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Published on: October 16, 2018
Developing a method for assessing environmental sustainability based on the Google Earth Engine platform
Xianwang Xia1, Chentai Jiao1, Shixiong Song2,3
1State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology (ESPRE), Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Haidian District, Xinjiekouwai Street No. 19, Beijing, 100875, People's Republic of China.
Environmental sustainability in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region fluctuated over 30 years. Despite a dip in 2000, overall environmental sustainability improved, with 56% of the area showing positive changes.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Urban Planning
- Remote Sensing
Background:
- Environmental sustainability is crucial for urban agglomeration development.
- Assessing long-term regional environmental sustainability is complex.
- The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Jing-Jin-Ji) region serves as a key case study.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and apply a method for assessing long-term regional environmental sustainability.
- To analyze environmental sustainability trends in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration from 1983 to 2016.
- To provide a scientific reference for enhancing regional environmental sustainability.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Google Earth Engine (GEE) to process 5206 Landsat remote sensing images (1983-2016).
- Developed a Comprehensive Environmental Index (CEI) based on the UN Commission on Sustainable Development framework.
- Analyzed spatial and temporal variations in environmental sustainability.
Main Results:
- Regional environmental sustainability exhibited a fluctuating trend: rise, fall, then rise again over 30 years.
- The average CEI increased from 0.621 (1985) to 0.672 (2015), with a low of 0.618 in 2000.
- Environmental sustainability improved in 56% of the region, notably in Hengshui, Xingtai, and Cangzhou.
Conclusions:
- The GEE-based method offers an automatic, rapid, and extensible approach for regional environmental sustainability assessment.
- The study highlights significant regional variations and overall improvement in environmental sustainability.
- Findings provide a scientific basis for targeted environmental management strategies in urban agglomerations.
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