were assessed using root mean square (RMS) and color aerial photography respectively. In comparison with three different research methods, this improved estimation method has a higher overall accuracy than traditional Linear Spectral Mixture Analysis (LSMA) method and the normalized SMA model both in root mean square error (RMSE) and standard error (SE). However, the model has a tendency to overestimate the impervious surface distribution.

Study on Remote Sensing Information Extraction Technology for the Impervious Surface of Erhai Basin

[Objective] To study the remote sensing information extraction technology for the impervious surface of Erhai basin with the aim to develop dynamic simulation platform for the formation of water pollution. [Method] Linear spectral separation technology was used to achieve Vd-S model solution, extracting remote sensing in- formation of the impervious surface of Erhai basin from the TM data of Landsat5 in 2009. The linear combination of 4 kinds of endmember spectra, namely vegetation, high anti-illumination, low anti-illumination and bare soil, were used to simulate the TM spectral characteristics, and its distribution and spatial characteristics were ana- lyzed. [Result] Middle-resolution image is suitable for the basin-scaled impervious surface extraction with reliable results and satisfactory accuracy. [Conclusion] This study provided basis for deciding the relationship between the regulation strategy on the non-point source pollution of Erhai Lake, coordinated economic development and environmental protection.

Using Impervious Surfaces to Detect Urban Expansion in Beijing of China in 2000s

The change of impervious surface area(ISA) can effectively reveal the gradual process of urbanization and act as a key index for monitoring urban expansion. Experiencing rapid growth of the built environment in the 2000 s, urban expansion of Beijing has not been fully characterized through ISA. In this study, Landsat TM images of Beijing in 2001 and 2009 were obtained, and the eight-year urban expansion process in Beijing was analyzed using the ISA extracted by means of the vegetation-imperious surface-soil(V-I-S) model. From the spatial variation in ISA, the ring structure of urban expansion in Beijing was significant during the study period, with decreasing urban density from the city center to the periphery. In the ring road analysis, the most dramatic changes of ISA were found between the fifth ring and the sixth ring. This area has experienced the most new residential development, and is currently the main source of urban expansion. The typical profile lines revealed the directional characteristics of urban expansion. The east-west profile was the most urbanized axes in Beijing, while ISA change in the east-north profile was more significant than in the other five profiles. Moreover, the transition matrix of ISA levels revealed an increase in urban density in the low density built areas; the Moran′s I index showed a clear expansion of the central urban area, which spread contiguously; and the standard deviational ellipse indicated the northeast was the dominant direction of urban expansion. These findings can provide important spatial control guidelines in the next round of national economic and social development planning, overall urban and rural planning, and land use planning.

Integrating CART Algorithm and Multi-source Remote Sensing Data to Estimate Sub-pixel Impervious Surface Coverage:A Case Study from Beijing Municipality,China

The sub-pixel impervious surface percentage(SPIS) is the fraction of impervious surface area in one pixel,and it is an important indicator of urbanization.Using remote sensing data,the spatial distribution of SPIS values over large areas can be extracted,and these data are significant for studies of urban climate,environment and hydrology.To develop a stabilized,multi-temporal SPIS estimation method suitable for typical temperate semi-arid climate zones with distinct seasons,an optimal model for estimating SPIS values within Beijing Municipality was built that is based on the classification and regression tree(CART) algorithm.First,models with different input variables for SPIS estimation were built by integrating multi-source remote sensing data with other auxiliary data.The optimal model was selected through the analysis and comparison of the assessed accuracy of these models.Subsequently,multi-temporal SPIS mapping was carried out based on the optimal model.The results are as follows:1) multi-seasonal images and nighttime light(NTL) data are the optimal input variables for SPIS estimation within Beijing Municipality,where the intra-annual variability in vegetation is distinct.The different spectral characteristics in the cultivated land caused by the different farming characteristics and vegetation phenology can be detected by the multi-seasonal images effectively.NLT data can effectively reduce the misestimation caused by the spectral similarity between bare land and impervious surfaces.After testing,the SPIS modeling correlation coefficient(r) is approximately 0.86,the average error(AE) is approximately 12.8%,and the relative error(RE) is approximately 0.39.2) The SPIS results have been divided into areas with high-density impervious cover(70%–100%),medium-density impervious cover(40%–70%),low-density impervious cover(10%–40%) and natural cover(0%–10%).The SPIS model performed better in estimating values for high-density urban areas than other categories.3) Multi-temporal SPIS mapping(1991–2016) was conducted based on the optimized SPIS results for 2005.After testing,AE ranges from 12.7% to 15.2%,RE ranges from 0.39 to 0.46,and r ranges from 0.81 to 0.86.It is demonstrated that the proposed approach for estimating sub-pixel level impervious surface by integrating the CART algorithm and multi-source remote sensing data is feasible and suitable for multi-temporal SPIS mapping of areas with distinct intra-annual variability in vegetation.

