Selection and Utilization of Satellite Imagery for Environmental Assessment in Arid Regions - in the Kuche Area, Tarim Basin, China

The arid regions of western China are currently the focus of extensive exploration and development. This paper reports on recent experience gained by Chinese and Canadian project team members in the use of a variety of Earth observation satellite imagery for oil exploration and environmental assessment exercises in the Kuche area of Xinjiang. Through careful archival data selection and more recent data acquisition schemes, we have established several time series of MODIS, Landsat and Radarsat imagery in order to obtain a better understanding for daily, seasonal as well as decadal changes of the natural environment as well as man-made environmental features.