Global mapping of artificial surfaces at 30-m resolution

Urbanization is expected to accelerate with population growth and economic development at the global scale. The artificial surface is the main land cover form of urbanization. On the one hand, urbanization provides spaces for industry, economic activities and residence. On the other hand, artificial surfaces change the earth surface to a large extent, thus significantly affecting natural processes such as the heat exchange, hydrological processes and ecological balance. Therefore, the global mapping of artificial surfaces is valuable for both natural science and social science. This study produced the global artificial surface maps at 30-m resolution for two base-years using the satellite images acquired around 2000 and 2010. First, we proposed a new definition of “artificial surface” based on patch level with consideration of its geographic meaning and image features at 30-m resolution. Second, pixel-based and object-based image processing techniques were combined for the extraction of artificial surface patches. Finally, human editing and a quality control system were employed to guarantee the quality of global mapping. Independent accuracy assessments show that the user’s accuracy of this product is higher than 80%. It can be concluded that the product is the most reliable one among all the available global datasets of artificial surfaces (or related types). The data can significantly contribute to various research fields, such as urbanization and ecosystem assessment.