Monitoring Local Impervious Surface Trends Using Indices Derived from Property Tax and Several Landsat Datasets

Human economic and social needs can be in conflict with ecosystem needs. Land development increases impervious surfaces causing significant negative impacts to aquatic ecosystems. Many impervious surface estimates are derived from remote sensing data, developed by using different methods and often out of date. Remote sensing data is often at scales applicable to regional management, but not local planning decisions. To date, no standardized annual dataset of percent impervious surface exists for use at both local and watershed scales. Effective communication between natural resource managers and local planners has been lacking. One solution is to monitor percent impervious surface with a relative index rather than direct measure. A relative index model can use a currency, like foundation square feet per hectare, which is useful for all decision makers. One data source for developing a relative index of impervious surface is property tax data. These data document annual land development at local scale. Here, the author presents the use of Maryland property tax data to index land development and percent impervious surface.

Effects of Increasing Impervious Surface on Water Quality in Ile-Ife Urban Watershed, Southwestern Nigeria

The urban environment has continued to experience changes from increasing impervious surfaces, which alters the proper functioning of the ecological zones and impairs water quality in the watershed. Impervious cover is predominantly used as an indicator to assist in understanding and forecasting the impact of human actions and other related activities on aquatic resources. In this study, the rate of change in land uses using the impervious surface as an indicator, and the percentage of imperviousness on the effect on water quality in the urban watershed were assessed. Ile-Ife was delineated as an urban watershed, and the percentage of imperviousness from 2008 to 2016 and the effect of imperviousness on water bodies were assessed. The study utilized ASTERDEM, Worldview (0.46 m), IKONOS (1.4 m), Landsat (30 m) for 2008 and 2016, GPS and Drone (10 cm). Water sampling was carried out in selected locations as generated by the impervious surface analyst tool, (ISAT). The percentage (%) of impervious surfaces accounted for 59.4% (4567.1/7691.5ha) in 2008 and 70.3% (5408.2/7691.5ha) in 2016, from the total number of lands investigated. The turbidity values from low to high regions were 32.3, 55.9 and 82.4 NUT. Changes in LULC of the watershed led to increased surface temperature, impermeable surfaces, and decreased vegetation, which exposes the area to flooding and reduced water quality. This study emphasized the importance of GIS and its integration into urban changes and water quality assessment.

Evaluating impervious surface growth and its impacts on water environment in Beijing- Tianjin-Tangshan Metropolitan Area

The impervious surface area （ISA） at the regional scale is one of the important environmental factors for examining the interaction and mechanism of Land Use/Cover Change （LUCC）-ecosystem processes-climate change under the interactions of urbanization and global environmental change. Timely and accurate extraction of ISA from remotely sensed data at the regional scale is challenging. This study explored the ISA extraction based on MODIS and DMSP-OLS data and the incorporation of China＇s land use/cover data. ISA datasets in Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan Metropolitan Area （BTTMA） in 2000 and 2008 at a spatial resolution of 250 m were developed, their spatiotemporal changes were analyzed, and their impacts on water quality were then evaluated. The results indicated that ISA in BTTMA increased rapidly along urban fringe, transportation corridors and coastal belt both in intensity and extents from 2000 to 2008. Three cities （Tangshan, Langfang and Qinhuangdao） in Hebei Province had higher ISA growth rates than Beijing due to the pressure of population-resour- ces-environments in the city resulting in increasingly transferring industries to the nearby areas. The dense ISA distribution in BTTMA has serious impacts on water quality in the Haihe River watershed. Meanwhile, the proportion of ISA in sub-watersheds has significantly linear relationships with the densities of river COD and NH3-N.

