The Relationship between Land Cover Changes and Spatial-temporal Dynamics of Land Surface Temperature

Remotely sensed thermal infrared (TIR) data have been widely used to retrieve land surface temperature (LST). The LST is an important parameter in the studies of urban thermal environment and dynamics. Specific objectives are to evaluate land cover change detection in Isfahan and to analyze the impact of these changes on surface temperature using TM and ETM+ thermal bands for 1990 and 2001. Hybrid method classification was used for producing land cover maps and post-classification comparison was applied for change detection. The single channel algorithm was used for calculating LST. For investigation the relationship between the kinds of land cover and land surface temperature, the land cover change map for 1990 and 2001 was overlaid with LST map. The technique of image differencing is employed to produce a radiant temperature change image after the surface radiant temperature of each year has been normalized. The results indicate that bare land exhibits the highest surface radiant temperature (44.9°C in 1990&48.9°C in 2001), followed by stony body (42.6°C in 1990&45.3°C in 2001). After that urban and built up area have temperature less than bare land and stony body. The lowest radiant temperature in 1990and 2001are observed in green cover and river classes.