Satellite-Based Investigation and Evaluation of the Observational Environment of Meteorological Stations in Anhui Province, China

In this paper, by using multi-temporal and high resolution Landsat data and geographic information system techniques, the land use/land cover (LULC) in the 2-km buffer zone of 52 meteorological stations in the Anhui province of China is retrieved and categorized into three types: vegetation (including farmland, forest and grass land), water (including lakes, rivers and pools), and construction (including buildings and roads). Besides, the land surface temperature (LST) in the buffer zone of these stations is also obtained from thermal infrared data. The normalized LST index (NLI) and the heat effect contribution index (HECI) of different LULC types are calculated. Via case studies and statistical analysis, the LULC and thermal environment’s temporal-spatial variance in the 2-km buffer zone of these stations are surveyed, and their impacts on the observational environment are investigated. The study shows that the observational environments of the meteorological stations in Anhui province have been greatly influenced by rapid urbanization. The study proposes two new methods to classify the stations’ observational environment into three types (urban, sub-urban, and rural). One uses the NLI and the other uses the HECI. The NLI method needs only LST information. The HECI method combines both LULC and LST information and, hence, is considered more reliable. The evaluation methods and criteria can be used conveniently, effectively, and quantitatively, and are especially useful when analyzing observational data from meteorological stations in weather and climate research and when choosing a location for a new meteorological station.