Extended Abstract
Introduction
Land use and land cover change includes the conversion of natural land cover to impermeable surfaces (concrete and asphalt), a product of the rapid growth of cities and human settlements. One of the topics that has attracted the attention of researchers in recent years is the impacts of these changes on the temperature of the earth's surface as a vital parameter for the environment and human life. The cities and settlements of Mazandaran province in Iran have struggled in recent years due to the significant increase in the arrival of tourists and migrants with the increase in environmental and human heat released due to changes in land use and land cover. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of land use and land cover changes on the land surface temperature in Mazandaran province in a ten-year period. The results of this study can play an important role in better planning the regional development of Mazandaran province and create healthier residential environments and provide very useful information to help manage and plan the development of residential land to achieve environmental sustainability and development.
 
 
Method
Mazandaran province with an area of 23756 square kilometers, located in the southern part of the Caspian Sea. According to the last general census in 2016, the population of the province was 3283582 with 1084798 households. In terms of geomorphological situation, Mazandaran province can be divided into three main units: plains, foothills and mountains. The processed images of the Madis sensor on the Google Earth Engine platform have been used to prepare images related to the land cover and surface temperature of Mazandaran province in a 10-year period (2012-2022). Detection of land use and land cover changes based on the land cover classification scheme by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) with a resolution of 500 meters and daily and nighttime surface temperature data and by recalling and processing Madis sensor images with a resolution of 1_km were obtained. In order to analyze the spatial distribution of earth surface temperature data, Moran's statistic index was calculated using Moran's spatial autocorrelation analysis tool in ArcGIS. Also, hot spot analysis tool was used in ArcGIS, which is used to discover spatial cluster arrangements in land surface temperature data.
 
Result and discussion
The findings of the land cover classification have shown that the urban lands of Mazandaran province have increased by 1244 hectares during the 10 years, which shows the increase in constructions and the expansion of urban and rural areas. The results of calculation of night and day surface temperature changes show lower temperature at high altitudes and higher temperature at lower altitudes. Urban lands, settlements and peripheral parts of the main communication axes have higher temperatures than other parts of the province. In general, from 2012 to 2022, the night temperature of the province has increased by 1.02 degrees Celsius, the daily temperature by 1.89 degrees Celsius, and the day and night temperature by 1.46 degrees Celsius. In 2022, urban lands with an average temperature of 21.04 degrees Celsius were the hottest parts of the province. The findings of the Moran's statistic index, calculated using the Moran's spatial autocorrelation analysis tool, showed a cluster pattern for the province's night and day land surface temperature data. Also, the findings of analysis of hot spots (Getis-Ord Gi*) based on day and night temperature data showed the accumulation of
 
hot clusters in urban areas, especially in plains. What is most important is that more than 98% of urban land is in hot clusters and the area of hot clusters of urban land has also had an upward rate during the studied period in terms of land cover area.
 
Conclusion
The article focused on identifying the changes in land cover and surface temperature of Mazandaran province using remote sensing and GIS techniques, the relationship between them has been investigated using Moran's index and hot spot analysis from 2012 to 2022. According to the findings, in addition to the increase in the day and night temperature of the province by 1.46 degrees Celsius, more than 98% of urban land is located in hot clusters, which confirms the existence of the phenomenon of urban heat islands in the cities of Mazandaran province, and these areas introduced as one of the main factors in increasing the temperature of the earth's surface. The high population density of the province, the influx of migrants which accompanied by construction of seasonal and monsoon houses, have threatened the environment friendly land covers into urban and residential covers that minimized the possibility of surface water infiltration, contributed to increasing the surface temperature of the province. So that the area of hot clusters of urban land has had an upward rate during the studied period in terms of land cover area. Considering this destructive trend, it is necessary for urban planners and decision-makers to direct the development plans of urban and rural areas for the future to minimize the increase in the temperature of the earth's surface and the threats caused by climate change.