AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURES AND BIOPHYSICAL INDICES RETRIEVED FROM LANDSAT TM IN AFYONKARAHISAR (TURKEY)

This study investigates the land surface heat formation in Afyonkarahisar based on the relationship between LST and surface biophysical parameters (NDVI, NDBI and NDWI) for Afyonkarahisar provinces for the years 1987 and 2011. Landsat 5 TM satellite images are used to retrieve NDVI, NDBI and NDWI and surface temperature. While the calculated mean surface temperature for the year 1987 is 27,75 degrees C for the city and 27,04 degrees C for the urban area, the calculated mean surface temperature of the year 2011 is 25,98 degrees C for the city and 24,81 degrees C for the urban area. Based on the analysis of these indices, a slight urban heat sink (UHS) was observed in Afyonkarahisar due to the small size of the city. This study shows that the main causes of the urban heat sink (UHS) in the study area are the natural occurrence including the three very high volcanic rocky hills in the city and geothermal water springs around the city.