Satellite-based investigation on the surface cooling effects of urban parks and their range – a case study for North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Erdkunde ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-223
Author(s):  
Leonie Krelaus ◽  
Joy Apfel ◽  
Andreas Rienow
Keyword(s):  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
Mixed Pixels ◽  
Cooling Effects ◽  
The Impact

Green infrastructure (GI) has a cooling effect owing to shading and evapotranspiration and therefore has a climate regulating function within metropolitan areas. Urban parks are a type of GI that act as park cool islands (PCIs) and play a major role in mitigating the surface urban heat island. This study aims to (1) investigate the status quo of the surface cooling effect intensity of selected urban parks in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), including their cooling range, and to (2) propose a methodological approach for investigating the PCI intensity using remote sensing data considering the occurrence of mixed pixels. To achieve these tasks, land surface temperature values based on Landsat 8 images from three different days in 2018 and 2019 were observed. In addition, a method for the reduction of mixed pixels was developed. The results confirm a surface cooling effect of 1–5 K and thus the existence of a PCI. The impact of the surface cooling effect was found within a minimum range of 150 m. However, the process of identifying the cooling area was complicated by the high proportion of GI in cities in NRW, compared to other study areas. Further research on the influencing parameters of the surface cooling effect is needed.

scholarly journals Biophysical feedback of forest canopy height on land surface temperature over contiguous United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhijiang Zhang ◽  
Xinxin Li ◽  
Hongguang Liu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Canopy Height ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Cooling Effects ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Forests are considered important to the mitigation of climate change. Biophysical effects of afforestation and deforestation on land surface temperature (LST) have been extensively documented. As a fundamental variable of forest structure, however, few studies have investigated the biophysical feedback of forest canopy height changes on LST at large scale. This study is designed to investigate the impact of forest canopy height changes on local land LST and clarify the biophysical processes controlling LST change from 2003 to 2005 over contiguous United States (CONUS) based on satellite observations. To this end, one satellite-based forest canopy height product is selected, and space-for-time approach together with energy balance equation is applied. Results show that for different forest types, namely evergreen forest (EF), deciduous forest (DF), and mixed forest (MF), taller forests present a net cooling effect (0.056 to 0.448 K) than shorter forests at annual scale. The increase in net radiation and sensible heat flux was less than the increase in the latent heat flux when forest canopy height classes converting from shorter to taller, resulting in annual net cooling effects. Furthermore, the cooling effect of EF is stronger than DF and MF, whether for tall, medium, or short forest canopy height classes. Multiple regression analysis reveals that the changes in biophysical components can effectively explain the LST change during growing season. Our findings provide a new insight for forest management decision in the purpose of mitigating climate warming.

scholarly journals Assessing the Cooling Effect of Four Urban Parks of Different Sizes in a Temperate Continental Climate Zone: Wroclaw (Poland)

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1136
Author(s):  
Jan Blachowski ◽  
Monika Hajnrych
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Shape Index ◽  
Forest Area ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Cooling Effects ◽  
Continental Climate

Urban parks have been known to form park cooling islands (PCI), which can effectively alleviate the effect of urban heat islands (UHI) in cities. This paper presents results obtained for four different size parks in the city of Wroclaw, which is located in a temperate continental climate. The number of publications for urban areas located in this type of climate and cities is low compared to sites in hot and humid areas. Land surface temperature (LST) maps were developed from Landsat 8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) data acquired during three hottest weather periods between 2017 and 2019. Metrics and spatial statistics characterising the four parks selected for the analysis based on their size were calculated. These included: perimeter, area, landscape shape index (LSI) and PLC (forest area) park metrics, and Park Cooling Area (PCA), Park Cooling Efficiency (PCE), Park Cooling Gradient (PCG), Park Cooling Island (PCI) and Extended Park Cooling Island (PCIe) spatial indexes. The averaged PCIe values ranged from 2.0 to 3.6 °C, PCI from 1.9 to 3.6 °C, PCG from 0.7 to 2.2 °C, PCE from 5.3 to 11.5, and PCA from 78.8 to 691.8 ha depending on the park. The cooling distance varied from 110 m to 925 m depending on park size, forest area and land use type in the park’s vicinity. The study provides new insight into urban park cooling effects in a medium sized city located in a temperate continental climate, and the role of parks in regulation of urban temperature to mitigate the UHI effect.

