Abstract
Land Surface Temperature (LST) is a key parameter for the estimation of urban fluxes as well as for the assessment of the presence and strength of the surface urban heat island (SUHI). In an urban environment, LST depends on the way the city has been planned and developed over time. To this end, the estimation of LST needs adequate spatial and temporal data at the urban scale, especially with respect to land cover/land use. The present study is divided in two parts: at first, satellite data from MODIS-Terra 8-day product (MOD11A2) were used for the analysis of an eighteen-year time series (2001–2017) of the LST spatial and temporal distribution in five major cities of the Mediterranean during the summer months. LST trends were retrieved and assessed for their statistical significance. Secondly, LST values and trends for each city were examined in relation to land cover characteristics and patterns in order to define the contribution of urban development and planning on LST; this information is important for the drafting of smart urbanization policies and measures. Results revealed (a) positive LST trends in the urban areas especially during nighttime ranging from +0.412 °K in Marseille to +0.923 °K in Cairo and (b) the SUHI has intensified during the last eighteen years especially during daytime in European Mediterranean cities, such as Rome (+0.332 °K) and Barcelona (+0.307 °K).
Highlights
Urbanization is among the most evident aspects of human impact on the earth system
This study focuses on five major cities—Athens, Rome, Marseille, Barcelona and Cairo—lying around the Mediterranean Sea (Figure 1)
Summer Land Surface Temperature (LST) and surface urban heat island (SUHI) trends were calculated for five major Mediterranean cities for the period
Summary
In the process of urbanization, natural landscapes are transformed into modern land use and land cover such as buildings, roads and other impervious surfaces, making urban landscapes fragmented and complex and affecting the inhabitability of cities [1,2,3]. This leads to modifications of the surface energy balance, which governs the momentum, heat and mass transfer between the surface and the atmosphere, impacts dynamic processes in the urban boundary layer, and influences the local, regional and even global climate. The last reports highlight the Mediterranean as a vulnerable region to the impacts of global warming [4,10] and a review of climatic projections gives a collective picture of a substantial drying and warming of the Mediterranean region, especially in the warm season [11].
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