Analysis of Urban Heat Island and Heat Waves Using Sentinel‑3 Images: a Study of Andalusian Cities in Spain
Metadata
Show full item recordAuthor
Hidalgo García, DavidEditorial
Springer
Materia
Surface Urban Heat Island Heat waves Sentinel-3 imagery Land surface temperature Heat resilience and urban resilience
Date
2021-11-02Referencia bibliográfica
García, D.H. Analysis of Urban Heat Island and Heat Waves Using Sentinel-3 Images: a Study of Andalusian Cities in Spain. Earth Syst Environ (2021). [https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-021-00268-9]
Sponsorship
Universidad de Granada/CBUAAbstract
At present, understanding the synergies between the Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI) phenomenon and extreme climatic
events entailing high mortality, i.e., heat waves, is a great challenge that must be faced to improve the quality of life in urban
zones. The implementation of new mitigation and resilience measures in cities would serve to lessen the effects of heat waves
and the economic cost they entail. In this research, the Land Surface Temperature (LST) and the SUHI were determined
through Sentinel-3A and 3B images of the eight capitals of Andalusia (southern Spain) during the months of July and August
of years 2019 and 2020. The objective was to determine possible synergies or interaction between the LST and SUHI, as
well as between SUHI and heat waves, in a region classified as highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. For each
Andalusian city, the atmospheric variables of ambient temperature, solar radiation, wind speed and direction were obtained
from stations of the Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET); the data were quantified and classified both in periods
of normal environmental conditions and during heat waves. By means of Data Panel statistical analysis, the multivariate
relationships were derived, determining which ones statistically influence the SUHI during heat wave periods. The results
indicate that the LST and the mean SUHI obtained are statistically interacted and intensify under heat wave conditions. The
greatest increases in daytime temperatures were seen for Sentinel-3A in cities by the coast (LST = 3.90 °C, SUHI = 1.44 °C)
and for Sentinel-3B in cities located inland (LST = 2.85 °C, SUHI = 0.52 °C). The existence of statistically significant positive
relationships above 99% (p < 0.000) between the SUHI and solar radiation, and between the SUHI and the direction of
the wind, intensified in periods of heat wave, could be verified. An increase in the urban area affected by the SUHI under
heat wave conditions is reported.