A novel approach for quantifying high-frequency urban land cover changes at the block level with scarce clear-sky Landsat observations

Abstract Urban heat island (UHI) is a phenomenon which may have adverse effects on our environment and is stimulated as a result of urbanisation or land cover changes. Thermal remote sensing has been found beneficial to study the effect of urbanisation on UHI intensity. This paper analyses the variation in Land surface temperature (LST) with land cover changes in Varanasi city of India from 1989 to 2018 using Landsat satellite images. A new index named Urban Heat Intensity Ratio Index (UHIRI) was proposed to quantify the urban heat intensity from 1989 to 2018 which was found to increase from 0.36 in year 1989 to 0.87 in year 2018. Further, contribution of each land cover towards UHI was determined using Land cover contribution index (LCCI). The negative value of LCCI for water and vegetation indicates its negative contribution towards UHI whereas positive value of LCCI for bare soil and built-ups depicted its positive contribution towards UHI. The LCCI value for urban land cover shows significant increase in 29 years i.e. 0.49, 1.43, 3.40, 4.37 for years 1989, 1997, 2008 and 2018 respectively. The change in normalized LST from years 1989 to 2018 for the conversion of bare land to built-ups and vegetation to built-ups were found to be as -0.11 and 0.42 respectively. This led to conclusion that the replacement of vegetation with urban land cover has severe impact on increasing UHI intensity.

Download Full-text

Urban land cover changes assessment by satellite remote sensing imagery

10.1117/12.830198 ◽

2009 ◽

Author(s):

Maria A. Zoran

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Land Cover ◽

Satellite Remote Sensing ◽

Urban Land ◽

Land Cover Changes ◽

Remote Sensing Imagery ◽

Urban Land Cover

Download Full-text

Monitoring urban land cover changes at the urban fringe from SPOT HRV imagery in south-east England

International Journal of Remote Sensing ◽

10.1080/01431168908903937 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 953-963 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

N. A. QUARMBY ◽

J. L. CUSHNIE

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Urban Land ◽

Urban Fringe ◽

Land Cover Changes ◽

Urban Land Cover ◽

South East England

Download Full-text

Influence of urban land cover changes and climate change for the exposure of European cities to flooding during high-intensity precipitation

Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences ◽

10.5194/piahs-370-21-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 370 ◽

pp. 21-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

P. Skougaard Kaspersen ◽

N. Høegh Ravn ◽

K. Arnbjerg-Nielsen ◽

H. Madsen ◽

M. Drews

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Land Cover ◽

High Intensity ◽

Overland Flow ◽

Urban Land ◽

Land Cover Changes ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

European Cities ◽

Urban Land Cover ◽

Pluvial Flooding

Abstract. The extent and location of impervious surfaces within urban areas due to past and present city development strongly affects the amount and velocity of run-off during high-intensity rainfall and consequently influences the exposure of cities towards flooding. The frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall are expected to increase in many places due to climate change and thus further exacerbate the risk of pluvial flooding. This paper presents a combined hydrological-hydrodynamic modelling and remote sensing approach suitable for examining the susceptibility of European cities to pluvial flooding owing to recent changes in urban land cover, under present and future climatic conditions. Estimated changes in impervious urban surfaces based on Landsat satellite imagery covering the period 1984–2014 are combined with regionally downscaled estimates of current and expected future rainfall extremes to enable 2-D overland flow simulations and flood hazard assessments. The methodology is evaluated for the Danish city of Odense. Results suggest that the past 30 years of urban development alone has increased the city's exposure to pluvial flooding by 6% for 10-year rainfall up to 26% for 100-year rainfall. Corresponding estimates for RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate change scenarios (2071–2100) are in the order of 40 and 100%, indicating that land cover changes within cities can play a central role for the cities' exposure to flooding and conversely also for their adaptation to a changed climate.

Download Full-text