{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,26]],"date-time":"2026-01-26T03:59:14Z","timestamp":1769399954291,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":61,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,9]],"date-time":"2022-02-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1644364800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Feng-Yun III Satellite Ground Application Project","award":["FY-3(03)-AS-12.09; FY-APP-2021.0408; FY-APP-2021.0107"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FY-3(03)-AS-12.09; FY-APP-2021.0408; FY-APP-2021.0107"]}]},{"name":"International Partnership Program","award":["132C35KYSB20200007"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["132C35KYSB20200007"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Urbanization may exert a strong influence on both near-surface and atmospheric moisture. However, studies on the effect of urbanization on atmospheric moisture using remotely sensed observations have been infrequently conducted. To fill this research gap, we used remotely sensed and station-based observations to calculate urban\u2013rural differences in total-column, near-surface, and atmospheric moisture in the Beijing metropolis. Multiple humidity indicators were selected, including precipitation water vapor, relative humidity, water vapor pressure, and absolute humidity. Results showed that both the total-column and near-surface urban dry islands (UDIs) were detected in Beijing. A significant decreasing trend of the near-surface UDIs intensity (i.e., urban minus rural) was found, which was closely related to the expansion of built-up areas (i.e., the moisture reduction in the newly urbanized areas). However, the trend of the total-column UDIs intensity was not significant. A further investigation of the atmospheric urban\u2013rural moisture differences showed that the UDIs effect mainly existed in the near-surface layer, while an urban wet island was found above the 950 hPa pressure level, probably due to enhanced convergence in urban areas. Generally, the UDIs intensity was the strongest in the hot, wet summer and the weakest in the dry, cold winter. However, the UDIs intensity represented by relative humidity was the largest in autumn and showed the strongest correlation with the expansion of built-up areas in Beijing. This study employed satellite observations to understand the UDIs effect and highlighted the significance of urbanization-induced moisture changes on and above the ground. Findings of this study provided new insights into how urbanization affected atmospheric moisture in the boundary layer and paved the way for process-based modeling studies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs14040809","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,9]],"date-time":"2022-02-09T21:26:48Z","timestamp":1644442008000},"page":"809","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Identification of the Urban Dry Islands Effect in Beijing: Evidence from Satellite and Ground Observations"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Qingzu","family":"Luan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China"},{"name":"Beijing Municipal Climate Center, Beijing Meteorological Bureau, Beijing 100089, China"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0580-7407","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qian","family":"Cao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China"}]},{"given":"Lei","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Beijing Municipal Climate Center, Beijing Meteorological Bureau, Beijing 100089, China"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4050-2868","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yupeng","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China"}]},{"given":"Fengjiao","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shandong Provincial Institute of Land Surveying and Mapping, Jinan 250013, China"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"528","DOI":"10.1038\/nature01675","article-title":"Impact of urbanization and land-use change on climate","volume":"423","author":"Kalnay","year":"2003","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.1007\/s00704-005-0153-0","article-title":"Towards better scientific communication in urban climate","volume":"84","author":"Oke","year":"2006","journal-title":"Theor. Appl. Clim."},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"D05110","article-title":"Climatic effects of 30 years of landscape change over the Greater Phoenix, Arizona, region: 1. Surface energy budget changes","volume":"114","author":"Georgescu","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_4","first-page":"D05111","article-title":"Climatic effects of 30 years of landscape change over the Greater Phoenix, Arizona, region: 2. Dynamical and thermo-dynamical response","volume":"114","author":"Georgescu","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"227","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2018.02.055","article-title":"High-resolution multi-temporal mapping of global urban land using Landsat images based on the Google Earth Engine Platform","volume":"209","author":"Liu","year":"2018","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8935","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1606037114","article-title":"Sustainability in an urbanizing planet","volume":"114","author":"Seto","year":"2017","journal-title":"Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1849","DOI":"10.1002\/joc.1604","article-title":"Cities as agents of global change","volume":"27","author":"Mills","year":"2007","journal-title":"Int. J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"756","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1150195","article-title":"Global change and the ecology of cities","volume":"319","author":"Grimm","year":"2008","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cosust.2009.07.012","article-title":"Global urban land-use trends and climate impacts","volume":"1","author":"Seto","year":"2009","journal-title":"Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1038\/d41586-018-02409-z","article-title":"Six research priorities for cities and climate change","volume":"555","author":"Bai","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1269","DOI":"10.1007\/s10980-020-01015-7","article-title":"Impacts of landscape changes on local and regional climate: A systematic review","volume":"35","author":"Cao","year":"2020","journal-title":"Landsc. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"171","DOI":"10.3354\/cr033171","article-title":"Determinants of changes in the regional urban heat island in metropolitan Phoenix (Arizona, USA) between 1990 and 2004","volume":"33","author":"Brazel","year":"2007","journal-title":"Clim. Res."