An estimation of land surface temperatures from landsat ETM+ images for Durban, South Africa

Population increase within urban environments especially in the developing  countries, has posed a need to understand the urban climates. While the importance of urban climates cannot be overemphasized, acquiring knowledge about  contributing factors to urban climates can be challenging. Measuring land surface temperatures is one of the ways to acquire such knowledge which could be an uphill task if done manually. However, satellite remote sensing data could be applied to  spatially estimate such factors. Land surface temperatures (LST) were estimated  from the thermal bands of the Landsat Enhanced Thermal Mapper Plus (ETM+) using remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. In addition,  meteorological data which included air temperature and relative humidity for the  same satellite image dates were used in the analysis. Results showed that Durban  metropolitan area is experiencing a major heat island over the city centre with some  micro ones around the metro. Comparing the LST results to the landuse/cover of the  city showed the UHI phenomenon is a reality with a 3°C and 4°C LST increase over the city centre of Durban for winter and summer seasons respectively in 2012 and being attributed greatly to the human activities within the area that has led to increase thermal radiation from land surface over highly dense and paved areas. Keywords : Urban growth, urban heat Island, land surface temperatures, satellite remote sensing

[1]  D. Hémon,et al.  ESTIMATION DE LA SURMORTALITE ET PRINCIPALES CARACTERISTIQUES EPIDEMIOLOGIQUES , 2003 .

[2]  Bindu Bhatt,et al.  ESTIMATING TEMPORAL LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE USING REMOTE SENSING : A STUDY OF VADODARA URBAN AREA , GUJARAT , 2012 .

[3]  F. Haghighat,et al.  Approaches to study Urban Heat Island – Abilities and limitations , 2010 .

[4]  Min Liu,et al.  Remote-sensing image-based analysis of the patterns of urban heat islands in rapidly urbanizing Jinan, China , 2013 .

[5]  Y. Yasuoka,et al.  Assessment with satellite data of the urban heat island effects in Asian mega cities , 2006 .

[6]  J. Sobrino,et al.  A generalized single‐channel method for retrieving land surface temperature from remote sensing data , 2003 .

[7]  Dehua Zhao,et al.  A fieldwork study on the diurnal changes of urban microclimate in four types of ground cover and urban heat island of Nanjing, China , 2008 .

[8]  José A. Sobrino,et al.  Multi-channel and multi-angle algorithms for estimating sea and land surface temperature with ATSR data , 1996 .

[9]  A. Ngie,et al.  Assessment of urban heat island using satellite remotely sensed imagery: a review , 2014 .

[10]  W. Wagner,et al.  The IAPWS Formulation 1995 for the Thermodynamic Properties of Ordinary Water Substance for General and Scientific Use , 2002 .

[11]  T. Oke.  City size and the urban heat island , 1973 .

[12]  K. Camperell,et al.  Approaches to Study. , 1989 .

[13]  E. H. Mathews,et al.  Building and environment—The way forward , 1996 .

[14]  T. Oke,et al.  Thermal remote sensing of urban climates , 2003 .

[15]  J. A. Voogta,et al.  Thermal remote sensing of urban climates , 2003 .

[16]  Gu Xingfa,et al.  Land Surface Temperature Retrieval from CBERS-02 IRMSS Thermal Infrared Data and Its Applications in Quantitative Analysis of Urban Heat Island Effect , 2006, National Remote Sensing Bulletin.

[17]  G. Fasano,et al.  Properties and performance of advanced reflective paints to reduce the cooling loads in buildings and mitigate the heat island effect in urban areas , 2009 .

[18]  D. Lu,et al.  Estimation of land surface temperature-vegetation abundance relationship for urban heat island studies , 2004 .

[19]  N. Wong,et al.  Study of green areas and urban heat island in a tropical city , 2005 .

[20]  Jiankai Wang,et al.  Influences of urbanization on surface characteristics as derived from the Moderate‐Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer: A case study for the Beijing metropolitan area , 2007 .

[21]  Xiaoling Chen,et al.  Remote sensing image-based analysis of the relationship between urban heat island and land use/cover changes , 2006 .

[22]  A. Karnieli,et al.  A mono-window algorithm for retrieving land surface temperature from Landsat TM data and its application to the Israel-Egypt border region , 2001 .

[23]  M. Susan Moran,et al.  Thermal remote sensing , 1995 .

[24]  D. Lu,et al.  Assessing the effects of land use and land cover patterns on thermal conditions using landscape metrics in city of Indianapolis, United States , 2007, Urban Ecosystems.

[25]  A. Arnfield.  Two decades of urban climate research: a review of turbulence, exchanges of energy and water, and the urban heat island , 2003 .

[26]  Qinqin Sun,et al.  An ERDAS image processing method for retrieving LST and describing urban heat evolution: a case study in the Pearl River Delta Region in South China , 2010 .

[27]  L. Bounoua,et al.  Remote sensing of the urban heat island effect across biomes in the continental USA , 2010 .

[28]  Lin Liu,et al.  Urban Heat Island Analysis Using the Landsat TM Data and ASTER Data: A Case Study in Hong Kong , 2011, Remote. Sens..

[29]  Janet Nichol,et al.  Remote Sensing of Urban Heat Islands by Day and Night , 2005 .

[30]  H. Kondo,et al.  Impacts of city-block-scale countermeasures against urban heat-island phenomena upon a building’s energy-consumption for air-conditioning , 2006 .

[31]  Heat island phenomenon and cool roofs mitigation strategies in a small city of elevated temperatures , 2014 .

[32]  Yong Xue,et al.  Monitoring of urban heat island effect in Beijing combining ASTER and TM data , 2011 .