一种单层城市冠层模式的建立及数值试验研究

本文在引进先进的城市地表能量平衡方案 (Town Energy Balance, 简称TEB) 的基础上建立了一个单层城市冠层模式, 并对南京市典型居民区1 km2范围内的局地尺度地表能量平衡各分量进行离线模拟, 将模拟结果与同期观测值作了比对, 发现: TEB方案对城市地表能量平衡各分量的模拟效果良好, 而该方案的模拟性能受建筑物表面材料反照率取值的影响较大。在离线研究的基础上, 本文又将TEB方案成功耦合到南京大学区域边界层模式 (NJU－RBLM) 中, 作为该模式的地表能量平衡参数化方案之一, 分别选取该边界层模式中原有的地表能量平衡参数化方案SVAT (Soil－Vegetation－Atmosphere－Transfer model) 和新引入的TEB方案对冬夏两季不同个例进行模拟, 以常规近地面气温观测资料和Landsat卫星观测的地表反照率资料对模拟结果进行比较, 结果表明: TEB方案对原大气边界层模式的模拟效果有明显改善, 对近地面热力场的改善效果尤为明显, 可以很好地模拟出城市冠层中的“陷阱效应”。     

Evaluation of a Photosynthesis-Based Canopy Resistance Formulation in the Noah Land-Surface Model

Accurately representing complex land-surface processes balancing complexity and realism remains one challenge that the weather modelling community is facing nowadays. In this study, a photosynthesis-based Gas-exchange Evapotranspiration Model (GEM) is integrated into the Noah land-surface model replacing the traditional Jarvis scheme for estimating the canopy resistance and transpiration. Using 18-month simulations from the High Resolution Land Data Assimilation System (HRLDAS), the impact of the photosynthesis-based approach on the simulated canopy resistance, surface heat fluxes, soil moisture, and soil temperature over different vegetation types is evaluated using data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) site, Oklahoma Mesonet, 2002 International H₂O Project (IHOP_2002), and three Ameriflux sites. Incorporation of GEM into Noah improves the surface energy fluxes as well as the associated diurnal cycle of soil moisture and soil temperature during both wet and dry periods. An analysis of midday, average canopy resistance shows similar day-to-day trends in the model fields as seen in observed patterns. Bias and standard deviation analyses for soil temperature and surface fluxes show that GEM responds somewhat better than the Jarvis scheme, mainly because the Jarvis approach relies on a parametrised minimum canopy resistance and meteorological variables such as air temperature and incident radiation. The analyses suggest that adding a photosynthesis-based transpiration scheme such as GEM improves the ability of the land-data assimilation system to simulate evaporation and transpiration under a range of soil and vegetation conditions.     

An Analytical Model for Mean Wind Profiles in Sparse Canopies

Existing analytical models for mean wind profiles within canopies are applicable only in dense canopy scenarios, where all momentum is absorbed by canopy elements and, hence, the effect of the ground on turbulent mixing is not important. Here, we propose a new analytical model that can simulate mean wind profiles within sparse canopies under neutral conditions. The model adopts a linearized canopy-drag parametrization and a first-order turbulence closure scheme taking into account the effects of both the ground and canopy elements on turbulent mixing. The resulting wind profile within a sparser canopy appears to be more like a logarithmic form, with the no-slip condition at the ground being satisfied. The analytical solution converges exactly to the standard surface-layer logarithmic wind profile in the case of zero canopy density (i.e., no-canopy scenario) and tends to be an exponential wind profile for a dense canopy; this feature is unique compared with existing analytical models for canopy wind profiles. Results from the new model are in good agreement with those from laboratory experiments and numerical simulations.     

复杂地形条件下城市热岛及局地环流特征的数值模拟

应用基于多层城市冠层方案BEP(Building Environment Parameterization)增加室内空调系统影响的建筑物能量模式BEM(Building Energy Model)方案的WRF模式,模拟研究重庆热岛的特征、成因以及局地环流对热岛形成的影响。文中共有两个算例,一为重庆真实下垫面算例,称之为URBAN算例,二为将城市下垫面替换为耕地下垫面的对比算例,称之为NOURBAN算例。结果表明:1)WRF方案模拟结果与观测2 m气温的对比吻合较好,误差主要出现在正午温度峰值和凌晨温度谷值处,由城市下垫面特性及城市内建筑分布误差引起。2)BEP+BEM方案较好地模拟出了重庆地区的热岛分布的空间和时间特征。重庆市温度的分布受地形和城市下垫面的双重影响,越靠近城区,温度的分布受城市化影响就越大,在海拔低处,温度就越高。3)城区立体三维表面对辐射的陷阱作用导致城市表面总体反射率小,向上短波辐射小于郊区约20 W/m~2。城市表面以感热排放为主,而郊区则表现为潜热的作用占主导。夜间城市地表储热以及空调废热向大气释放,是城市热岛形成的重要原因。4)模拟区域背景风场主要为东南风,局地环流呈现出越靠近山区风速越大、城市区域风速较小的特性,体现了城市密集的建筑群对低层大气流场的空气动力学效应,以及复杂山谷地形的山谷风环流特性。在市区的西侧和东南侧均有高大山脉阻挡,山脉对城市出流的阻碍作用、气流越山与绕流运动对城市热岛的形成有一定影响。     

