materials interspersed with natural vegetation. We found that the hotter areas are more likely to have greater densities of impervious infrastructure such as roads and buildings that store and reradiate daytime heat energy. The surrounding areas tend to be cooler due to the widespread distribution of forested areas that reduce heating through shading and transpiration. This effect was detected in essentially all areas investigated, proving that this is modern on-going environmental concern.
These environmental issues of urban heat can really have an effect on many different communities in many different places. So by testing more problems and proving many different hypotheses regarding land cover distribution can eventually find ways for scientists to stop urban heat islands from creating higher temperatures while allowing for continued smart development. Scientists that actually use GIS mapping could go out and use many different datasets to further investigate urban heat islands and their drivers and impacts.
Imhoff,, Marc Ping Zhang, Robert Wolfe, and Lahourari Bounoua (2010) Remote sensing of the urban heat island effect across biomes in the continental USA. Remorte Sensing of Environment, 114, 504-513.
Oke, T.R. and J.A. Voogt. (2003) Thermal remote sensing of urban climates. Remote Sensing of Environment, 86, 370-384.
Stone, Jr., Brian. (2007) Short Communication: Urban and rural temperature trends in proximity to large US cities: 1951-2000. International Journal of Climatology, 27, 1801-1807.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Website. The Urban Heat Island. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/health-society/heat-deaths.html
Last accessed June, 2015
I want to thank the organizers of the SAP program for creating these great experiences. I would especially like to thank Dr. Gyawali for inviting me to come participate in the Summer Apprenticeship Program. It was a great learning experience to prepare for college. I would also like to thank all the participants because they were all good friends to me during this experience.