Fan, C.; Gui, F.; Wang, L., and Zhao, S., 2020. Evaluation of environmental quality based on remote sensing data in the coastal lands of eastern China. Journal of Coastal Research, 36(6), 1229–1236. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Environment transformation is inevitable in the coastal lands of eastern China. It is a land characterized by rapid urbanization, which requires an objective method to evaluate environmental quality (EQ). In this study, a remote sensing–based theoretical research framework was used to create a synthetic remote sensing environmental index (RSEI). Then, spatio-temporal characteristics and transformation of EQ were evaluated by applying the RSEI to the coastal lands of Hangzhou Bay. Results demonstrated that: (1) the background value of the RSEI remained stable, but the standard deviation of the RSEI increased from 0.227 to 0.268 from 2000 to 2015; (2) the overall structure of EQ became polarized such that the two extreme grades (excellent and poor) increased by 13.000%; and (3) the lands where prominent EQ changes occurred were in Yinzhou (improvement) and Pinghu (degradation) in Hangzhou Bay.