scholarly journals Impacts of Building Features on the Cooling Effect of Vegetation in Community-Based MicroClimate: Recognition, Measurement and Simulation from a Case Study of Beijing

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (23) ◽  
pp. 8915
Author(s):  
Wei Chen ◽  
Jianjun Zhang ◽  
Xuelian Shi ◽  
Shidong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Building Density ◽  
The Impact

Due to the accumulation of heat, the urban environment and human health are threatened. Land surface cover has effects on the thermal environment; nevertheless, the effects of land surface features and spatial patterns remain poorly known in a community-based microclimate. This study quantified and verified the impacts of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) on land surface temperature (LST) (K, the slope of the trend line of a linear regression between NDVI and LST) in different building density by using building outline and Landsat 8 satellite imagery. Comparing the cooling effect and distribution of vegetation showed that the vegetative cover had a cooling effect on LST, characterized by synchronous change, and building density had a significant impact on the cooling effect of vegetation. Through identification and simulation, it was found that the key factor is the wind speed between the buildings because, in different building densities, the wind speed was different, and studies had shown that when the building density was between 0.35 and 0.50, the wind speed between buildings was higher, resulting in a better cooling effect of vegetation. This conclusion has important reference significance for urban planning and mitigating the impact of the thermal environment on human health.

Impact of LULC Changes on LST in Rajshahi District of Bangladesh: A Remote Sensing Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulla Al Kafy ◽  
Abdullah Al-Faisal ◽  
Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan ◽  
Md. Soumik Sikdar ◽  
Mohammad Hasib Hasan Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Lulc Changes ◽  
The Impact

Urbanization has been contributing more in global climate warming, with more than 50% of the population living in cities. Rapid population growth and change in land use / land cover (LULC) are closely linked. The transformation of LULC due to rapid urban expansion significantly affects the functions of biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as local and regional climates. Improper planning and uncontrolled management of LULC changes profoundly contribute to the rise of urban land surface temperature (LST). This study evaluates the impact of LULC changes on LST for 1997, 2007 and 2017 in the Rajshahi district (Bangladesh) using multi-temporal and multi-spectral Landsat 8 OLI and Landsat 5 TM satellite data sets. The analysis of LULC changes exposed a remarkable increase in the built-up areas and a significant decrease in the vegetation and agricultural land. The built-up area was increased almost double in last 20 years in the study area. The distribution of changes in LST shows that built-up areas recorded the highest temperature followed by bare land, vegetation and agricultural land and water bodies. The LULC-LST profiles also revealed the highest temperature in built-up areas and the lowest temperature in water bodies. In the last 20 years, LST was increased about 13ºC. The study demonstrates decrease in vegetation cover and increase in non-evaporating surfaces with significantly increases the surface temperature in the study area. Remote-sensing techniques were found one of the suitable techniques for rapid analysis of urban expansions and to identify the impact of urbanization on LST.

scholarly journals Study of the Seasonal Effect of Building Shadows on Urban Land Surface Temperatures Based on Remote Sensing Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke Yu ◽  
Yunhao Chen ◽  
Dandan Wang ◽  
Zixuan Chen ◽  
Adu Gong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Central Area ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Seasonal Effect ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Regulation Mechanism ◽  
The Relationship

Building shadows (BSs) frequently occur in urban areas, and their area and distribution display strong seasonal variations that significantly influence the urban land surface temperature (LST). However, it remains unclear how BSs affect the LST at the city scale because it is difficult to extract the shaded area at the subpixel scale and to connect such areas with the LST at the pixel scale. In this study, we combined the sun angle, building height, building footprint and building occlusion to extract the seasonal spatial distribution of BSs in the central area of Beijing. The effect of BSs on the LST was analyzed using LST retrieved from Landsat-8 thermal infrared sensor data. First, the relationship between the LST patch fragmentation and proportion of BSs in the sample areas was modeled without vegetation. Then, we quantitatively studied the mitigated intensity of the LST in pure impervious surfaces (IS) and vegetation pixels covered by BSs; next, we analyzed the LST sensitivity of these pixels to BSs. The results showed that the existence of BSs influences the fragmentation of the low LST patches strongly from summer to winter. On the other hand, pure IS pixels totally covered by BSs experienced a greater cooling effect, with 3.16 K on 10 July, and the lowest cooling occurred between 14 and 25 December, with a mean of 1.24 K. Without considering the relationship in winter, the LST is nonlinearly correlated to the building shadows ratio (BSR) in pixels, and an approximate 10% increase in the BSR resulted in decreases in the LST of approximately 0.33 K (mean of 16 April and 10 May), 0.37 K (10 July) and 0.24 K (28 September) for pure IS pixels, and 0.18 K, 0.20 K and 0.15 K, respectively, for pure vegetation pixels. Further analysis indicates that the LST of pure IS pixels is more sensitive to BSs than that of vegetation because the self-regulation mechanism of vegetation reduces the cooling effect of BSs. These findings can help urban planners understand the cooling characteristics of BSs and design suitable urban forms to resist urban heat islands (UHIs).

