Examining the relationship between land surface temperature and landscape features using spectral indices with Google Earth Engine

Land surface temperature (LST) is strongly influenced by landscape features as they change the thermal characteristics of the surface greatly. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), and Normalized Difference Bareness Index (NDBAI) correspond to vegetation cover, water bodies, impervious build-ups, and bare lands, respectively. These indices were utilized to demonstrate the relationship between multiple landscape features and LST using the spectral indices derived from images of Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) of Sylhet Sadar Upazila (2000–2018). Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud computing platform was used to filter, process, and analyze trends with logistic regression. LST and other spectral indices were calculated. Changes in LST (2000–2018) range from −6 °C to +4 °C in the study area. Because of higher vegetation cover and reserve forest, the north-eastern part of the study region had the greatest variations in LST. The spectral indices corresponding to landscape features have a considerable explanatory capacity for describing LST scenarios. The correlation of these indices with LST ranges from −0.52 (NDBI) to +0.57 (NDVI).