Settlement detection and impervious surface estimation in the Mekong Delta using optical and SAR remote sensing data

Information about the extent of impervious surface and its rate of development is a valuable indicator of urban growth and environmental quality and thus relevant for a wide range of research related to urban ecosystems. Using SPOT-5 data from 2005 to 2009, impervious surface was estimated at a subpixel level for the area of Can Tho province in the Mekong Delta, based on a Support Vector Regression model. Training data comprised a set of SPOT-5 reflectance values each associated with an individual value of subpixel imperviousness as their respective labels. The latter were obtained on the basis of a land cover map, which in turn was derived from a pansharpened QB subset by means of an object-oriented image classification approach. In addition, by varying different sets of training data in the model building process the spectral interrelationships between the urban land cover classes (water, bare soil, vegetation, and impervious surface) and their effect on the estimation of subpixel imperviousness could be examined. In order to exclude irrelevant areas (natural/undeveloped land) from the impervious surface estimation process, single-polarised TerraSAR-X data were used to delineate settlement areas by an object-oriented image classification approach. Furthermore, a change detection method was applied for the respective time period in order to test the suitability of the approach for the automated detection of structural developments within the urban topography. Settlement areas were correctly identified with overall accuracies between 81% and 94%, whilst the comparison of the modelled impervious estimates to the training values gave an absolute mean error below 15%. The results prove the suitability of the approach for an area-wide but selective mapping and monitoring of impervious surface cover within settlement areas only.

► We delineated settlements from TerraSAR-X data by object-based image classification.
► We estimated subpixel impervious surface within settlement areas using SPOT-5 data.
► Structural changes in the urban topography were identified between 2005 and 2009.
► The approach is suitable for the monitoring of urban dynamics at subpixel level.