Remote sensing and geographic information system techniques are significant and popular approaches that have been used in recent years to measure and map urban growth patterns. This paper primarily aims to provide a basis for a literature review of urban growth measurement and mapping by using different methods. For this purpose, the general characteristics of measuring and mapping urban growth patterns are described and classified. The strengths and weaknesses of the various methods have been identified from an analysis and discussion of the characteristics of the techniques. Results of reviews confirm that combining quantitative and qualitative techniques, such as Shannon approach and change detection, to measure and map urban growth patterns will improve understanding of the phenomenon of urban growth. Moreover, using social and economic data such as population and income data will improve understanding of the relationships between causes and effects. The integration of social and economic factors with quantitative and qualitative techniques will contribute to a perfect evaluation of urban growth patterns and land use changes, taking technical, social, economic, spatial, and temporal factors into account.
The geological terrain mapping conducted by the Department of Mineral and Geosciences, Malaysia (JMG) is time-consuming especially for inaccessible or remote area. In order to improve the current practice, remotely sensed data such as aerial photographs and Landsat imagery were used to identify geological terrain features in Cameron Highlands, Pahang. It was found that features such as hillcrest, sideslope, footslope, straight slope, convex slope and concave slope were easily delineated using aerial photographs draped over a digital elevation model (DEM) compared to using Landsat imagery.
Determining the response of basin water resources to rainfall and temperature fluctuations is a crucial source of information for basins water resources planning and management. The study used a descriptive, Mann-Kendall trend test (M-K) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR). The mean, standard deviations and variations were spatially interpolated using the geostatistical technique. The trend results showed an increase in both rainfall and temperature series. However, the only statistically significant trends were in June and September for rainfall series and in February, May, and April for the temperature series. Rainfall exhibited high temporal variability whereas temperature showed high spatial variability. The intra-annual variability was higher than the inter-annual variability, suggesting that the local climate is largely controlled by natural force. The result of the multiple linear regression (R2=0.431), indicates that the hydrology and water resources of the basin are impacted largely by factors not considered in this study such as land use changes, infiltration, and rate of evaporation among others. However, among the factor considered, rainfall (Beta = 0.505; P = 001) has the highest impacts on the river discharge behavior and should be given preference while addressing water resources predicaments in the catchment.