Evaluation of Net Radiation in San Luis Potosí City—México, with Remote Sensing Processes

Abstract

Net radiation is essential in analyzing the earth’s energy balance since it regulates the soil’s temperature, humidity, and thermal processes. Then, energy regulates an urban area’s climate and heat distribution. Therefore, problems such as heat islands arise if these areas have more impervious surfaces than vegetation cover. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the net radiation in the city of San Luis Potosí from a multi-temporal analysis applying remote sensing. Satellite images from the Landsat 5 TM and 8 OLI/TIRS sensors were used. Through remote sensing processes, the imagery has been calibrated to obtain the net flux extracting the incident and outgoing radiation. Our results show that net radiation levels decrease in the dry season and increase in the rainy season. It was also observed that the incident radiation predominates over the outgoing radiation on the city’s impervious surfaces, causing temperature increase. This study is helpful in decision-making related to the city’s planning.