Identifying Urban Heat Mitigation Strategies for Climate Adaptation Planning in Fairfax County, Virginia

Keywords: Urban heat, climate adaptation, Landsat 8, ECOSTRESS
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 8

Abstract

As the global climate warms, communities are expected to experience increased frequency and intensity of extreme hot temperatures. Heatwaves result in detrimental consequences to human health, increased energy consumption, damage to infrastructure, and have disproportionate impacts among marginalized communities. People in urbanized areas experience higher temperatures than rural areas due to diminished vegetation and increased impervious surfaces which absorb and radiate heat. Fairfax County, Virginia embarked on a program, Resilient Fairfax, aimed at addressing climate adaptation and resilience. The Langley NASA DEVELOP Team partnered with the Fairfax County Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination to assess the extent of the urban heat island effect on the county and its most vulnerable populations. The team used data from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), as well as the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) for the years 2013 to 2021 and found that the hottest spots were in densely urbanized areas, with temperatures as much as 47°F above that of undeveloped reference areas. Neighborhoods, where heat exposure and heat sensitive populations coincided, were deemed vulnerable; these included Springfield, Seven Corner's, Bailey's Crossroads, and Huntington. The team used the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) urban cooling model and determined that areas with higher tree canopy cover had greater heat mitigation capacity. The results will allow partners to assess heat distribution across Fairfax County and implement effective mitigation strategies, including locating prime locations for cooling centers and increasing canopy cover.