Extracting the dynamics of urban expansion in China using DMSP-OLS nighttime light data from 1992 to 2008

Timely and accurate information about the dynamics of urban expansion is vital to reveal the relationships between urban expansion and the ecosystem, to optimize land use patterns, and to promote the effective development of cities in China. Nighttime stable light data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's Operational Line-scan System (DMSP-OLS) Nighttime Lights Time Series dataset provide a new source of information that can quickly reveal the dynamics of urban expansion. However, the DMSP-OLS sensor has no on-board calibration, which makes it difficult to directly compare time series data from multiple satellites. This study developed a new method for systematically correcting multi-year multi-satellite nighttime stable lights data and rapidly extracting the dynamics of urban expansion based on this corrected data for China from 1992 to 2008. The results revealed that the proposed method effectively reduced abnormal discrepancy within the nighttime stable light data and improved continuity and comparability. The dynamics of urban expansion in China from 1992 to 2008 were extracted with an average overall accuracy of 82.74% and an average Kappa of 0.40.

►We developed a new method for systematically correcting multi-year multi-satellite nighttime stable lights (NSL) data in China. ► Our method effectively reduced abnormal discrepancy within the NSL data and improved continuity and comparability. ► We rapidly extracted the dynamics of urban expansion in China from 1992 to 2008 with high accuracy. ► Our results provided one new way to understand the urban expansion in China at the national scale.