Effects of spatial resolution of remotely sensed data on estimating urban impervious surfaces

Impervious surfaces are the result of urbanization that can be explicitly quantified, managed and controlled at each stage of land development. It is a very useful environmental indicator that can be used to measure the impacts of urbanization on surface runoff, water quality, air quality, biodiversity and rnicroclimate. Therefore, accurate estimation of impervious surfaces is critical for urban environmental monitoring, land management, decision-making and urban planning. Many approaches have been developed to estimate surface imperviousness, using remotely sensed data with various spatial resolutions. However, few studies, have investigated the effects of spatial resolution on estimating surface imperviousness. We compare medium-resolution Landsat data with high-resolution SPOT images to quantify the imperviousness in Beijing, China. The results indicated that the overall 91% accuracy of estimates of imperviousness based on TM data was considerably higher than the 81% accuracy of the SPOT data. The higher resolution SPOT data did not always predict the imperviousness of the land better than the TM data. At the whole city level, the TM data better predicts the percentage cover of impervious surfaces. At the sub-city level, however, the ring belts from the central core to the urban-rural peripheral, the SPOT data may better predict the imperviousness. These results highlighted the need to combine multiple resolution data to quantify the percentage of imperviousness, as higher resolution data do not necessarily lead to more accurate estimates. The methodology and results in this study can be utilized to identify the most suitable remote sensing data to quickly and efficiently extract the pattern of the impervious land, which could provide the base for further study on many related urban environmental problems.

Methods to extract impervious surface areas from satellite images

Impervious surface area(ISA)is an important parameter for many environmental or socioeconomic relevant studies.The unique characteristics of remote sensing data made it the primary data source for ISA mapping at various scales.This paper summarizes general ISA mapping procedure and major techniques and discusses impacts of scale issues on selection of remote sensing data and corresponding algorithms.Previous studies have indicated that ISA mapping remains a challenge,especially in urban–rural frontiers and in covering a large area.Effectively employing rich spatial information in high spatial resolution imagery through texture and objectbased methods is valuable.Data fusion of multi-resolution images and spectral mixture analysis are common approaches to reduce the mixed pixel problem in medium spatial resolution images such as Landsat.Coarse spatial resolution images such as MODIS and DMSP-OLS are valuable for national and global ISA mapping but more research is needed to effectively integrate multisource/scale data for improving mapping performance.Development of an optimal procedure corresponding to specific study areas and purposes is required to generate accurate ISA mapping results.

Spatial and temporal variation of the urban impervious surface and its driving forces in the central city of Harbin

Associated with the rapid economic development of China, the level of urbanization is becoming a serious concern. Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province, China and one of the political, economic, cultural, and transportation centers of the northeastern region of China, has experienced rapid urbanization recently. To examine the spatial patterns of long-term urbanization and explore its driving forces, we employed the impervious surface fraction derived from remote sensing image as a primary indicator. Specifically, urban imper- vious surface information for the central city of Harbin in 1984, 1993, 2002, and 2010 was extracted from Landsat Thematic Mapper image using a Linear Spectral Mixture Analysis （LMSA）. Then, the spatial and temporal variation characteristics and the driving factors of percent impervious surface area （ISA） changes were analyzed throughout this 26-year period （1984 to 2010）. Analysis of results suggests that： （1） ISAs in the central city of Harbin con- stantly increased, particularly from 1993 to 2010, a rapid urbanization period; （2） the gravity center of impervious surface area in the central city was located in Nangang District in 1984, moving southeast from 1984 to 1993, northwest from 1993 to 2002, and continuing toward the southeast from 2002 to 2010; and （3） the urban growth of the central city can be character- ized as edge-type growth.

