Island building in the South China Sea: detection of turbidity plumes and artificial islands using Landsat and MODIS data.

ABSTRACT: The South China Sea is currently in a state of intense geopolitical conflict, with six countries claiming sovereignty over some or all of the area. Recently, several countries have carried out island building projects in the Spratly Islands, converting portions of coral reefs into artificial islands. Aerial photography and high resolution satellites can capture snapshots of this construction, but such data are lacking in temporal resolution and spatial scope. In contrast, lower resolution satellite sensors with regular repeat sampling allow for more rigorous assessment and monitoring of changes to the reefs and surrounding areas. Using Landsat-8 data at ≥15-m resolution, we estimated that over 15 km(2) of submerged coral reef area was converted to artificial islands between June 2013 and D

SUBMITTER: Barnes BB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5024115 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature