Urban heat island effects study based on built-up index and vegetation index in Beijing city

In this paper, brightness temperature (Tb), normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) and normalized difference vegetion index (NDVI) were quantitatively derived from Landsat TM images of Beijing City. Feature profiles of Tb, NDBI and NDVI were drawn in the directions of NE-SW and NW-SE using the technologies of RS and GIS. Laws of spatial distribution of the relationships between Tb and NDBI, Tb and NDVI were discussed. The results showed that: 1) there is a significant positive correlation between Tb and NDBI, and a significant negetive correlation between Tb and NDVI. 2) The less distance between the other profiles and the central profile is, the stronger the negative correlation between Tb and NDVI is, the stronger the positive correlation between Tb and NDBI is. 3) The relationship between Tb and NDBI, Tb and NDVI is affected by the complexity of land use structures. The more complex the land use structure is, the stronger the relationship between Tb and NDBI, Tb and NDVI of feature profile are. This paper effectively reveals the spatial correlations between temperature and building and vegetion, and thus can provide certain scientific supports for Beijing's urban and greenland planning in the future.