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1007\/s10980-009-9402-4","article-title":"Urban heat islands and landscape heterogeneity: Linking spatio-temporal variations in surface temperatures to land-cover and socioeconomic patterns","volume":"25","author":"Buyantuyev","year":"2010","journal-title":"Landsc. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"959","DOI":"10.1007\/s10980-013-9868-y","article-title":"The impact of distinct anthropogenic and vegetation features on urban warming","volume":"28","author":"Myint","year":"2013","journal-title":"Landsc. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1885","DOI":"10.1002\/joc.4819","article-title":"Urban meteo-rological modeling using WRF: A sensitivity study","volume":"37","author":"Sharma","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1016\/j.uclim.2018.01.004","article-title":"Potentials of meteorological characteristics and synoptic conditions to mitigate urban heat island effects","volume":"24","author":"He","year":"2018","journal-title":"Urban Clim."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"284","DOI":"10.1068\/b34102t","article-title":"The impact of urbanization on current and future coastal precipitation: A case study for Houston","volume":"37","author":"Shepherd","year":"2010","journal-title":"Environ. Plan. B Plan. Des."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1129","DOI":"10.1175\/2010JAMC1836.1","article-title":"Urban modification of thunderstorms: An observational storm climatology and model case study for the Indianapolis urban region","volume":"50","author":"Niyogi","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Clim."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"824","DOI":"10.1175\/JAMC-D-13-065.1","article-title":"Mechanism of precipitation increase with urbanization in Tokyo as revealed by ensemble climate simulations","volume":"53","author":"Kusaka","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Clim."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3323","DOI":"10.1002\/2017JD027725","article-title":"Impact of extensive urbanization on summertime rainfall in the Beijing region and the role of local precipitation recycling","volume":"123","author":"Wang","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Otto, J.C., and Dikau, R. (2010). The role of landscape processes within the climate system. Landform-Structure, Evolution, Process Control: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Landform Organized by the Research Training Group 437, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-540-75761-0"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shaman, J., Pitzer, V.E., Viboud, C., Grenfell, B.T., and Lipsitch, M. (2010). Absolute humidity and the seasonal onset of influenza in the continental United States. PLoS Biol., 8.","DOI":"10.1371\/annotation\/9ddc5251-72a1-4eba-ae35-9ab04488527b"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1023","DOI":"10.1038\/nclimate3114","article-title":"The increasing importance of atmospheric demand for ecosystem water and carbon fluxes","volume":"6","author":"Novick","year":"2016","journal-title":"Nat. Clim. Chang."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1237","DOI":"10.5194\/esd-8-1237-2017","article-title":"Synergy between land use and climate change increases future fire risk in Amazon forests","volume":"8","author":"Morton","year":"2017","journal-title":"Earth Syst. Dyn."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Kratzer, P.A. (1956). The Climate of Cities, Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn."},{"key":"ref_26","first-page":"25","article-title":"Diurnal temperature and moisture cycles","volume":"2","author":"Hilberg","year":"1978","journal-title":"Summ. METROMEX"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1277","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0450(1975)014<1277:URHD>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Urban-rural humidity differences","volume":"14","author":"Hage","year":"1975","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Clim."},{"key":"ref_28","first-page":"151","article-title":"Features of water vapor pressure difference between urban and rural in Obuse, Nagano","volume":"48","author":"Sakakibara","year":"2001","journal-title":"Tenki"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"521","DOI":"10.2208\/journalofjsce.1.1_521","article-title":"Urban dry island phenomenon and its impact on cloud base level","volume":"1","author":"Moriwaki","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. JSCE"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"427","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0450(1987)026<0427:COCAUR>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Climatology of Chicago area urban-rural differences in humidity","volume":"26","author":"Ackerman","year":"1987","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Clim."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"577","DOI":"10.1002\/joc.3370110509","article-title":"Urban-rural humidity differences in London","volume":"11","author":"Lee","year":"1991","journal-title":"Int. J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.3389\/feart.2015.00010","article-title":"Influence of different factors on relative air humidity in Zaragoza, Spain","volume":"3","author":"Cuadrat","year":"2015","journal-title":"Front. Earth Sci."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2729","DOI":"10.1175\/JAMC-D-16-0383.1","article-title":"Urban heat island and urban dry island in Moscow and their centennial changes","volume":"56","author":"Lokoshchenko","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Clim."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2221","DOI":"10.1175\/JAMC-D-16-0338.1","article-title":"Temporal-spatial patterns of relative humidity and the urban dryness island effect in Beijing City","volume":"56","author":"Yang","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Clim."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6757","DOI":"10.1029\/2018WR023002","article-title":"Ecohydrological processes explain urban dry island effects in a wet region, southern China","volume":"54","author":"Hao","year":"2018","journal-title":"Water Resour. Res."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6868","DOI":"10.1029\/2019GL082736","article-title":"Urban expansion and drying climate in an urban agglomeration of east China","volume":"46","author":"Luo","year":"2019","journal-title":"Geophys. Res. Lett"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100626","DOI":"10.1016\/j.uclim.2020.100626","article-title":"Effects of urban land expansion on decreasing atmospheric moisture in Guangdong, South China","volume":"32","author":"Lin","year":"2020","journal-title":"Urban Clim."