Gravity Center Change in the Coastal Area of the Pearl River Estuary Based on GIS and RS

Abstract

Land use change was the hottest topic in the research field of globe changing. The Coastal Area of the Pearl River Estuary where the zone has a typical feature of land use change and significant ecological effects was selected as a case. Applying the satellite images of Landsat-TM and the integrating techniques of GIS and RS, the present study analyzed the temporal and spatial processes and gravity center change in the Coastal Area of the Pearl River Estuary from 1988 to 2002. The classified results of multi-temporal TM remote sensing image data and transfer matrix of land use revealed that land use had been changed significantly from 1988 to 2002 in the Coastal Area of the Pearl River Estuary. Various types of land use convert frequently, which mainly reflect in the waters, the cultivated land loss and construction land increase and their different direction migration of the gravity center. After 1995 land use degree of the study area grows slower, which shows the Coastal Area of the Pearl River Estuary emphasized the overall development after the rapid expansion. On the east of the Coastal Area of the Pearl River Estuary the land use change which has experienced more rapid change represented the overall trend.