scholarly journals The Effects of Thermal−Spatial Behaviours of Land Covers on Urban Heat Islands in Semi-Arid Climates

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 13824
Author(s):  
Moein Atri ◽  
Sahar Nedae-Tousi ◽  
Sina Shahab ◽  
Ebrahim Solgi

In recent decades, unsustainable urban development stemming from uncontrolled changes in land cover and the accumulation of population and activities have given rise to adverse environmental consequences, such as the formation of urban heat islands (UHIs) and changes in urban microclimates. The formation and intensity of UHIs can be influenced not only by the type of land cover, but also by other factors, such as the spatial patterns of thermal clusters (e.g., dimensions, contiguity, and integration). By emphasising the differences between semi-arid and cold-and-humid climates in terms of the thermal−spatial behaviours of various types of land cover in these climates, this paper aims to assess the behavioural patterns of thermal clusters in Tehran, Iran. To this end, the relationship between the land surface temperature (LST) and the types of land cover is first demonstrated using combined multispectral satellite images taken by Operational Land Imager (OLI), Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) of the Landsat8 and MODIS, and Sentinel satellites to determine LST and land cover. The effects of different behavioural patterns of thermal clusters on the formation of daytime urban heat islands are then analysed through spatial cross-correlation analysis. Lastly, the thermal behaviours of each cluster are separately examined to reveal how their spatial patterns, such as contiguity, affect the intensity and formation of UHI, with the assumption that each point in a contiguous surface may exhibit different thermal behaviours, depending on its distance from the edge or centre. The results of this study show that the daytime UHIs do not occur in the central parts of Tehran, and instead they are created in the surrounding layer, which mostly consists of barren cover. This finding contrasts with previous research conducted regarding cities located in cold-and-humid climates. Our research also finds that the more compact the hot and cool clusters are, the more contiguous they become, which leads to an increase in UHIs. The results suggest that for every 100 pix/km2 increase, the cluster temperature increases by approximately 0.7−1 °C. Additionally, placing cool clusters near or in combination with hot clusters interrupts the effect of the hot clusters, leading to a significant temperature reduction. The paper concludes with recommendations for potential sustainable and context-based solutions to UHI problems in semi-arid climates that relate to the determination of the optimal contiguity distance and land use integration patterns for thermal clusters.

Author(s):  
Tao Chen ◽  
Anchang Sun ◽  
Ruiqing Niu

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.


2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Zhang ◽  
Xiaoming Cai ◽  
John E. Thornes

This study investigates the characteristics of the air and surface urban heat islands (aUHI and sUHI) of Birmingham in relation to Lamb weather types (LWTs) over the period 2002–2007, with a particular focus on cloudless anticyclonic conditions. Ground-based MIDAS air temperatures within the urban canopy layer at the urban Edgbaston and rural Shawbury weather stations were used to derive the aUHI intensity (aUHII). Satellite-derived MODIS/Aqua land surface temperatures (LST) under cloudless conditions were used to derive the spatial patterns of the sUHI as well as the sUHI intensity (sUHII). Using Jenkinson’s objective daily synoptic indices, a combined subset of 11 LWTs were examined for their association with the nocturnal aUHI. Over the study period, the most frequently occurring LWT, ‘anticyclonic’ (21.1%), gives a strongest mean/maximum nocturnal aUHII of 2.5°C/7°C (391 nights) and the largest proportion of nocturnal heat island events of 65.2%. The spatial patterns of nocturnal sUHI for each LWT were also assessed, and the results demonstrate Birmingham’s urban warming of up to 4.16°C (48 clear nights) in the city centre under cloudless anticyclonic conditions. The scatter plot of nocturnal aUHII and sUHII for the 48 nights demonstrates a linear relationship. We also developed a simple analytical model that links the slope of the aUHII–sUHII relationship to the difference of ‘built-up’ area fraction between the urban pixel and the rural pixel in satellite imagery of land cover. This partially explains the physical basis behind the relationship. These findings of the aUHII–sUHII relationship may lead to the future development of a generic methodology of deriving the spatial patterns of aUHI from satellite measurements.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 2713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linlin Lu ◽  
Qihao Weng ◽  
Da Xiao ◽  
Huadong Guo ◽  
Qingting Li ◽  
...  

