Diurnal analysis of surface Urban Heat Island using spatially enhanced satellite derived LST data

Abstract

The importance of studying the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon has increased over the years due to the processes of urbanization and industrialization. Thermal remote sensing imagery has been extensively utilized for surface UHI (SUHI) studies. However, the low image acquisition frequency of most sensors limits its use. The Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA/IAASASRS) has developed a system that produces land surface temperature (LST) time series by downscaling data retrieved from MSGSEVIRI (Meteosat Second Generation - Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager) geostationary satellite. The system has been designed specifically to facilitate urban climate studies, by producing LST datasets that combine high spatial and temporal resolution. Moreover, the large number of LST image data produced, enables their utilization to a number of different applications. In this work, LST data from the NOA/IAASARS system have been employed for the study of the diurnal evolution of the SUHI phenomenon for Athens (GR), Istanbul (TR) and Rome (IT). The results obtained refer to the summer of 2014 and highlight the intensity and temporal variation of this phenomenon for each city employed in this study.