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"144305","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2020.144305","article-title":"Effect of urban expansion on atmospheric humidity in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration","volume":"759","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Oke, T.R., Mills, G., Christen, A., and Voogt, J.A. (2017). Urban Climates, Cambridge University Press.","DOI":"10.1017\/9781139016476"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112039","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2020.112039","article-title":"Satellite identification of atmospheric-surface-subsurface urban heat islands under clear sky","volume":"250","author":"Huang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107635","DOI":"10.1016\/j.buildenv.2021.107635","article-title":"The effects of 2D and 3D building morphology on urban environments: A multi-scale analysis in the Beijing metropolitan region","volume":"192","author":"Cao","year":"2021","journal-title":"Build. Environ."},{"key":"ref_42","unstructured":"Borbas, E.E., Menzel, P., and Gao, B. (2017). MODIS Atmosphere L2 Water Vapor Product. NASA MODIS Adaptive Processing System, Goddard Space Flight Center."},{"key":"ref_43","unstructured":"Gao, B., and Kaufman, Y.J. (1998). Algorithm Technical Background Document: The MODIS Near-IR Water Vapor Algorithm, Product ID: MOD05\u2014Total Precipitable Water. Sci. Publ. Rep., 25."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3179","DOI":"10.1175\/2010JCLI3658.1","article-title":"A remote-sensing method of selecting reference stations for evaluating urbanization effect on surface air temperature trends","volume":"24","author":"Ren","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9708","DOI":"10.1002\/jgrd.50791","article-title":"Homogenization of Chinese daily surface air temperatures and analysis of trends in the extreme temperature indices","volume":"118","author":"Xu","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_46","unstructured":"Borbas, E.E., Seemann, S., Li, Z., Li, J., Kern, A., and Menzel, W.P. (2016). MODIS Atmosphere Profiles Product (07_L2). NASA MODIS Adaptive Processing System, Goddard Space Flight Center."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110584","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envres.2020.110584","article-title":"Localized synergies between heat waves and urban heat islands: Implications on human thermal comfort and urban heat management","volume":"193","author":"He","year":"2021","journal-title":"Environ. Res."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1046","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0493(1980)108<1046:TCOEPT>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"The computation of equivalent potential temperature","volume":"108","author":"Bolton","year":"1980","journal-title":"Mon. Weather Rev."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"168","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2009.08.016","article-title":"MODIS Collection 5 global land cover: Algorithm refinements and characterization of new datasets","volume":"114","author":"Friedl","year":"2010","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"826","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2017.09.019","article-title":"Characterizing spatial and temporal trends of surface urban heat island effect in an urban main built-up area: A 12-year case study in Beijing, China","volume":"204","author":"Meng","year":"2018","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1175\/EI156.1","article-title":"A review of current investigations of urban-induced rainfall and recommendations for the future","volume":"9","author":"Shepherd","year":"2005","journal-title":"Earth Interact."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D21103","DOI":"10.1029\/2012JD018226","article-title":"Nested high-resolution modeling of the impact of urbanization on regional climate in three vast urban agglomerations in China","volume":"117","author":"Wang","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"E150","DOI":"10.1002\/joc.6672","article-title":"The urban moisture island phenomenon and its mechanisms in a high-rise high-density city","volume":"41","author":"Wang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"201","DOI":"10.1007\/s00704-008-0024-6","article-title":"Urban-rural humidity and temperature differences in the Beijing area","volume":"96","author":"Liu","year":"2009","journal-title":"Theor. Appl. Clim."},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.1007\/s10546-004-8947-7","article-title":"Urban and rural dewfall, surface moisture, and associated canopy-level air temperature and humidity measurements for Vancouver, Canada","volume":"114","author":"Richards","year":"2005","journal-title":"Bound. Layer Meteorol."},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2005","DOI":"10.1002\/joc.1558","article-title":"Urban\/rural atmospheric water vapour pressure differences and urban moisture excess in Krefeld, Germany","volume":"27","author":"Kuttler","year":"2007","journal-title":"Int. J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhao, Z., Sharifi, A., Dong, X., Shen, L., and He, B. (2021). Spatial variability and temporal heterogeneity of surface urban heat island patterns and the suitability of local climate zones for land surface temperature characterization. Remote Sens., 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs13214338"},{"key":"ref_58","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5705","DOI":"10.1175\/JCLI-D-18-0712.1","article-title":"Urban dry island effect mitigated urbanization effect on observed warming in China","volume":"32","author":"Du","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"501","DOI":"10.1038\/nclimate3322","article-title":"Global risk of deadly heat","volume":"7","author":"Mora","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat. Clim. Chang."},{"key":"ref_60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"136","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-018-08070-4","article-title":"Half a degree and rapid socioeconomic development matter for heatwave risk","volume":"10","author":"Russo","year":"2019","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"134","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envint.2017.12.027","article-title":"Impacts of future urban expansion on summer climate and heat-related human health in eastern China","volume":"112","author":"Cao","year":"2018","journal-title":"Environ. Int."}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/14\/4\/809\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T22:16:39Z","timestamp":1760134599000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/14\/4\/809"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,9]]},"references-count":61,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,2]]}},"alternative-id":["rs14040809"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs14040809","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,9]]}}}