Urban heat islands (UHI) can lead to multiple adverse impacts, including increased air pollution, morbidity, and energy consumption. The association between UHI effects and land cover characteristics has been extensively studied but is insufficiently understood in inland cities due to their unique urban environments. This study sought to investigate the spatiotemporal variations of the thermal environment and their relationships with land cover composition and configuration in Xi’an, the largest city in northwestern China. Land cover maps were classified and land surface temperature (LST) was estimated using Landsat imagery in six time periods from 1995 to 2020. The variations of surface heat island were captured using multi-temporal LST data and a surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII) indicator. The relationship between land cover features and land surface temperature was analyzed through multi-resolution grids and correlation analysis. The results showed that mean SUHII in the study area increased from 0.683 °C in 1995 to 2.759 °C in 2020. The densities of impervious surfaces had a stronger impact on LST than green space, with Pearson’s correlation coefficient r ranging from 0.59 to 0.97. The correlation between normalized difference impervious surface index and LST was enhanced with the enlargement of the grid cell size. The correlations between normalized difference vegetation index and LST reached maxima and stabilized at grid cell sizes of 210 and 240 m. Increasing the total area and aggregation level of urban green space alleviated the negative impacts of UHI in the study area. Our results also highlight the necessity of multi-scale analysis for examining the relationships between landscape configuration metrics and LST. These findings improved our understanding of the spatiotemporal variation of the surface urban heat island effect and its relationship with land cover features in a major inland city of China.


Author(s):  
Simil Amir Siddiqui

Urban heat islands (UHI) are areas with elevated temperatures occurring in cities compared to surrounding rural areas. This study realizes the lack of research regarding the trends of UHIs in desert countries and focuses on Doha. The research includes twelve months of two-time periods; 2000-2019. ArcGIS software was used to compute the land surface temperature (LST) of the city using Landsat images. Land use/land cover (LULC) maps were computed to show how the city has evolved in 19 years. 30 field samples were used to verify the accuracy of the LULC. Results showed UHI in Doha did not display similar pattern to that of cities in subtropical and temperate regions. Higher temperatures were prevalent in out-skirts comprising of barren and built-up areas with high population and no vegetation. Comparatively, the main downtown with artificially planted vegetation and shade from skyscrapers created cooler microclimates. The overall LST of greater Doha has increased by 0.7°C from 2000 to 2019. Furthermore %LULC of built up, vegetation, barren land, marsh land and water body were 29%, 4.5%, 58.6%, 2.8% and 5% in 2000 and 56.5 %, 8.2%, 33.2 %, 0% and 2.1% in 2019 respectively. Overall, there was an increase in built-up and vegetation decrease in water and barren areas and complete loss of marshland. Highest temperatures were recorded for marshland area in year 2000 and barren and built in year 2019. Transect profiles showed positive correlation between NDBI and LST and a negative correlation between NDVI and LST.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2111
Author(s):  
Anna Hellings ◽  
Andreas Rienow

Unsustainable development paths have reached critical levels in Europe. In recent years, in cities, urbanization has been contributing to the intensification of urban heat islands. To analyze the development of surface urban heat islands (SUHI) in Europe in the last few years, the present study combines the land surface temperature (LST) from MODIS with the urban classes of the CORINE land cover data within 617 functional urban areas (FUAs). Urban and industrial uses have significantly higher LST than green urban areas across all years (about 4 to 6 °C), as do agricultural areas within cities. Besides land cover, location also influences LST differences. While, e.g., Bolzano (Italy) shows particularly large LST differences (>6 °C) between the core and the commuting zone, this effect is hardly visible in Porto (Portugal) and Madrid (Spain) (<2.5 °C). Cities of moderate climates show increasing differences between a city and its commuting zones with rising LST (r = 0.68), i.e., less cooling effects at night.


Author(s):  
K. Dutta ◽  
D. Basu ◽  
S. Agrawal

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Urban environment is examined through time series Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper) and OLI/TIRS (Operational Land Imager &amp;amp; Thermal Infrared Sensor) sensor images. A continuous surface of Land Surface Temperature (LST) can be extracted from Landsat thermal bands. Similarly different band combinations and ratios will give spatial pattern of land cover categories. Among these, building and vegetation indices are used to characterize the spatiotemporal pattern of elevated temperature zones in cities. This excess heat concentration creates thermal hotspots which are known as Urban Heat Islands (UHI). Parameters of land cover are then related to LST to detect the influence of urbanization on intensity and extent of heat islands, by pixel based quantitative analysis. This paper focuses on two megacities of India and their surrounding districts for identifying the critical UHI areas. The purpose of this paper is to create a database for reconstruction in old cities and planning of new smart cities. Results suggest that urban sprawl and substitution of rural areas with impervious surface plays significant role in microclimate, causing formation of new thermal hotspots. The analysis of urban thermal environment and its dynamics is to provide a scientific basis for future strategy building.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Thanh Hoan ◽  
Nguyen Van Dung ◽  
Ho Le Thu ◽  
Hoa Thuy Quynh

