Impact assessment modeling of climatic conditions on spatial-temporal changes in surface biophysical properties driven by urban physical expansion using satellite images

This study was aimed to explore the effect of climatic conditions on changes in surface biophysical properties driven by urban growth using remote sensing and climatic data. For this purpose, Landsat 5 and 8 multi-time satellite images of Tabriz, Rasht, Yazd and Mashhad metropolises have been used. Firstly, a land use/cover map was prepared for the study area using the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm. In the secondly, surface biophysical properties including land surface temperature (LST) data, and brightness, greenness, and wetness properties were extracted using single channel algorithm and tasseled-cap band transformation, respectively. Then, their spatial and temporal variations across the study area were investigated. In the third step, the effect of climatic conditions on the spatial-temporal Changes in surface biophysical properties driven by urban physical expansion were investigated. The results showed the area of built-up area in Mashhad, Rasht, Tabriz, and Yazd has increased by 97, 148, 106 and 145 % from 1990 to 2019. The difference in surface biophysical properties inside and outside the cities was higher in cities with wet climates (e.g. Rasht) than cities with dry and hot climates (e.g. Yazd). The effect of urban physical expansion on temporal changes in surface biophysical properties was more pronounced in metropolises with humid climates than those in arid climates. According to our findings, long-term spatial and temporal analysis can help decision-makers to better plan for the reduction and control of LST changes according to the dominant climatic conditions of different metropolises.

Automated summary

This study investigates the impact of climatic conditions on changes in surface biophysical properties driven by urban growth using remote sensing and climatic data. The results indicate that the effect of urban physical expansion on surface biophysical properties is more prominent in metropolises with humid climates. Long-term spatial and temporal analysis can aid decision-makers in planning for the reduction and control of land surface temperature changes based on the dominant climatic conditions of different metropolises.