Analysis of Land surface Temperature change based on MODIS data, Case study: Inner Delta of Niger

Abstract

Abstract. Land Surface Temperature (LST) investigation in the Sahel zones is a crucial task to counter the climate change effects. Inner Delta of Niger (IDN) affected by a significant change of LST over an eighteen years period (from 2000 to 2017) is threatened by natural risks like volcanic hazards and the degradation of the global environment. This work focuses on the Early Warning Systems and Monitoring Technologies of the LST change over the existent phenomena and different types of geologies. Indeed, the processing of MODIS (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data was carried out from Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) methods including equal interval method followed by the highlighting of hottest sectors as well as their delineations. The diachronic analysis of processed images into 5 temperature slices at equal interval, shows a temperature increase over the said period with an annual rate of increasing temperatures of 0.24 °C. The spatiotemporal dynamics of temperature slices 19.21 °C to 25.15 °C, 25.15 °C to 31.10 °C and 31.10 °C to 37.05 °C shows an extension of surfaces with mean annual progress rates of 0.13 %, 0.20 %, and 1.74 % respectively. At the same time, mean annual regress rates of −0.64 %, and −1.42 % has been observed at the temperature slices 37.05 °C to 43.00 °C and 43.00 °C to 48.94 °C. The attrition (disappearance of spots) of 12.22 % represents the dominant spatial transformation process of the maximum temperature slice 43.00 °C to 48.94 °C which spreads over a mean surface of 4.42 %. Thus the maximal temperature increases while its occupancy surface decreases. Therefore, The IDN threatened by the desertification is affected by a strong terrestrial global warming determining the volcanic hazards areas (Faguibine Lake).