Study on the Impact of MODIS-derived NDVI and NDBI on Land Surface Temperature

Abstract

With the development and expansion of cities, the increase in built-up area and the drop in vegetation coverage have significant influences on the climatic environment of urban areas. This study processed Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data from four months in 2001 to investigate the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Built-Up Index (NDBI), and Land Surface Temperature (LST) in the Chengdu region. This paper explored the correlation between NDVI and LST, as well as the correlation between NDBI and LST. The findings revealed that areas with higher NDBI, indicating a greater extent of urban built-up areas, exhibited higher daytime and nighttime LST, indicating a more pronounced urban heat island effect. Conversely, an increase in vegetation cover was found to lead to a decrease in surface temperature and a certain degree of mitigation of the urban heat island effect. Furthermore, a good linear relationship was observed between NDBI and LST, with a stronger correlation during the daytime compared to the nighttime.