Abstract
Time series monitoring of earthquake-stricken areas is significant in evaluating post-disaster reconstruction and recovery. The time series of nighttime light (NTL) data collected by the defense meteorological satellite program-operational linescan system (DMSP/OLS) sensors provides a unique and valuable resource to study changes in human activity (HA) because of the long period of available data. In this paper, the DMSP/OLS NTL images’ digital number (DN) is used as a proxy for the intensity of HA since there is a high correlation between them. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology to analyze the changes of intensity and distribution of HA in different areas affected by a 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan, China. In order to compare the trends of HA before and after the earthquake, the DMSP/OLS NTL images from 2003 to 2013 were processed and analyzed. However, their analysis capability is greatly limited owing to a lack of in-flight calibration. To improve the continuity and comparability of DMSP/OLS NTL images, this study developed an automatic intercalibration method to systematically correct NTL data. The results reveal that: (1) compared with the HA before the earthquake, the reconstruction and recovery of the Wenchuan earthquake have led to a significant increase of HA in earthquake-stricken areas within three years after the earthquake; (2) the fluctuation of HA in a severely-affected area is greater than that in a less-affected area; (3) recovery efforts increase development in the most affected areas to levels that exceeded the rates in similar areas which experienced less damage; and (4) areas alongside roads and close to reconstruction projects exhibited increased development in regions with otherwise low human activity.
Highlights
A catastrophic earthquake measuring Mw 7.9 struck Sichuan Province in Southwestern China on 12 May 2008, representing one of the country’s worst natural disasters
Remote sensing technology has played a vital role in accessing the material losses and impacts on human society and environmental landscapes caused by the Wenchuan earthquake [2,3]
Images is lower than all other images [22]—we chose the 2008F16 image which lies in the middle of the DMSP/OLS time series as the reference image to minimize the effects from longer time intervals
Summary
A catastrophic earthquake measuring Mw 7.9 struck Sichuan Province in Southwestern China on 12 May 2008, representing one of the country’s worst natural disasters. The Wenchuan Earthquake severely struck 237 counties and cities, seriously damaging over 100,000 square kilometers of area, with the direct economic loss reaching 845.2 billion RMB [1]. Remote sensing technology has played a vital role in accessing the material losses and impacts on human society and environmental landscapes caused by the Wenchuan earthquake [2,3]. The impact of disasters on the ecological environment is a hotspot of research, such as damaged croplands [8], soil mass [9], and ecosystems of natural reserves [10]
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