scholarly journals Quantifying the Effects of Urban Form on Land Surface Temperature in Subtropical High-Density Urban Areas Using Machine Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanwei Sun ◽  
Chao Gao ◽  
Jialin Li ◽  
Run Wang ◽  
Jian Liu
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
High Density ◽  
Cooling Effects ◽  
Urban Thermal Environment ◽  
The Impact

It is widely acknowledged that urban form significantly affects urban thermal environment, which is a key element to adapt and mitigate extreme high temperature weather in high-density urban areas. However, few studies have discussed the impact of physical urban form features on the land surface temperature (LST) from a perspective of comprehensive urban spatial structures. This study used the ordinary least-squares regression (OLS) and random forest regression (RF) to distinguish the relative contributions of urban form metrics on LST at three observation scales. Results of this study indicate that more than 90% of the LST variations were explained by selected urban form metrics using RF. Effects of the magnitude and direction of urban form metrics on LST varied with the changes of seasons and observation scales. Overall, building morphology and urban ecological infrastructure had dominant effects on LST variations in high-density urban centers. Urban green space and water bodies demonstrated stronger cooling effects, especially in summer. Building density (BD) exhibited significant positive effects on LST, whereas the floor area ratio (FAR) showed a negative influence on LST. The results can be applied to investigate and implement urban thermal environment mitigation planning for city managers and planners.

scholarly journals Monitoring Effect of Spatial Growth on Land Surface Temperature in Dhaka

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Mustafizur Rahman ◽  
Ram Avtar ◽  
Ali P. Yunus ◽  
Jie Dou ◽  
Prakhar Misra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Building Height ◽  
Vertical Growth ◽  
Spatial Growth ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
The Impact

Spatial urban growth and its impact on land surface temperature (LST) is a high priority environmental issue for urban policy. Although the impact of horizontal spatial growth of cities on LST is well studied, the impact of the vertical spatial distribution of buildings on LST is under-investigated. This is particularly true for cities in sub-tropical developing countries. In this study, TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement (TanDEM-XDEM), Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection (ASTER)-Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM), and ALOS World 3D-30m (AW3D30) based Digital Surface Model (DSM) data were used to investigate the vertical growth of the Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA) in Bangladesh. Thermal Infrared (TIR) data (10.6-11.2µm) of Landsat-8 were used to investigate the seasonal variations in LST. Thereafter, the impact of horizontal and vertical spatial growth on LST was studied. The result showed that: (a) TanDEM-X DSM derived building height had a higher accuracy as compared to other existing DSM that reveals mean building height of the Dhaka city is approximately 10 m, (b) built-up areas were estimated to cover approximately 94%, 88%, and 44% in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), and Fringe areas, respectively, of DMA using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification method, (c) the built-up showed a strong relationship with LST (Kendall tau coefficient of 0.625 in summer and 0.483 in winter) in comparison to vertical growth (Kendall tau coefficient of 0.156 in the summer and 0.059 in the winter), and (d) the ‘low height-high density’ areas showed high LST in both seasons. This study suggests that vertical development is better than horizontal development for providing enough open spaces, green spaces, and preserving natural features. This study provides city planners with a better understating of sustainable urban planning and can promote the formulation of action plans for appropriate urban development policies.

scholarly journals The Cooling Effect of Large-Scale Urban Parks on Surrounding Area Thermal Comfort

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farshid Aram ◽  
Ebrahim Solgi ◽  
Ester Higueras García ◽  
Amir Mosavi ◽  
Annamária R. Várkonyi-Kóczy
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Urban Park ◽  
P Value ◽  
Cognitive State ◽  
Physiological Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Cooling Effects

