Geology topics

J.D. Tarpley

Publications and source records attributed to J.D. Tarpley.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2007

The use of a vegetation index for assessment of the urban heat island effect

A vegetation index and radiative surface temperature were derived from NOAA-11 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data for the Seattle, WA region from 28 June through 4 July 1991. The vegetation index and surface temperature values were computed for locations of weather observation stations within the region and compared to observed minimum air temperatures. These comparisons were used to evaluate the use of AVHRR data to assess the influence of the urban environment on observed minimum air temperatures (the urban heat island effect). AVHRR derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and radiant surface temperature data from a one week composite product were both related significantly to observed minimum temperatures, however, the vegetation index accounted for a greater amount of the spatial variation observed in mean minimum temperatures. The difference in the NDVI between urban and rural regions appears to be an indicator of the difference in surface properties (i.e., evaporation and heat storage capacity) between the two environments that are responsible for differences in urban and rural minimum temperatures.

International Journal of Remote Sensing↗

USGS1995

Recent data and information system initiatives for remotely sensed measurements of the land surface

As part of the International Satellite Land Satellite Climatology Program (ISLSCP) Workshop on Remote Sensing of the Land Surface for Studies of Global Change, five invited presentations were given on recent data initiatives relevant to the ISLSCP community. The presentations are summarized in this paper along with some observations by the authors on data systems for the land sciences community. The invited presentations are by no means all inclusive but were selected as examples of current data activities, representing a range of topics associated with data for land sciences including: the generation of global and local scale data sets, the reworking of historical data sets, new data initiatives and some programmatic aspects of land data base development. This paper serves to provide information on these data initiatives and to air some of the issues concerning land science data systems that were raised at the meeting.

Remote Sensing of Environment↗

USGS1993

The use of NOAA AVHRR data for assessment of the urban heat sland effect

A vegetation index and a radiative surface temperature were derived from satellite data acquired at approximately 1330 LST for each of 37 cities and for their respective nearby rural regions from 28 June through 8 August 1991. Urbanrural differences for the vegetation index and the surface temperatures were computed and then compared to observed urbanrural differences in minimum air temperatures. The purpose of these comparisons was to evaluate the use of satellite data to assess the influence of the urban environment on observed minimum air temperatures (the urban heat island effect). The temporal consistency of the data, from daily data to weekly, biweekly, and monthly intervals, was also evaluated. The satellite-derived normalized difference (ND) vegetation-index data, sampled over urban and rural regions composed of a variety of land surface environments, were linearly related to the difference in observed urban and rural minimum temperatures. The relationship between the ND index and observed differences in minimum temperature was improved when analyses were restricted by elevation differences between the sample locations and when biweekly or monthly intervals were utilized. The difference in the ND index between urban and rural regions appears to be an indicator of the difference in surface properties (evaporation and heat storage capacity) between the two environments that are responsible for differences in urban and rural minimum temperatures. The urban and rural differences in the ND index explain a greater amount of the variation observed in minimum temperature differences than past analyses that utilized urban population data. The use of satellite data may contribute to a globally consistent method for analysis of urban heat island bias.

Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology↗

USGS1987

A joint NOAA/USGS study to evaluate satellite assessment of land surface features and climatic variables

Data collection and preliminary analyses have begun for a study that will evaluate the usefulness of satellite data for assessment of land surface features and climatic variables. The objective of the study is to determine what relationships exist between routinely available ground-based climatic and land surface information and satellite-obtained land surface information. The overall goal is to contribute to the increasingly important understanding of land surface climatology.

Conference Paper↗