Nanotechnology assessment of urban development and land surface temperature in Basra from 2000 to 2021 using rs and GIs methods

Abstract

Basra city in southern Iraq has undergone a high rate of urbanization over the past decades. Agricultural and open lands have been modified to populated regions. This paper has explored urban development space and time features as well as their effects on the climate of Basra. The analytical methodology of the study relies on the change of the Land Surface Temperature (LST), NDBI, and Land Use/Land Cover (LULC). The obtained data are analyzed and interpreted with the help of the Geographical Information System (GIS) technology. Based on Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 imagery, the change in urban growth and surface temperature of land between 2000 and 2021 is examined. The images that had been collected are classified using the unsupervised classification method, and this is done to determine the variation of LULC over the period. The results show significant variations in the LULC groups during the study period, mainly attributed to human activities. Throughout all the study years, the expanding urbanization of agricultural areas represented the main changes in the LULC. A total increase of 1,063 km² for the building areas is identified during the study period, which started with 4,788 km² in 2000 and reached 5,851 km² in 2021, mainly in the city center and northeast. As a result, a negative impact on the local climate is recorded as the temperature values rose from 1-67 ^OC in 2000 to 5-69 ^OC in 2021, with the highest temperature recorded in urban lands and bare lands lacking any vegetation.