Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
This is a page with frequently asked questions that can help you as a visitor of this site and potential user of the data that we will provide.
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Land Surface Temperature is how hot the ground/surface is. Land surface temperature is influenced by the physical and built environment. It is different from air temperature. Air temperature is how hot the air is, and it is influenced by altitude, wind, and other factors.
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Land Surface Temperature (LST) measures how hot a surface is. Imagine touching a hot road on a summer day — that is what LST measures. That is not the same as what we feel on a hot day — that is air temperature. LST and air temperature are not the same, but LST is useful to understand the distribution of heat.
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A temperature heatmap is a visual tool that shows changes in temperature over time. It helps illustrate how climate change is affecting different regions, including your own. By understanding this data, you can make informed choices about your region as it relates to heat.
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The data is collected from Landsat 8 and 9 Satellites, from 2013 to 2024. The last time this data was updated was May 19, 2024. We plan to update and validate the data to ensure accuracy. However, it’s always good practice to cross-check sources when using data for academic work.
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You can explore our interactive dashboard and see how heat affects your neighborhood. This way you can plan ahead on your needs for heat adaptation. You can bring it to the attention of your family, friends or government so that together we create a more resilient island.
You can use our heatmaps to explore temperature trends over the years (between 2013 and 2024). Go to our interactive dashboards, enter your location, and see how things have changed over time.
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Not at all! Our heatmaps are designed to be easy to read, with color-coded legends and simple explanations. Even if you're new to climate science, you can quickly grasp the key insights.
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You can join community discussions, share the heatmaps on social media, or design your own projects informed by this data. You can also share new insights/findings with our team!
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We will generate maps at the neighborhood level for each island, visualizing summertime temperatures. You can make decisions at the neighborhood level for health, nature, environment, infrastructure, adapt policies and laws, carry-out informed decision-making
We will also have maps at a 30m by 30m resolution, where you can see temperature changes at a fine resolution. This can help you make more focused decisions for targeted interventions (like preserving green spaces, designating cooling centers, heat-resistant infrastructure, etc).
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A temperature heatmap is a visual tool that represents temperature data using color gradients. It can help students analyze trends like temperature changes, deforestation, or urbanization across different regions. You can use it for research projects, essays, or presentations by identifying patterns and making data-driven conclusions.
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Yes! You can download specific datasets in formats like CSV or JSON for further analysis here.
If you need access to large datasets or specific regions, reach out to our team. -
Each heatmap uses a color scale to indicate variations in climate factors (e.g., red for high temperatures, blue for lower ones). Make sure to check the legend and accompanying explanations to understand what each color represents. If you're new to data visualization, we will offer virtual offerings!
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Absolutely! Students can use our heatmap data for reports, presentations, or even blog posts. If you discover interesting trends, feel free to share them with us or cite our website in your research. You can also join our community forum to discuss findings with other students and researchers.
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Our climate change heatmaps provide real-world data that can be used for geography, science, and environmental studies lessons. Teachers can use them to explain climate trends, conduct data analysis exercises, or encourage students to develop their research projects.
Here are some ideas on using this data in your curriculum:
If you are a high school teacher in the sciences, you can use the dashboard to teach your students introductory GIS and design activities around heat mapping.
A sample activity can be for students to analyze how temperature has changed over time in a specific neighborhood/barrio, and hypothesize why these changes might have occurred. Students can learn how to apply the tool, troubleshoot and take the heat maps further, studying yearly temperatures, seasonal heat distribution and considering what other parameters can influence Land Surface Temperature.
This tool can also be used for participatory decision-making. Performing mock exercises where students get to choose what should be done at their school to enhance the environment and reduce heat impact can be a sample activity.
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Yes! You can download specific datasets in formats like CSV or JSON for further analysis here.
If you need access to large datasets or specific regions, reach out to our team. -
Each heatmap uses a color scale to indicate variations in climate factors (e.g., red for high temperatures, blue for lower ones). Make sure to check the legend and accompanying explanations to understand what each color represents. If you're new to data visualization, we will offer virtual offerings!
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Land Surface Temperature measurements are impacted by cloud cover, and in our tropical region, there are a lot of clouds. Some islands (like Aruba) have more clouds than others. This leads to certain areas where there are no data is available. For each neighborhood average, we required at least 75% of the area to be covered by data. If that threshold was not met, a neighborhood value was classified as NA.
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There are available cloud masking algorithms that the Landsat Research team has developed, which we used. Additionally, we only used images that had less than 50% cloud cover.
Contact Us!
If you still have questions, reach out to us through this contact form.