1. Using NASA Earth Observations to Analyze Heat and Light Pollution in Urban Environments Alex Holland 1 Kathryn Franks 1 1 Geography and Environmental Sustainability, College of Atmospheric & Geographic Sciences, University of Oklahoma, OK 73019, Alex.F.Holland-1@ou.edu kfranks18@ou.edu Two of the most visible aspects of urbanization are light pollution and heat island effect. Light pollution occurs when an area is lit by artificial lighting at night. The artificial light can make the sky brighter than the normal nighttime lighting levels and disrupt circadian rhythms of many nocturnal species. Light pollution can impact human society by disrupting our circadian rhythms. It can affect an area for more than 50 sqkm around a major urban area. Heat pollution is otherwise known as the “heat island effect”. This effect is caused when the rural areas surrounding a city cool off quicker than the city itself. This can lead to a host of ecological problems such as delaying or even halting migration of avian species. The “heat island” effect can impact humans by not allowing an area to cool at night leading to an increased risk of heat exhaustion and stroke. Using Denver (CO), New Orleans (LA) and Oklahoma City (OK) as study areas, this project analyzes these effects in areas that have varying climates, topography and urban growth. We evaluated night land surface temperature data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Visible Infrared Image Suite (VIIRS) day/night band (DNB), to determine the light and heat impacts of these urban areas on their surroundings. We compared the geographic extent of these impacts for these different cities. We also used census variables such as population, household income and land use data to account for socioeconomic differences between the cities. Results Abstract Study Areas Conclusions Population Data Methodology Data Light pollution has a larger spatial impact than the heat island effect. Terrain has a significant impact on the extent of both types of pollution. Sprawling urban centers have a larger light pollution impact, but not necessarily a larger heat island. Population plays a role in heat island effect but not light pollution. Temperature anomalies were found between urban area & surrounding landscape For most areas this was between 1º C and 3º C. Created a polygon from the extent of the contiguous area. A polygon was created for New Orleans despite the LST data quality. The nighttime lights data for this project comes from the NPP Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite(VIIRS) Day/Night Band. Data from June 2015 and its units are nW/cm³. The land surface temperature data comes from the Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) collected over an 8 day span in June 2015. Due to influences of nearby bodies of water, the LST data quality is very low in the New Orleans study area. Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area New Orleans Metropolitan Area Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area We used the Census Bureau tiger data to derive our population density map https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger-line.html The virrs data came from the noaa VIRRS data download page. June2015 Tile 1 http://ngdc.noaa.gov/eog/viirs/download_monthly.html MODIS Land Surface Temperature data can be downloaded from google earth engine https://earthengine.google.org/#detail/MODIS%2FMYD11A2 NLCD data legend and images http://www.mrlc.gov/nlcd11_leg.php Sources Study AreaHeat Island Area (km 2 ) Light Pollution Area (km2) Area (km2) Population Oklahoma City 982508616511.481,549,321 Denver-Aroura138542877644.602,318,833 New Orleans1865333618844.031,167,764 / Denver-Aurora Metropolitan AreaNew Orleans Metropolitan Area Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area