Geomorphic zones mapping and development status monitoring of coral reefs in Xisha, China

摘要

Mapping regional spatial patterns of coral reef geomorphology provides the primary information to understand the constructive processes in the reef ecosystem. The technique of remote sensing plays an increasingly important role in the protection and management of coral reef ecosystems. In this paper, an object-based image analysis (OBIA) method was presented to map intra-reef geomorphology of coral reefs in Xisha, China using Landsat 8 satellite imagery. Based on the geomorphic results, five indices were further calculated to describe the atoll shape characteristics and evaluate the development status of different coral reefs in Xisha.