Seasonal analysis on land surface temperature (LST) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) variations in the Iguatu semi-arid hinterland, ceará

Abstract

The following paper analyzes the seasonal behavior of surface temperature and vegetation conditions from Landsat 8 satellite images in Iguatu, located in South-central Ceará, Brazil. The guiding method was the Urban Climate System (UCS) along with works with specific literature. Concerning the LSTs during the wet season, the urban area recorded 30.8°C, whereas the countryside verified milder thermal conditions than in downtown, especially in the southwestern region (19.2°C to 23.1°C). The NDVI values in April (wet season) for the urban area and part of the suburbs showed (0.00) because of civil constructions and little vegetation present in the area, except for the surroundings of the Bastiana and Cocobó lagoons – ranging between (0.59 and 0.79), which represents a green area. In August (dry season), there was an expressive spatial distribution of surface temperature around 32 °C. The NDVI was (-0.01) in the densely occupied area and (0.67) in the urban lagoons during the same period. The land use and its plant cover reflect significantly in the distribution and intensity of surface temperatures, as verified in the research.