Application of GIS for Estimation of Brightness Temperature using Landsat Data in Kilite Awulalo, Tigray Ethiopia

Abstract

Put into practice of on Plantation and Domestic/home gardens, as an important component of both rural and urban green infrastructure, could make significant contributions to rural and urban biodiversity and which results to minimizing global warming in general and surface temperature in particular. There for this study investigates surface temperature estimation using Landsat Data in Kilite Awulalo, Tigray Ethiopia. The reason for selecting this area is due to the fact that, in the area there was afforestation and reforestation program have be done from 1980s. This initiates to assessing the works of the area especially on plantation programs for regulation of surface temperature. To do this, the specific objective of the study is to examine the application of GIS for Estimating surface Temperature using landsat data. The land surface temperature (LST) was retrieved from thermal infrared band of each LANDSAT images covering over a period 1984 (Landsat-5 TM band 6); 2000 (Landsat-7 ETM+ band 6) and 2014 (Landsat-8 OLI_TIRS band 11) was used and analyzed using Arc GIS 10.1. The surface temperature is then extracted from the surface radiance. Based on Landsat image, mean temperature of the 1984 TM of the area is 28.12°C, minimum temperature as 12.78°C and the maximum temperature is 36.72^oC; mean temperature of the 2000 ETM+ of the area is 30.39°C, minimum temperature as 13.4°C and the maximum temperature is 41.92^oC; and mean temperature of the 2014 OLI_TIRS of the area is 35.77°C, minimum temperature as 31.9°C and the maximum temperature is 43.26^oC. From this we can understand that there is a significant change and increasing of brightness temperature between from year 1984, year 2000 and year 2014.

Keywords: Landsat Data, RS, GIS, Brightness Temperature