Impervious surface extraction based on different methods from multiple spatial resolution images:a comprehensive comparison

Many efforts have been devoted to extracting impervious surfaces based on different methods from multiple spatial resolution images.Differences in extraction methods and spatial resolutions are significant and have led to discrepant performances in terms of the impervious surface extraction accuracy.However,which extraction method is more suitable for which kind of spatial resolution image in practice is poorly understood.This study systematically compared the performances of 12 methods of impervious surface extraction for four spatial resolution images(i.e.Landsat 8[30 m],Sentinel-2A[20 m],Sentinel-2A[10 m],and Gaofen-2[4 m])in three testing areas.The results indicated that for the mediumspatial resolutions of 30 and 20 m,the support vector machine(SVM)method was considered as the optimal classification method with the highest accuracy of impervious surface extraction.For the high-spatial resolutions of 10 and 4 m,the object based image analysis(OBIA)method obtained the highest accuracy of the impervious surface distribution.Furthermore,the perpendicular impervious surface index(PISI)outperformed the other indices in obtaining the impervious surface distribution,with the highest accuracy for four spatial resolution images.These comprehensive assessments can provide a valuable guidance for future impervious surface extraction from different spatial resolutions.

Examining the distribution and dynamics of impervious surface in different function zones in Beijing

Impervious surface(IS) is often recognized as the indicator of urban environmental changes. Numerous research efforts have been devoted to studying its spatio-temporal dynamics and ecological effects, especially for the IS in Beijing metropolitan region. However, most previous studies primarily considered the Beijing metropolitan region as a whole without considering the differences and heterogeneity among the function zones. In this study, the subpixel impervious surface results in Beijing within a time series(1991, 2001, 2005, 2011 and 2015) were extracted by means of the classification and regression tree(CART) model combined with change detection models. Then based on the method of standard deviation ellipse, Lorenz curve, contribution index(CI) and landscape metrics, the spatio-temporal dynamics and variations of IS(1991, 2001, 2011 and 2015) in different function zones and districts were analyzed. It is found that the total area of impervious surface in Beijing increased dramatically during the study period, increasing about 144.18%. The deflection angle of major axis of standard deviation ellipse decreased from 47.15° to 38.82°, indicating the major development axis in Beijing gradually moved from northeast-southwest to north-south. Moreover, the heterogeneity of impervious surface’s distribution among 16 districts weakened gradually, but the CI values and landscape metrics in four function zones differed greatly. The urban function extended zone(UFEZ), the main source of the growth of IS in Beijing, had the highest CI values. Its lowest CI value was 1.79 that is still much higher than the highest CI value in other function zones. The core function zone(CFZ), the traditional aggregation zone of impervious surface, had the highest contagion index(CONTAG) values, but it contributed less than UFEZ due to its small area. The CI value of the new urban developed zone(NUDZ) increased rapidly, and it increased from negative to positive and multiplied, becoming animportant contributor to the rise of urban impervious surface. However, the ecological conservation zone(ECZ) had a constant negative contribution all the time, and its CI value decreased gradually. Moreover, the landscape metrics and centroids of impervious surface in different density classes differed greatly. The high-density impervious surface had a more compact configuration and a greater impact on the eco-environment.

Comparison of spatial structures of urban agglomerations between the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Boswash based on the subpixel-level impervious surface coverage product

Under the background of China's rapid urbanization, study on comparative analysis of the spatial structure of urban agglomerations between China and the US can provide the policy proposals of space optimization for the Chinese government. Taking the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei(BTH) and Boswash as study area, we mapped the subpixel-level impervious surface coverage of the BTH and Boswash, respectively, from 1972 to 2011. Further, landscape metrics, gravitational model and spatial analysis were used to analyze the differences of the spatial structures between the BTH and Boswash. The results showed that(1) the area of the impervious surface increased rapidly in the BTH, while those remained stable in the Boswash.(2) The spatial structure of the BTH experienced different periods including isolated cities stage, dual-core cities stage, group cities stage and network-style cities stage, while those of the Boswash was more stable, and its spatial pattern showed a "point-axis" structure.(3) The spatial pattern of high-high assembling regions of the impervious surface exhibited a "standing pancake" feature in the BTH, while those showed a "multi-center, local aggregation and global discrete" feature in the Boswash.(4) All the percentages of the impervious surface of ecological, living, and production land of the BTH were higher than those of the Boswash. At last, from the perspective of space optimization of urban agglomeration, the development proposals for the BTH were proposed.

