Assessment of Climate Characteristics of an Urban Park Using Satellite Imagery and In-Situ Measurements. Study Case of Cancicov Park From Bacău City (Romania).

Abstract

It is well known that urban parks, especially wooden ones, cause a cooling effect on the urban climate and have a decisive role in the formation of the so-called Park Cool Island (PCI). Urban parks can help at lowering the land surface temperature (LST), and consequently mitigate the effects of the surface urban heat island (SUHI). The thermal characteristics of the Urban Park Cancicov from Bacău city are analyzed using LANDSAT-8 imagery, but also in-situ measurements for the growing season of 2022 (March to October). For the calculation of LST based on LANDSAT images, several methods have been applied among which the monowindow method has been finally used. The results showed that Cancicov Park, through its structural characteristics and its central position in a densely-built area, determines a cooling effect in an area where the SUHI intensity reaches the highest values. During the day the LST is by 4.50C lower compared to densely built areas in the surroundings for April-September, the diurnal LST exceeding 300C from May to August, while the surrounding urban LST exceeds 350C from June to August. Regarding the results from in-situ measurements, we have used the monitoring results from 2 points, one represented by the monitoring point located in the city center (“Gheorghe Vrănceanu” College) and the second one located on the eastern side of the park (“Ștefan cel Mare” College). The diurnal thermal differences between these two points rise to over 2.50C during the summer morning hours. At the nocturnal level, thermal differences are reduced from 0.75 to 10C. This study emphasizes the capacity of green areas to alleviate the UHI, providing viable information for urban planners to correctly assess climate risks and guide development management by maximizing the intensity of PCI.