Abstract
In the present study, the most appropriate Landsat and ASTER Image spatial and spectral resolutions were selected to extract thermal infrared data in Doha City, Qatar from 1990-2015. Results indicated Urban Heat Island (UHI) calculated from Landsat sensor data was more consistent with ground truthed temperatures. Landsat TM thermal infrared data with low spatial resolution (60-120 m) was more appropriate for large-scale thermal studies, but was not suitable to assess complex urban thermal environments and establish Land Surface Temperatures (LSTs) for individual buildings. However, ASTER sensor, with a Thermal Infrared (TIR) subsystem of 90 m spatial resolution, showed more accurate determination of thermal patterns and LSTs. Landsat data revealed relatively high temperatures, which exhibited increased congruence with ground truthed measures. In Doha City, LST showed an increased trend from 1990 to 2015; low in 1990, moderate in 2000, to very high in 2015. Furthermore, our results confirmed accelerated urban sprawl during 1990-2015. The evaluated areas increased from 80 km2 in 1990 to 179 km2 in 2015. A strong positive relationship was observed between UHI and urban area intensity. Urban planning absence significantly affected the rural environment. Urbanized areas exhibited high thermal conductivity and radiation heat budgets, characterized by increased atmospheric and surface temperatures compared to surrounding rural areas. Therefore, rapid urbanization rates must undergo proper planning and management regimes to insure positive impacts on the local climate and environment.
Highlights
Doha is a boom city on the Arabian littoral and the singular preeminent urban agglomeration on the low Qatari peninsula [1]
Urbanized areas exhibited high thermal conductivity and radiation heat budgets, characterized by increased atmospheric and surface temperatures compared to surrounding rural areas
A strong positive relationship was observed between Urban Heat Island (UHI) intensity and urban areas
Summary
Doha is a boom city on the Arabian littoral and the singular preeminent urban agglomeration on the low Qatari peninsula [1]. The wealth produced by Qatar’s oil and gas exports has generated an unprecedented construction boom in the city and its surrounding peripheries. This has resulted in significant growth at all levels, from urban development and infrastructure provision to the building of office towers and sophisticated architecturally innovative cultural and educational facilities. During the late 1990s and during the first decade of the new millennium the structure of Qatar’s governance was made new due to the establishment of stateowned and semi-privatized institutions intended to implement the liberalization strategy This resulted in rapid urban growth in Doha and its metropolitan area, which grew from around 500,000 inhabitants in the late 1990s to 1.5 million in 2011 [1]. The first revenues made from oil were mainly invested in the development of infrastructure such as the construction of a regional road connecting the Dukhan field with Doha and the first airport, which was built in the east of the city [2,3]
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