Seasonal effects of impervious surface estimation in subtropical monsoon regions

Accurate impervious surface estimation(ISE)is challenging due to the diversity of land covers and the vegetation phenology and climate.This study investigates the variation of impervious surfaces estimated from different seasons of satellite images and the seasonal sensitivity of different methods.Four Landsat ETM?images of four different seasons and two popular methods(i.e.artificial neural network(ANN)and support vector machine(SVM))are employed to estimate the impervious surface on the pixel level.Results indicate that winter(dry season)is the best season to estimate impervious surface even though plants are not in their growing season.Less cloud and less variable source areas(VSA)(seasonal water body)become the major advantages of winter for the ISE,as cloud is easily confusedwith bright impervious surfaces,andwater in VSA is confusedwith dark impervious surfaces due to their similar spectral reflectance.For the seasonal sensitivity of methods,ANN appears more stable as its accuracy varied less than that obtained with SVM.However,both the methods showed a general consistency of the seasonal changes of the accuracy,indicating that winter time is the best season for impervious surfaces estimation with optical satellite images in subtropical monsoon regions.

Multi-resolution integration of land cover for sub-pixel estimation of urban impervious surface and forest cover

A methodology is presented for estimating percent coverage of impervious surface(IS)and forest cover(FC)within Landsat thematic mapper(TM)pixels of urban areas.High-resolution multi-spectral images from Quickbird(QB)play a key role in the sub-pixel mapping process by providing information on the spatial distributions of ISs and FCs at 2.4 m ground sampling intervals.Thematic classifications,also derived from the Landsat imagery,have then been employed to define relationships between 30 m Landsat-derived greenness values and percent IS and FC.By also utilizing land cover/land use classification derived from Landsat and defining unique relationships for urban sub-classes(i.e.residential,commercial/industrial,open land),confusion between impervious and fallow agricultural lands has been overcome.Test results are presented for Ottawa-Gatineau,an urban area that encompasses many aspects typical of the North American urban landscape.Multiple QB scenes have been acquired for this urban centre,thereby allowing us to undertake an in-depth study of the error budgets associated with the fractional inference process.

Understanding the effects of the impervious surfaces pattern on land surface temperature in an urban area

It is well known that urban impervious surface （IS） has a warming effect on urban land surface temperature （LST）. However, the influence of an IS＇s structure, components, and spatial distribution on LST has rarely been quantitatively studied within strictly urban areas. Using ETM＋ remote sensing images from the downtown area of Shanghai, China in 2010, this study characterized and quantified the influence of the IS spatial pattern on LST by selecting the percent cover of each IS cover feature and ten configuration metrics. The IS fraction was estimated by linear spectral mixture analysis （LSMA）, and LST was retrieved using a mono-window algorithm. The results indicate that high fraction IS cover features account for the majority of the study area. The high fraction IS cover features are widely distributed and concentrated in groups, which is similar with that of high temperature zones. Both the percent composition and the configuration of IS cover features greatly affect the magnitude of LST, but the percent composition is a more important factor in determining LST than the configuration of those features. The significances and effects of the given configuration variables on LST vary greatly among IS cover features.

Mapping impervious surfaces with a hierarchical spectral mixture analysis incorporating endmember spatial distribution

