Temporal Characteristics of Thermal Satellite Sensors for Urban Heat Island Analysis

EarthzineArticles, Earth Observation, In-Depth, Original, Sections, Themed Articles, Urban Monitoring Theme

Figure showing Air temperature (Ta) for the Hong Kong Observatory (urban) and Ta Kwu Ling (rural) climate stations for the 48 hours surrounding the image time.

Figure showing Air temperature image of the Kowloon Peninsula with street network.How accurate are thermal satellite images compared to on-the-ground field measurements when it comes to assessing the urban heat island (UHI) effect in Hong Kong? This research suggests that thermal images can be useful on hot summer nights to evaluate the magnitude and distribution of Hong Kong’s UHI.

Very High Spatial Resolution Imagery for Urban Applications

EarthzineArticles, Earth Observation, In-Depth, Original, Sections, Themed Articles, Urban Monitoring Theme

Figure showing comparison of QuickBird, WorldView-1, and WorldView-2 spectral bands.

Cropped satellite image of BeijingA commercial satellite called WorldView-2 is the latest from DigitalGlobe. It includes new spectral bands to support vegetation and coastal analysis. This provides the potential for more robust modeling and discrimination of spectral signatures, resulting in more accurate feature extraction and land cover classification.

Satellite-Based Crisis Information and Risk Assessment: Contributions Following the Earthquake in W. Sumatra and the Mentawai Tsunami

EarthzineArticles, Disaster Management Theme, Earth Observation, Original, Sections, Themed Articles

Image showing the crisis cycle

Cropped ZKI Crisis mapWhen a disaster occurs, rapid mapping activities using satellite data can provide valuable information to support emergency response actions. Such was the case recently when severe earthquake and tsunami events hit Sumatra, prompting the contribution from the Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information, a service of the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

North Carolina Coastal Management: Satellite Monitoring of Coastal Wetland and Shoreline Changes in Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, North Carolina

EarthzineArticles, Disaster Management Theme, Earth Observation, Ecosystems Theme, Oceans, Original, Sections, Themed Articles

Cropped image of a map of Slovenia

Normalized Digitized Vegetation Index image for portion of Tyrrell County showing green color as least vegetated; grey as greatest, red colors indicate intermediate levels of chlorophyll and Gold-colored outlines show NCDCM locations of wetlands.This article focuses on a NASA Applied Sciences National DEVELOP assistance to the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management (NCDCM) with the assessment of coastline changes and habitat loss in coastal wetlands utilizing satellite remote sensing. The Hyde, Tyrrell, and Dare counties in eastern North Carolina occupy the coastlines of the Albemarle and Pamlico Sound estuaries. The Pamlico Sound is the largest estuarine lagoon along the East coast of the United States.