2007 Urban Remote Sensing Joint Event Monitoring and Modeling Urban Expansion Using GIS & RS: Case Study from Muscat, Oman * Dr. Talal Al-Awadhi Geography Department, Sultan Qaboos University P.O. Box 42 P.C. 123, Al-Khoudh, Sultanate of Oman Tel: + 968 99250060 Fax: 00968 515851
[email protected] Abstract Oman is one example of such population growth: the total population in the 2003 Census reached 2340815, with an This research aims to measure and to model the urban expansion of annual increase of 2.1%. Population increase among the Omani Greater Muscat using the combined techniques of geographical was higher than that among other nationalities residing in information systems (GIS) and satellite remote sensing (RS). Basing Oman due to the steady ‘Omanisation’ of employment posts. on detailed datasets and knowledge of historical land use maps, The UN predicts that the total population of Oman will reach 5 attempts were made to simulate future growth patterns of the city. A million by 2050 (Figure 2). significantly detailed dataset of land use for Greater Muscat, derived from an assemblage of aerial photographs and high resolution 5000 satellite imagery, was assessed. The outcome of this exercise was the design of six land use maps covering the years 1960, 1970, 1980, 4500 4000 1990, 2000 and 2003. The results show that the area of Greater 3500 Muscat has expanded by 650% in the period 1970-2003 with an 3000 annual growth rate of approximately 20%. 2500 2000 An important objective of this study is to determine the extent to 1500 which such changes could be modeled and used to forecast and 1000 simulate patterns of change in the future.