Land use and land cover change detection with Landsat MSS and SPOT HRV data in Hong Kong

The objective of this paper is to map urban expansion in Hong Kong from 1979 to 1987 with a Landsat MSS and a SPOT HRV data. The data were radiometrically calibrated and geometrically registered. Three change detection techniques were applied. First, image overlay was used to enhance change areas visually. Second, a standardized principal components analysis was performed to yield minor components which were change related vectors. A thresholding technique was employed to separate the areas of changes from those of no-change. A binary change mask was created. Third, a post-classification comparison was merged with the change mask to identify the nature of specific land use and land cover changes. Major land development in the city can be easily detected and mapped with these techniques.