Impervious surface mapping is essential for urban environmental studies.Spectral Mixture Analysis(SMA)and its extensions are widely employed in impervious surface estimation from medium-resolution images.For SMA,inappropriate endmember combinations and inadequate endmember classes have been recognized as the primary reasons for estimation errors.Meanwhile,the spectral-only SMA,without considering urban spatial distribution,fails to consider spectral variability in an adequate manner.The lack of endmember class diversity and their spatial variations lead to over/underestimation.To mitigate these issues,this study integrates a hierarchical strategy and spatially varied endmember spectra to map impervious surface abundance,taking Wuhan and Wuzhou as two study areas.Specifically,the piecewise convex multiple-model endmember detection algorithm is applied to automatically hierarch-ize images into three regions,and distinct endmember combinations are independently developed in each region.Then,spatially varied endmember spectra are synthesized through neighboring spectra using the distance-based weight.Comparative analysis indicates that the proposed method achieves better performance than Hierarchical SMA and Fixed Four-endmembers SMA in terms of MAE,SE,and RMSE.Further analysis suggests that the hierarch-ical strategy can expand endmember class types and considerably improve the performance for the study areas in general,specifically in less developed areas.Moreover,we find that spatially varied endmember spectra facilitate the reduction of heterogeneous surface material variations and achieve the improved performance in developed areas.

Change of impervious surface area and its impacts on urban landscape:an example of Shenyang between 2010 and 2017

Introduction:One of the most striking features of urbanization is the replacement of the original natural land cover type by artificial impervious surface area(ISA).However,the extent of the contribution of various environmental factors,especially the growth of 3D space to ISA expansion,and the scope and mechanism of their influences in dramatically expanding cities,are yet to be determined.The boosted regression tree(BRT)model was adopted to analyze the main influencing factors and driving mechanisms of ISA change in Shenyang,China between 2010 and 2017.Outcomes:The nearly complete-coverage ISA(≥0.7)increased from 42%in 2010 to 47%in 2017.The percentage of landscape with a high ISA fraction increased,while the landscape evenness and diversity of ISA decreased.The BRT analysis revealed that elevation,regional population density,and landscape class had the largest influences on the change of urban ISA,contributing 22.55%,18.16%,and 11.18%to the model,respectively.Conclusion:Overall,topographic and socioeconomic factors had the greatest influence on urban ISA change in Shenyang,followed by land use type and building pattern indices.The trend of high aggregation was strong in large commercial and residential areas.The 3D expansion of the city had an influence on its areal expansion.

Monitoring rapid urban expansion using a multi-temporal RGB-impervious surface model

In this paper, we developed a novel method of combining remote sensing tools at the sub-pixel level for accurate identification of impervious surface time series changes. We examined the use of the red-green-blue impervious surface model (RGB-IS) in detecting time series internal modification of urban regions by integrating Landsat data collected over four different periods between 1987 and 2009 (i.e., 1987, 2000, 2002, and 2009). The performance of this approach was compared with two conventional methods, namely standard RGB-normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and post-classification technique. In contrast to conventional techniques, RGB-IS could monitor between-class changes, within-class changes, and location of these modifications. The proposed method was independent of seasonal changes and was also able to serve as a useful alternative for quick mapping growth hotspots and updating transportation corridor map. The results also showed that Cixi County, Zhejiang Province, China experienced tremendous impervious surface changes, especially along the corridors of newly constructed highways and around urban areas over the past 22 years.

Geospatial Analysis of Urban Heat Island Effects and Tree Equity

In recent decades, Urban Heat Island Effects have become more pronounced and more widely examined. Despite great technological advances, our current societies still experience great spatial disparity in urban forest access. Urban Heat Island Effects are measurable phenomenon that are being experienced by the world’s most urbanized areas, including increased summer high temperatures and lower evapotranspiration from having impervious surfaces instead of vegetation and trees. Tree canopy cover is our natural mitigation tool that absorbs sunlight for photosynthesis, protects humans from incoming radiation, and releases cooling moisture into the air. Unfortunately, urban areas typically have low levels of vegetation. Vulnerable urban communities are lower-income areas of inner cities with less access to heat protection like air conditioners. This study uses mean evapotranspiration levels to assess the variability of urban heat island effects across the state of Tennessee. Results show that increased developed land surface cover in Tennessee creates measurable changes in atmospheric evapotranspiration. As a result, the mean evapotranspiration levels in areas with less tree vegetation are significantly lower than the surrounding forested areas. Central areas of urban cities in Tennessee had lower mean evapotranspiration recordings than surrounding areas with less development. This work demonstrates the need for increased tree canopy coverage.