Land use and Urban Heat Island Effect on Surface Air Temperature Change in Northeast China

Based on homogenized land surface air temperature data and NCEP/DOE Reanalysis（R-2）data, urban heat island (UHI) and land use change (LUC) effects on regional temperature change in Northeast China are analyzed during 1954-2005 and 1979-2005, respectively. Results indicate that the UHI effect on the regional annual/seasonal temperature warming can be regarded to be minor, while the LUC are very important contributor to surface warming in Northeast China during recent decades. Take annual and winter mean minimum temperature for example, the contribution of UHI to the warming trends are evaluated as 0.014℃ and 0.021℃ per decade respectively during the last 52 years, which are only about 3.5％ as compared with regional warming trends; And, -0.003℃ and -0.025℃ per decade from 1979 to present, by contrast to regional warming of 0.660℃ and 0.844℃ per decade. But to the contribution of LUC, the warming trends are 0.326℃ and 0.187℃ per decade since 1979, which are about 49.6％ and 22.8％ of regional warming during the period, respectively. This result is much useful for human to understand the anthropogenic impacts on surface air temperature change in China.