Superficial Urban Heat Island in the City of Santos, Brazil

Abstract

This contribution estimates the intensity of Urban Heat Island (UHI) during the period 2001 - 2020 for the city of Santos (CS), located in São Paulo, Brazil. The formation of the Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI) was quantified from 2 methods: the first was Streutker’s method, which adjusts the surface soil temperature (LST) (urban and rural surface) to a Gaussian surface. The second, the quantile method proposed by Jose Flores, uses the difference between the 0.95 quantile of the LST of the urban area and the median of the LST of the rural area. Both methods use remote sensing data of LST at 0.05° resolution, obtained from the MODIS sensor on board the TERRA and AQUA satellites. In general, the quantile method can be used as a complementary analysis to the Streutker method for cities with high LST. The results of the CS analysis, during diurnal periods, indicate maximum values in May (5.09°C) and minimum values in August (3.87°C). During the night period, it presented maximum values in February (3.94°C) and minimum values in August (2.40°C) with the quantile method, and due to its proximity to the Small Ocean, the Streutker method presents interferences.