Characterizing the thermal effects of vegetation on urban surface temperature

Vegetation is important for urban heat mitigation. The cooling intensity of vegetation is affected by background climate and urban design. How to evaluate vegetation cooling efficiency under different climate conditions is still an issue open to discussion. In this study, a normalized indicator of urban vegetation cooling efficiency (NVCE) is...

Observing the impact of urban morphology and building geometry on thermal environment by high spatial resolution thermal images

Urban surface temperature is a very important variable in the observation and understanding of energy exchange. A comprehensive understanding of the urban thermal environment is of great significance towards the adaptability of urban areas to climate hazards. The heterogeneity of urban space increases the complexity of the urban surface...

Parameterization of urban sensible heat flux from remotely sensed surface temperature: Effects of surface structure

Sensible heat exchange has important consequences for urban meteorology and related applications. Directional radiometric surface temperatures of urban canopies observed by remote sensing platforms have the potential to inform estimations of urban sensible heat flux. An imaging radiometer viewing the surface from nadir cannot capture the...

Voxel-Based Extraction and Classification of 3-D Pole-Like Objects From Mobile LiDAR Point Cloud Data

The digital mapping of road environment is an important task for road infrastructure inventory and urban planning. Automatic extraction and classification of pole-like objects can remarkably reduce mapping cost and enhance work efficiency. Therefore, this paper proposes a voxel-based method that automatically extracts and classifies three...

Erosion potential of the Yangtze Delta under sediment starvation and climate change

Deltas are widely threatened by sediment starvation and climate change. Erosion potential is an important indicator of delta vulnerability. Here, we investigate the erosion potential of the Yangtze Delta. We found that over the past half century the Yangtze's sediment discharge has decreased by 80% due to the construction of >50,000 dams...