Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Albedo and the Responses to Canopy Fraction, Land Cover and Land Surface Temperature in the Greater Kansas City Area

The conversion of natural vegetated areas to densely built impervious creates localized climate shifts, contributing for the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Previous studies have shown that urban land conversion can lead to changes in albedo due to both the introduction of dark buildings and roads along with the effect of the complex vertical topography of the urban landscape. Therefore, understanding the distribution of albedo across urban regions plays a significant role in order to mitigate UHI impacts. This study aimed to investigate the spatio-temporal variability of albedo in the greater Kansas City Area and relate the estimates with different metrics, such as canopy fraction, land cover and land surface temperature (LST). The study period comprised 17 years (January 2000-December 2017) of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) remote sensing data related to the following version 6 products: MCD43 (16-day albedo) and MOD11A1 (daily LST). Ancillary data included tree canopy fraction (National Land Cover Database (NLCD)) and land cover classification (Mid-America Regional Council (MARC)). Our methodology allowed to analyze the correspondence between albedo and canopy fraction across the most common land cover classes in the study area (industrial, commercial, low-density residential, single-family residential, multi-family residential, parks, and agriculture). It was also possible to observe the impacts of extreme events in different local climate zones (LCZs). The results obtained here evidence how changes in albedo with urban development alter the regional surface energy balance, providing valuable information that may be used to improve the accuracy of urban climate models.