REMOTE SENSING TO ANALYZE THE CHANGES OF SURFACE BIOPHYSICAL PARAMETERS IN VIETNAM’S URBANIZED AREA

摘要

Hochiminh City, the biggest industrial, commercial center in Vietnam with population of more than 5rnmillions people, has experiencing rapid urban expansion during the last decade. A large amount of forestrnand agricultural land has been converted into housing, infrastructure and industrial estates. The resultantrnimpervious urban surface alters the surface energy balance and surface runoff, which in turn could posernserious environmental problems for its inhabitants (e.g., urban waterlogged and thermal pollution). In thisrnpaper, we utilize satellite images (TM and ASTER) to derive surface biophysical parameters such asrnfractional vegetation cover (Fr), surface radiant temperature (Ts), surface moisture availability (M0) andrnevapotranspiration fraction (ET/Rn) are derived for different years during 1989 – 2002 period. Thernchanges over the years of surface biophysical parameters are, then, examined in association with landusernchanges to illustrate how these parameters respond to rapid urban expansion in Hochiminh City andrnsurrounding region. This study attempts to provide environmental awareness to urban planners in futurernurban development.