[ABGESAGT] Cooling effects of graveyards on Urban Heat Islands: A satellite data and GIS analysis

Vortrag

Teil der Sitzung

[FS-529] [VERSCHOBEN / ABGESAGT] Fernerkundung von städtischen und ländlichen Räumen unter dem Einfluss des Klimawandels (2/2)

Sitzungstermin

Freitag (22. September 2023), 16:30–18:00

Sitzungsraum

SH 3.107

Autor*innen

Britta Stumpe (Bergische Universität Wuppertal)

Yannik Sülzer (Wuppertal)

Kurzbeschreibung

The study utilized satellite data and GIS to analyze the cooling effects of graveyards within Urban Heat Islands. The results showed the significant cooling impact of graveyards and the importance of green spaces in urban planning to mitigate the adverse impacts of UHIs on human health and well-being.

Schlagwörter

Urban Heat Islands, Cooling Effects, Graveyards, GIS Analysis, Satellite Data

Abstract

Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) are areas in urban environments where the temperature is significantly higher than in the surrounding rural areas due to human activities. This phenomenon can have adverse effects on the health and well-being of urban dwellers. In this study, we investigated the cooling effects of graveyards as Urban Green Spaces (UGSs) within UHIs using Landsat 8 satellite data and QGIS.

We collected and analyzed temperature data on drought periods from 2013 to 2022 from four different UHIs located as the highest populated cities in Germany. The data were calculated using Landsat 8 OLI/TIR imagery with a spatial resolution of 30 meters. We then used QGIS to process and analyze the data.

Our results showed that the temperature inside the graveyards was on average 1.5°C lower than park cooling islands. Furthermore, we found that the cooling effect of the graveyards extended up to 200 meters outside their boundaries. These findings suggest that (german) graveyards can have a significant impact on reducing the temperature within (german) UHIs.

We also analyzed the potential reasons for the cooling effects of graveyards. We found that the vegetation cover inside the graveyards played a crucial role in reducing the temperature. The tree-dominated cover in these UGSs provided shade and increased the transpiration rate, which led to a decrease in the temperature.

In conclusion, our study provides evidence that graveyards higher a stronger cooling effect on UHIs than other forms of UGSs, and this effect extends beyond their boundaries. This finding highlights the importance of considering the cooling effects of green spaces in urban planning and design to mitigate the adverse impacts of UHIs.