Assessment of Urban Heat Islands: A Multi-Sensor Perspective for the Dallas-Ft. Worth, USA Region

Data acquired during the early to mid-1990s by several satellite-sensor systems were combined in an assessment of the urban heat-island effect for the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX region of the United States. Normalized difference vegetation index and radiant surface temperature were computed from NOAA-AVHRR data. Two measures of the anthropogenic light emitted by urban-related surface features were available from the DMSP-OLS. Landsat MSS data were used to provide estimates of the predominant land cover within the grid cells associated with the NOA-AVHRR and DMSP-OLS data. The multi-sensor analysis of the environment associated with seven climate observation stations in the Dallas-Ft. Worth region provided a methodology for characterization of the stations as urban or rural. Three of the seven stations examined were identified through this analyis as urban. The information provided by a single sensor, while valuable, was clearly enhanced by the use of the multiple sensors included in this study