GC23K-1245
Urban Heat Island Variation across a Dramatic Coastal to Desert Climate Zone: An Application to Los Angeles, CA Metropolitan Area
Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Amin Tayyebi, University of California Riverside, Center for Conservation Biology, Riverside, CA, United States and Darrel Jenerette, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
Abstract:
Urbanization is occurring at an unprecedented rate across the globe. The resulting urban heat island (UHI), which is a well-known phenomenon in urban areas due to the increasing number and density of buildings, leads to higher temperature in urban areas than surrounding sub-urban or rural areas. Understanding the effects of landscape pattern on UHI is crucial for improving the sustainability of cities and reducing heat vulnerability. Although a variety of studies have quantified UHI, there are a lack of studies to 1) understand UHI variation at the micro-scale (e.g., neighborhood effect) for large urban areas and 2) identify variation in the sensitivity of the UHI to environmental drivers across a megacity with a pronounced climate zone (i.e. coastal to desert climates) using advanced analytical tools. In this study, we identified the interacting relationship among various environmental and socio-economic factors to better identify UHI over the Los Angeles, CA metropolitan area. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to quantify the interacting relationships among land surface temperature (LST), land cover (NDVI), distance to ocean, elevation, and socio-economic status (neighborhood income). LST-NDVI slopes were negative across the climate zones and became progressively stronger with increasing distance from the coast. Results also showed that slopes between NDVI and neighborhood income were positive throughout the climate zone with a maximum in the relationship occurring near 25km from the coast. Because of these income-NDVI and NDVI-LST relationships we also found that slopes between LST and neighborhood income were negative throughout the climate zones and peaked at about 30km from the coast. These findings suggest assessments of urban heat vulnerability need to consider not only variation in the indicators but also variation in how the indicators influence vulnerability.
