ABSTRACT
Satellite remote sensing provides land surface temperature (LST) data across entire urban areas, allowing for the quantification of the surface urban heat island (SUHI) in terms of both its “overall height” and “elevation distribution”. Such a quantified SUHI offers critical scientific evidence for sustainable urban development and heat mitigation strategies. However, no satellite LST products or SUHI quantification methods are universally applicable across various spatiotemporal scales and diverse urban structures. The available LST products have different spatiotemporal resolutions, time spans, and swath widths, depending on factors such as the satellite's sensor, orbit height, and mission. In addition, the error characteristics of LST differ based on the retrieval algorithm. The quantification methods for SUHI vary based on urban/non-urban configuration, background climate and topographic characteristics, spatiotemporal scales, and availability of land use/land cover data. Therefore, users need to select an appropriate LST product and quantification method that aligns with their specific focus. This chapter begins by introducing the types of satellite LST products, LST retrieval algorithms, and unique biases of urban surfaces. This chapter then introduces various methods for quantifying SUHI and discusses the contexts in which they are most appropriately used.
