The urban heat island (UHI) is a well-known phenomenon that describes elevated air and surface temperatures in cities compared to their rural surroundings. The volume of literature on the UHI in large cities is extensive, but much less work has been done for medium cities. This study focuses on the UHI in the Augusta GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, a medium city along the Savannah River on the border of Georgia and South Carolina. Using satellite remote sensing of the surface UHI to inform canopy layer UHI data collection plans, a field campaign was carried out in the summer of 2023 to gather canopy layer UHI observations in Augusta via low-cost sensors mounted on a rotary unmanned aerial system and vehicle-driven traverses. Pearson correlation and ordinary least squares linear regressions were performed on the summer 2023 surface UHI and canopy layer UHI data to investigate potential relationships to land cover.
