Study on the urban heat island effects and its relationship with surface biophysical characteristics using MODIS imageries

Abstract

This study assesses surface urban heat island (UHI) and its associated surface physical characteristics using remote sensing approaches. TERRA/MODIS images acquired in 2005 in three different seasons were selected to generate land surface temperature and surface characteristics for the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan metropolitan area in China. The intensity of urban heat island effects and its seasonal variations were examined. The result showed that UHI effects were significant both in the summer and the spring. Land surface temperatures in the city were 8°C to 10°C warmer than those in surrounding rural areas in the spring and the summer seasons. Although UHI effects exist in winter, they are not significant. Land surface temperature in the city was 4°C warmer than that in surrounding rural areas in winter. This study uses normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) as indicators of surface physical characteristics and investigates the relationship among land surface temperature (LST), NDVI and NDBI. The results from this study indicate that, while the relationship between LST and NDVI changes in different seasons, there is a strong positive linear relationship between NDBI and LST for all seasons. The amount of slope and intercept of the linear relationship between NDBI and LST can indicate the magnitude of UHI for different seasons. This finding suggests that NDBI provides an alternative physical indicator for analyzing LST quantitatively over different seasons, and therefore providing a useful way to study UHI effects using remote sensing.