Determination of the urban heat island intensity in villages and its connection to land cover in three European climate zones

Intensified due to rapid urbanization and global warming-induced high temperature extremes, the urban heat island effect has become a major environmental concern for urban residents. Scientific methods used to calculate the urban heat island intensity (UHII) and its alleviation have become urgent requirements for urban development. This study is carried out in Zhongshan District, Dalian City, which has a total area of 43.85 km2 and a 27.5 km-long coastline. The mono-window algorithm was used to retrieve the land surface temperatures (LSTs), employing Landsat remote sensing images, meteorological data, and building data from 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2019. In addition, the district was divided into local climate zones (LCZs) based on the estimated intensities and spatiotemporal variations of the heat island effect. The results show that, from 2003 to 2019, LCZs A and D shrank by 3.225 km2 and 0.395 km2, respectively, whereas LCZs B, C, and 1–6 expanded by 0.932 km2, 0.632 km2, and 2.056 km2, respectively. During this period, the maximum and minimum LSTs in Zhongshan increased by 1.365°C and 1.104°C, respectively. The LST and UHII levels of all LCZs peaked in 2019. The average LSTs of LCZs A–C increased by 1.610°C, 0.880°C, and 3.830°C, respectively, and those of LCZs 1–6 increased by 2°C–4°C. The UHIIs of LCZs A, C, and D increased by 0.730, 2.950, and 0.344, respectively, and those of LCZs 1–6 increased from 1.370–2.977 to 3.744–5.379. Overall, the regions with high LSTs are spatiotemporally correlated with high building densities. In this study, the land cover was then classified into four types (LCZs A–D) using visual interpretation and object-oriented classification, including forested land, low vegetation, bare ground, and water. Besides, the buildings were categorized as LCZs 1–6, which, respectively, represented low-density low-rises buildings, low-density high-rises buildings, low-density super high-rises buildings, high-density low-rises buildings, high-density high-rises buildings, and high-density super high-rises buildings.

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Effect of Land Cover Fractions on Changes in Surface Urban Heat Islands Using Landsat Time-Series Images

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16060971 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. 971 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Tao Chen ◽

Anchang Sun ◽

Ruiqing Niu

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Urban Heat Island ◽

Land Surface ◽

Urban Heat Islands ◽

Urban Heat Island Intensity ◽

Heat Island ◽

Impervious Surfaces ◽

Heat Islands ◽

Urban Heat ◽

Surface Urban Heat Island

Man-made materials now cover a dominant proportion of urban areas, and such conditions not only change the absorption of solar radiation, but also the allocation of the solar radiation and cause the surface urban heat island effect, which is considered a serious problem associated with the deterioration of urban environments. Although numerous studies have been performed on surface urban heat islands, only a few have focused on the effect of land cover changes on surface urban heat islands over a long time period. Using six Landsat image scenes of the Metropolitan Development Area of Wuhan, our experiment (1) applied a mapping method for normalized land surface temperatures with three land cover fractions, which were impervious surfaces, non-chlorophyllous vegetation and soil and vegetation fractions, and (2) performed a fitting analysis of fierce change areas in the surface urban heat island intensity based on a time trajectory. Thematic thermal maps were drawn to analyze the distribution of and variations in the surface urban heat island in the study area. A Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis was used to extract the land cover fraction information. Then, six ternary triangle contour graphics were drawn based on the land surface temperature and land cover fraction information. A time trajectory was created to summarize the changing characteristics of the surface urban heat island intensity. A fitting analysis was conducted for areas showing fierce changes in the urban heat intensity. Our results revealed that impervious surfaces had the largest impacts on surface urban heat island intensity, followed by the non-chlorophyllous vegetation and soil fraction. Moreover, the results indicated that the vegetation fraction can alleviate the occurrence of surface urban heat islands. These results reveal the impact of the land cover fractions on surface urban heat islands. Urban expansion generates impervious artificial objects that replace pervious natural objects, which causes an increase in land surface temperature and results in a surface urban heat island.

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