Analysis of urban heat island (UHI) in the Beijing metropolitan area by time-series MODIS data

Land surface temperature (LST) products of Beijing, China, during 2001-2008 provided by Terra/Aqua Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are used to characterize the relationships between urban heat island (UHI) magnitude and the rural surface temperature (RST). Two methods for calculating the UHI magnitude and the RST are applied. Results show that UHI magnitudes are significantly related to the RST, with positive correlation in the daytime and negative correlation in the nighttime. Evident lag correlations are found between the daytime UHI magnitude and the nearby rural surface temperature, because of the differences of vegetation abundance and surface moisture between the urban and rural areas. However, similar lag relationships are not found between the nighttime UHI magnitude and the corresponding rural surface temperature.