Remotely sensed water turbidity dynamics and its potential driving factors in Wuhan, an urbanizing city of China

•Landsat data can map turbidity in Wuhan, China during its urbanization.•Turbidity shows fluctuating and declining trends associated with city policies.•Increases of ISA and NDVI are correlated to decline of turbidity since 2005.•Rainfall and human-activities affect seasonal and annual variations of turbidity.