应用城市地表能量平衡方案研究城市冠层结构对城市热岛的热力影响

用南京大学区域边界层模式NJU-RBLM, 通过对一组理想试验的模拟, 研究了TEB方案 (town energy balance) 和SVAT方案 (soil－vegetation－atmosphere transfer) 模拟城市热岛现象的差异及本质原因, 发现TEB方案对城市热岛 (UHI) 尤其是夜间UHI模拟效果更优, 这是由于TEB方案具备较强模拟城市储热项的能力形成的。此外, 深入探讨UHI对大气边界层热力结构的影响, 发现UHI现象使城市和郊区的近地层位温廓线在清晨和傍晚都存在明显差异, 同时使城市区域气温全天高于郊区, 且日间城乡温差能达到的高度明显高于夜间。分析人为热源和建筑物冠层对UHI的影响时发现: 人为热源对UHI的影响在夜间强于白天, 而建筑物对白天城市湍能的影响强于人为热源的作用。     

Scalar Concentration Profiles in the Canopy and Roughness Sublayer

The mean flow and scalar concentration profiles within and above a tall canopy are well known to violate the standard boundary-layer flux-gradient relationships. We present a theory for the scalar concentration profile that is comprised of a canopy exchange model coupled to a modified surface-layer model. The coupling between the two components and the modifications to the surface-layer profiles are formulated through the mixing-layer analogy for the flow at canopy top. This analogy provides an additional length scale—the vorticity thickness—upon which the profiles depend and a set of criteria that allows a reduction in the empiricism associated with earlier forms in the literature. Predictions of the mean scalar concentration profiles are shown to match observations over a wide range of diabatic stabilities for both potential temperature and water vapour.     

MM5模式中城市冠层参数化方案的设计及其数值试验

文中在综合国外一些较先进的中尺度模式城市作用参数化方案的基础上 ,从城市下垫面结构对城市边界层大气作用的物理机制及实际应用两方面出发 ,对城市下垫面结构和人为活动等因素对边界层结构的影响及中尺度模式中城市化作用的合理体现等问题进行了较全面的考虑 ,改进和设计出能够较全面、细致地描述城市结构对大气边界层动力、热力结构的影响 ,且适合中尺度模式结构特点的城市冠层参数化方案 (UCP) ,并实现了其与MM5模式的耦合。进行了耦合后的UCP方案及采用原城市作用方案的MM5模式对BECAPEX试验期间北京地区气象条件多重嵌套细尺度进行了模拟试验 ,并与观测结果对比 ,结果表明 :相比于MM 5模式中原有表示城市作用的参数化方案来讲 ,设计的UCP方案在很大程度上提高了MM 5模式对城市边界层热力和动力结构的模拟能力。     

A mixed-layer model for regional evaporation

A simple mixed-layer model is developed to describe evaporation into a convective planetary boundary layer (PBL). The model comprises volume budget equations for temperature and humidity, equations to describe transport through the surface layer which is treated as part of the lower boundary, and equations to describe entrainment at the top of the PBL. The ground surface is modelled as a canopy resistance. The model was integrated with canopy resistance, surface-layer resistance and available energy, (R _n – G), input as given functions of time, and the simulated PBL was allowed to grow into an atmosphere with known temperature and humidity profiles.Two variants of the mixed-layer model were tested using data from the KNMI tower site at Cabauw in the Netherlands. These variants differed only in the formulation of entrainment: one used a formulation developed by Driedonks (1982) while the other was a simpler formulation. Simulated evaporation agreed very well with observations irrespective of which entrainment formulation was used, despite discrepancies between simulated and observed PBL height growth which were sometimes quite large for the simpler formulation. Sensitivity analysis of the model confirms that good PBL height-growth predictions are not always a prerequisite for good evaporation predictions.     