This empirical study investigates large urban park cooling effects on the thermal comfort of occupants in the vicinity of the main central park, located in Madrid, Spain. Data were gathered during hot summer days, using mobile observations and a questionnaire. The results showed that the cooling effect of this urban park of 125 ha area at a distance of 150 m could reduce air temperatures by an average of 0.63 °C and 1.28 °C for distances of 380 m and 665 meters from the park. Moreover, the degree of the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) index at a distance of 150 meters from the park is on average 2 °C PET and 2.3 °C PET less compared to distances of 380 m and 665 m, respectively. Considering the distance from the park, the correlation between occupant perceived thermal comfort (PTC) and PET is inverse. That is, augmenting the distance from the park increases PET, while the extent of PTC reduces accordingly. The correlation between these two factors at the nearest and furthest distances from the park is meaningful (p-value < 0.05). The results also showed that large-scale urban parks generally play a significant part in creating a cognitive state of high-perceived thermal comfort spaces for residents.

scholarly journals The impact of building height on urban thermal environment in summer: A case study of Chinese megacities

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0247786
Author(s):  
Meiya Wang ◽  
Hanqiu Xu
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Quantitative Relationship ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Height Range ◽  
Building Height ◽  
High Rise ◽  
The Impact

The quantitative relationship between the spatial variation of building’s height and the associated land surface temperature (LST) change in six Chinese megacities is investigated in this paper. The six cities involved are Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Based on both remote sensing and building footprint data, we retrieved the LST using a single-channel (SC) algorithm and evaluate the heating/cooling effect caused by building-height difference via correlation analysis. The results show that the spatial distribution of high-rise buildings is mainly concentrated in the center business districts, riverside zones, and newly built-up areas of the six megacities. In the urban area, the number and the floor-area ratio of high to super high-rise buildings (>24m) account for over 5% and 4.74%, respectively. Being highly urbanized cities, most of urban areas in the six megacities are associated with high LST. Ninety-nine percent of the city areas of Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Tianjin are covered by the LST in the range of 30.2~67.8°C, 34.8~50.4°C, 25.3~48.3°C, 29.9~47.2°C, 27.4~43.4°C, and 33.0~48.0°C, respectively. Building’s height and LST have a negative logarithmic correlation with the correlation coefficients ranging from -0.701 to -0.853. In the building’s height within range of 0~66m, the LST will decrease significantly with the increase of building’s height. This indicates that the increase of building’s height will bring a significant cooling effect in this height range. When the building’s height exceeds 66m, its effect on LST will be greatly weakened. This is due to the influence of building shadows, local wind disturbances, and the layout of buildings.

scholarly journals Estimating the Cooling Effect of Pocket Green Space in High Density Urban Areas in Shanghai, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caiyan Wu ◽  
Junxiang Li ◽  
Chunfang Wang ◽  
Conghe Song ◽  
Dagmar Haase ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
High Density ◽  
Landscape Patterns ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Cooling Efficiency ◽  
Landscape Features ◽  
Cooling Effects

Recently, pocket green spaces (PGS), i.e., small green spaces, have attracted growing attention for their various ecological and social services. As a crucial part of urban green spaces in high-density urban areas, PGS facilitates recreation and relaxation for neighborhoods and thus improves the livability of cities at the local scale. However, whether and how the PGS cools the urban heat island effect is still unclear. This research was performed in the highly developed areas of the city of Shanghai during hot summer daytime. We applied a set of cooling effect indicators to estimate the cooling extent, cooling intensity, and cooling efficiency of PGS. We further examined whether and how landscape features within and surrounding the PGS influence its cooling effects. The results showed that 90% of PGS are cooler than their surroundings. Among the landscape features, the land surface temperature of PGS logarithmically decreased with its area, and the maximum local cool island intensity and maximum cooling area logarithmically increased with the area of PGS. The vegetation types and their composition within the PGS also influenced their surface temperature and the cooling effect. The PGS dominated by tree-shrub-grass showed the highest cooling efficiency. The surrounding landscape patterns, especially the patch density and the landscape shape index, influence the cooling effect of PGS at both class and landscape levels. These findings add new knowledge on factors influencing the cooling effect of PGS, and provide the biophysical theoretical basis for developing nature-based cooling strategies for urban landscape designers and planners.

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