The use of NOAA AVHRR data for assessment of the urban heat island effect

Abstract

A vegetation index and a radiative surface temperature were derived from satellite data acquired at approximately 1330 LST for each of 37 cities and for their respective nearby rural regions from 28 June through 8 August 1991. Urban-rural differences for the vegetation index and the surface temperatures were computed and then compared to observed urban-rural differences in minimum air temperatures. The satellite-derived normalized different (ND) vegetation-index data, sampled over urban and rural regions composed of a variety of land surface environments, were linearly related to the difference in observed urban and rural minimum temperatures. The use of satellite data may contibute to a globally consistent method for analysis of urban heat island bias. -from Authors