Skip to main content

Description

The rapid growth of urban populations, the urban heat island (UHI) effect, and a potential increase in the frequency and duration of heat waves due to climate change raise a series of issues about the increased health risks of sensitive urban populations to extreme heat and the effective means of mitigating impacts of heat waves. 

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urban heat islands affect energy consumption, elevate greenhouse gas emissions, and impair water quality by increasing the temperature of urban water runoff. This Applied Remote Sensing Training program (ARSET) training is in collaboration with the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) and the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN).

This training addresses the use of remote sensing in determining where "hot spots" of land surface temperature are located in urban areas, why these areas are experiencing increased temperature, which populations are most vulnerable, and ways to mitigate the effects through adaptive land use planning.

Access the Agenda (PDF, 0.6 MB)

Prerequisites

If you wish to follow along with the demonstrations associated with this training, please create a Google Earth Engine (GEE) account.

Objectives

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

  • Define what an urban heat island (UHI) is and why it matters to urban planners and public health experts
  • Identify which satellites and sensors can be used for assessing UHI
  • Give examples of populations that are especially susceptible to heat stress
  • Summarize the limitations of satellite data for understanding UHI
  • Recognize new methods that incorporate conventional satellite remote sensing data and in situ observations of temperature and humidity from community science and urban field campaigns
  • List what landscape features help to explain variations in urban heat islands
  • Compute land surface temperature from Landsat 4, 5, 7, and 8 within Google Earth Engine.

Target Audience

Community, municipal, city, state, federal, and private institutions involved in urban planning, health care, energy supply and demand management, and climate mitigation.

Course Format

  • Three 1.5-hour parts

Sessions

Part 1: Land Surface Temperature (LST)-Based Urban Heat Island Mapping

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020
  • Overview of ARSET
  • Background on UHI
  • Satellites and sensors for monitoring UHI
  • Limitations of satellite data
  • Demonstration of converting Landsat 4-8 thermal data to LST
  • Q&A Session

ARSET Instructors

Sean McCartney and Amita Mehta

Materials

Materiales en Español

Part 2: Integrating In-Situ Observations with Satellite Imagery

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020
  • Review previous session and introduce guest speaker
  • Background with case studies integrating in situ observations with satellite imagery in select U.S. cities
  • Q&A Session

Guest Instructor

Vivek Shandas (Portland State University)

Materials

Materiales en Español

Part 3: Mitigating UHI via Long-Term Urban Climate Monitoring

Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020
  • Review previous sessions and introduce guest speakers
  • United States Geological Survey (USGS)/National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) case studies using Landsat ARD-LST to assess UHI in select U.S. cities and diurnal effects of UHI using GOES LST with land cover
  • DEVELOP case study of UHI and land cover in Huntsville, Alabama
  • Q&A Session

Guest Instructors

George Xian (USGS), Kevin Gallo (NOAA), and NASA DEVELOP Team

Materials

Materiales en Español

Citation

(2020). ARSET - Satellite Remote Sensing for Urban Heat Islands. NASA Applied Remote Sensing Training Program (ARSET). https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/trainings/satellite-remote-sensing-urban-heat-islands. 

Find More ARSET Trainings

Details

Last Updated

March 3, 2026

Published

Nov. 10, 2020

Data Center/Project

Applied Remote Sensing Training Program (ARSET)