Assessing the long-term urban heat island in San Antonio, Texas based on moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer/Aqua data

Hongjie Xie; Ni-Bin Chang; Ammarin Daranpob; David Prado

doi:10.1117/1.3335611

1 February 2010 Assessing the long-term urban heat island in San Antonio, Texas based on moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer/Aqua data

Hongjie Xie, Ni-Bin Chang, Ammarin Daranpob, David Prado

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, Vol. 4, Issue 1, 043508 (February 2010). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3335611

Abstract

Urban environmental conditions are strongly dependent on the land use and land cover properties. Urban and rural areas normally exhibit obvious difference in land surface temperature (LST). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua (PM satellite) MYD11A1 temperature products (daily and 1 km spatial resolution) for the period from June 1 to September 30 between 2002 and 2008 were used to screen the existence of urban heat island (UHI) phenomena for the city of San Antonio, TX. 8-day MYD11A2 temperature products between 2002 and 2008 were also retrieved to map the temperature climatology at the 1:30 a.m. for the region. The UHI effect was detected in both satellite surface-temperature and meteorological station air-temperature record. The existence of an UHI of the San Antonio downtown area was clearly shown in about 90% of the available cloud-free (or cloudless) data from June 1-September 30 each year. It is especially prevalent in the night-time imagery due to less cloud contamination. During nighttime, the heat island (HI) is about 4 - 5 °K (6 - 8 °F) higher than the average temperature of the study area and 6 - 7 °K (8 - 12 °F) higher than the rural area. Surprisingly, the HI phenomenon is found not only in the downtown area, but also several other small areas in the northern corner. Finally, the long-term UHI effect of San Antonio and its relationship with normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were discussed. USGS rainfall data were also used to discuss the possible connections between the UHI and several local storm events.

Citation Download Citation

Hongjie Xie, Ni-Bin Chang, Ammarin Daranpob, and David Prado "Assessing the long-term urban heat island in San Antonio, Texas based on moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer/Aqua data," Journal of Applied Remote Sensing 4(1), 043508 (1 February 2010). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3335611

Published: 1 February 2010

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available