Applicability of UAV in Urban Thermal Environment Analysis

Abstract

Urban heat islands occur due to increases in the extent of artificial surfaces such as concrete, asphalt and high-rise buildings. In this regard, research into the use of satellite thermal infrared images for thermal environment analysis of urban areas is being carried out. However, such analysis of the characteristics of individual land cover with low-resolution satellite images suffers from limitations because land cover patterns in urban areas are complicated. Recently, UAV has been widely used, which can compensate for this limitation as it is able to acquire high-resolution images. In this paper, the accuracy of UAV infrared images is verified and the applicability of UAV in urban thermal environment analysis is examined by comparing the results with land surface temperatures from Landsat 8 thermal images. The results show a high positive correlation of temperature values at 0.95, and no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Comparisons of land surface temperature according to land cover showed that the largest difference observed was 4.63℃ in the Used area, and UAV images with small cell units reflected various surface temperatures. Furthermore, it was possible to analyze the surface temperatures of various green spaces such as wetlands and street tree areas, which can lower surface temperatures in urban areas, with street tree shadows reducing surface temperatures by about 4-6℃. UAV can easily and rapidly measure the surface temperature of urban areas and is able to analyze various types of green spaces. Thus, this is an effective tool for thermal environment analysis in urban areas to aid in the design or management of urban green spaces, as it can allow for land cover and the effects of the various green spaces.