Hamzah R Author

Research Article Open Access

An Improved Method for Estimating the Percentage Impervious Surface Area from MODIS and DMSP-OLS Night time Light Data

Author(s):

Matsushita B, Pok S, Jiang D, Hamzah R

The percentage of impervious surface area (ISA%) in a watershed has been suggested to be an important indicator for evaluating watershed health since the 1990s. Thus, an accurate and frequently updated ISA% map is needed by decision-makers and environmental managers. Recently, Pok developed an easily implemented method (hereafter referred to as the Pok17 method) for estimating ISA% from a moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) time-series and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Line-scan System (DMSP-OLS) nighttime light (NTL) data. However, it was found that the Pok17 method systematically overestimated ISA % values in rural areas (i.e., pixels with lower ISA% values). In this study, we improved the original Pok17 method to mitigate these ove... view more»

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