Analysis of Urban Heat Islands Using Landsat 8 OLI / TIR Data: Case of the City of Guelma (Algeria)
Boubaker Khallef *
Department of Planning, Research Laboratory Natural Resources and Development, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Badji Mokhtar University, Annaba, Algeria.
Yamina Biskri
Department of Letters and English Language, Faculty of Letters and Languages, University 8 May 1945, Guelma, Algeria.
Nabil Mouchara
Department of Natural and Life Sciences, Ibn Khaldoun University, Tiaret, Algeria.
Khaled Brahamia
Department of Planning, Research Laboratory Natural Resources and Development, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Badji Mokhtar University, Annaba, Algeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study aims to analyze the urban heat islands of the city of Guelma using Landsat 8 data and the geographic information system. The application of the single Chanel algorithm has been applied to extract surface temperature (LST) from Landsat 8 data. The result obtained shows that the surface temperature of August 11, 2019 in the city of Guelma varied from 36 to 47 degrees. However, the correlation between the LST, the NDVI and the NDBI allowed characterizing the effects of the green zones and the water resources thus the grounds built on the urban heat islands. The ecological assessment was performed using an urban thermal field variance index (UTFVI). The result obtained from this ecological assessment shows that 4 km2 of the surface of the city of Guelma represents a much worse ecological quality. It is therefore urgent for this city to strengthen and expand the strategies for reducing the effects of urban heat islands for preserve the quality of urban life of the inhabitants.
Keywords: Urban heat island, Landsat 8, urbanization, Guelma, Algeria