It is of utmost importance to understand and monitor the impact of urban heat islands on ecosystems and overall human health in the context of climate change and global warming. This research was conducted in a tropical city, Hanoi, with a major objective of assessing the quantitative relationships between the composition of the main land-cover types and surface urban heat island phenomenon. In this research, we analyzed the correlation between land-cover composition, percentage coverage of the land cover types, and land surface temperature for different moving window sizes or urban land management units. Landsat 8 OLI (Operational Land Imager) satellite data was utilized for preparing land-cover composition datasets in inner Hanoi by employing the unsupervised image clustering method. High-resolution (30m) land surface temperature maps were generated for different days of the years 2016 and 2017 using Landsat 8 TIRS (Thermal Infrared Sensor) images. High correlations were observed between percentage coverage of the land-cover types and land surface temperature considering different window sizes. A new model for estimating the intensity of surface urban heat islands from Landsat 8 imagery is developed, through recursively analyzing the correlation between land-cover composition and land surface temperature at different moving window sizes. This land-cover composition-driven model could predict land surface temperature efficiently not only in the case of different window sizes but also on different days. The newly developed model in this research provides a wonderful opportunity for urban planners and designers to take measures for adjusting land surface temperature and the associated effects of surface urban heat islands by managing the land cover composition and percentage coverage of the individual land-cover types.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 272
Author(s):  
Auwalu Faisal Koko ◽  
Wu Yue ◽  
Ghali Abdullahi Abubakar ◽  
Akram Ahmed Noman Alabsi ◽  
Roknisadeh Hamed

Rapid urbanization in cities and urban centers has recently contributed to notable land use/land cover (LULC) changes, affecting both the climate and environment. Therefore, this study seeks to analyze changes in LULC and its spatiotemporal influence on the surface urban heat islands (UHI) in Abuja metropolis, Nigeria. To achieve this, we employed Multi-temporal Landsat data to monitor the study area’s LULC pattern and land surface temperature (LST) over the last 29 years. The study then analyzed the relationship between LULC, LST, and other vital spectral indices comprising NDVI and NDBI using correlation analysis. The results revealed a significant urban expansion with the transformation of 358.3 sq. km of natural surface into built-up areas. It further showed a considerable increase in the mean LST of Abuja metropolis from 30.65 °C in 1990 to 32.69 °C in 2019, with a notable increase of 2.53 °C between 2009 and 2019. The results also indicated an inverse relationship between LST and NDVI and a positive connection between LST and NDBI. This implies that urban expansion and vegetation decrease influences the development of surface UHI through increased LST. Therefore, the study’s findings will significantly help urban-planners and decision-makers implement sustainable land-use strategies and management for the city.


Author(s):  
Дмитрий Владимирович Сарычев ◽  
Ирина Владимировна Попова ◽  
Семен Александрович Куролап

Рассмотрены вопросы мониторинга теплового загрязнения окружающей среды в городах. Представлена методика отбора спектрозональных спутниковых снимков, их обработки и интерпретации полученных результатов. Для оценки городского острова тепла были использованы снимки с космического аппарата Landsat 8 TIRS. На их основе построены карты пространственной структуры острова тепла города Воронежа за летний и зимний периоды. Определены тепловые аномалии и выявлено 11 основных техногенных источников теплового загрязнения в г. Воронеже, установлена их принадлежность к промышленным зонам предприятий, а также к очистным гидротехническим сооружениям. Поверхностные температуры данных источников в среднем были выше фоновых температур приблизительно на 6° зимой и на 15,5° С летом. Синхронно со спутниковой съемкой были проведены наземные контрольные тепловизионные измерения температур основных подстилающих поверхностей в г. Воронеже. Полученные данные показали высокую сходимость космических и наземных измерений, на основании чего сделан вывод о надежности используемых данных дистанционного зондирования Земли в мониторинговых наблюдениях теплового загрязнения городской среды. Результаты работ могут найти применение в городском планировании и медицинской экологии. The study deals with the remote sensing and monitoring of urban heat islands. We present a methodology of multispectral satellite imagery selection and processing. The study bases on the freely available Landsat 8 TIRS data. We used multitemporal thermal band combinations to make maps of the urban heat island of Voronezh (Russia) during summer and winter periods. That let us identify 11 artificial sources of heat in Voronezh. All of them turned out to be allocated within industrial zones of plants and water treatment facilities. Land surface temperatures (LST) of these sources were approximately 6° and 15.5° C above the background temperatures in winter and summer, respectively. To prove the remotely sensed temperatures we conducted ground control measurements of LST of different surface types at the satellite revisit moments. Our results showed a significant correlation between the satellite and ground-based measurements, so the maps we produced in this study should be robust. They are of use in urban planning and medical ecology studies.


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