Urban Heat Islands

Resources from this project
Archived resources from this project

Learning Unit Description:

Integrated Geospatial Education and Technology Training (iGETT) presents a series of Learning Units (LU) designed to incorporate federal land remote sensing data into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) instruction. This LU "... explores urban heat islands (UHIs), a critical environmental issue in many large cities. In this LU, [students] learn to use Landsat and/or ASTER thermal (TIR) data analysis to map the thermal characteristics of [a] project area and, specifically, identify areas of high temperature or thermal signature." Students will answer the following basic questions while completing this unit:

Can RS and GIS analysis be used to identify, characterize, and quantify urban heat islands in your selected area?
Can that analysis be used in identifying and applying mitigation strategies and developing public policy to address UHI issues?

This iGETT learning unit is intended for advanced students and takes up to 8 to 10 weeks to complete. The LU can also be modified for intermediate level students and is also suitable for a capstone exercise.

Lesson Contents:

This lesson includes a curriculum support document, instructor guide, student guide, and multiple data sets in .rar format.

The curriculum support document, instructor guide, and student guide provide an overview of the LU and background information about urban heat islands. These documents also include learning objectives, student outcomes, scientific and/or geographic concepts covered, software and equipment needed, a timeline for the LU, and descriptions for each part of the lesson. The instructor guide includes more detailed descriptions for each part of the lesson.

This LU has been split into two .zip files and both must be downloaded to access the lesson contents. For orientation purposes OsoBayLCCC_Nelson_CS_June2008.pdf has been included as a separate attachment and offers a sample of the type of material included in the lesson unit.

Below is a list of the files contained within the .zip attachments. The size of each file is included in parenthesis.

LU_Peter.zip.001 and LU_Peter.zip.002 (20 files, 3.91 GB)