Simulation of Meteorological Fields Within and Above Urban and Rural Canopies with a Mesoscale Model

Accurate simulation of air quality at neighbourhood scales (on order of 1-km horizontal grid spacing) requires detailed meteorological fields inside the roughness sub-layer (RSL). Since the assumptions of the roughness approach, used by most of the mesoscale models, are unsatisfactory at this scale, a detailed urban and rural canopy parameterisation, called DA-SM2-U, is developed inside the Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5) to simulate the meteorological fields within and above the urban and rural canopies. DA-SM2-U uses the drag-force approach to represent the dynamic and turbulent effects of the buildings and vegetation, and a modified version of the soil model SM2-U, called SM2-U(3D), to represent the thermodynamic effects of the canopy elements. The turbulence length scale is also modified inside the canopies. SM2-U(3D) assesses the sensible and latent heat fluxes from rural and urban surfaces in each of the computational layers inside the canopies by considering the shadowing effect, the radiative trapping by the street canyons, and the storage heat flux by the artificial surfaces. DA-SM2-U is tested during one simulated day above the city of Philadelphia, U.S.A. It is shown that DA-SM2-U is capable of simulating the important features observed in the urban and rural RSL, as seen in the vertical profiles of the shear stress, turbulent kinetic energy budget components, eddy diffusivity, potential air temperature, and specific humidity. Within the canopies, DA-SM2-U simulates the decrease of the wind speed inside the dense canopies, the skirting of the flow around the canopy blocks, warmer air inside the vegetation canopy than above open areas during the night and conversely during the day, and constantly warmer air inside the urban canopy. The comparison with measurements shows that the surface air temperature above rural and urban areas is better simulated by DA-SM2-U than by the `standard version' of MM5.     

Intercomparison of Planetary Boundary-Layer Parametrizations in the WRF Model for a Single Day from CASES-99

This study compares five planetary boundary-layer (PBL) parametrizations in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical model for a single day from the Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study (CASES-99) field program. The five schemes include two first-order closure schemes—the Yonsei University (YSU) PBL and Asymmetric Convective Model version 2 (ACM2), and three turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) closure schemes—the Mellor–Yamada–Janjić (MYJ), quasi-normal scale elimination (QNSE), and Bougeault–Lacarrére (BouLac) PBL. The comparison results reveal that discrepancies among thermodynamic surface variables from different schemes are large at daytime, while the variables converge at nighttime with large deviations from those observed. On the other hand, wind components are more divergent at nighttime with significant biases. Regarding PBL structures, a non-local scheme with the entrainment flux proportional to the surface flux is favourable in unstable conditions. In stable conditions, the local TKE closure schemes show better performance. The sensitivity of simulated variables to surface-layer parametrizations is also investigated to assess relative contributions of the surface-layer parametrizations to typical features of each PBL scheme. In the surface layer, temperature and moisture are more strongly influenced by surface-layer formulations than by PBL mixing algorithms in both convective and stable regimes, while wind speed depends on vertical diffusion formulations in the convective regime. Regarding PBL structures, surface-layer formulations only contribute to near-surface variability and then PBL mean properties, whereas shapes of the profiles are determined by PBL mixing algorithms.     

A simple unified theory for flow in the canopy and roughness sublayer

The mean flow profile within and above a tall canopy is well known to violate the standard boundary-layer flux–gradient relationships. Here we present a theory for the flow profile that is comprised of a canopy model coupled to a modified surface-layer model. The coupling between the two components and the modifications to the surface-layer profiles are formulated through the mixing layer analogy for the flow at a canopy top. This analogy provides an additional length scale—the vorticity thickness—upon which the flow just above the canopy, within the so-called roughness sublayer, depends. A natural form for the vertical profiles within the roughness sublayer follows that overcomes problems with many earlier forms in the literature. Predictions of the mean flow profiles are shown to match observations over a range of canopy types and stabilities. The unified theory predicts that key parameters, such as the displacement height and roughness length, have a significant dependence on the boundary-layer stability. Assuming one of these parameters a priori leads to the incorrect variation with stability of the others and incorrect predictions of the mean wind speed profile. The roughness sublayer has a greater impact on the mean wind speed in stable than unstable conditions. The presence of a roughness sublayer also allows the surface to exert a greater drag on the boundary layer for an equivalent value of the near-surface wind speed than would otherwise occur. This characteristic would alter predictions of the evolution of the boundary layer and surface states if included within numerical weather prediction models.     

Impact of Atmospheric Surface-layer Parameterizations in the new Land-surface Scheme of the NCEP Mesoscale Eta Model

We tested three atmospheric surface-layer parameterization schemes (Mellor-Yamadalevel 2, Paulson, and modified Louis), both ina 1-D mode in the new NCEP land-surface scheme against long-term FIFE and HAPEX observations, and in a coupled 3-D mode withthe NCEP mesoscale Eta model. The differences inthese three schemes and the resulting surface exchange coefficients do not, in general, lead to significant differences in model simulated surface fluxes, skin temperature, andprecipitation, provided the same treatment of roughness length for heat is employed.Rather, the model is more sensitive to the choice of the roughness length for heat. To assess the latter, we also tested two approaches to specifythe roughness length for heat: 1) assuming the roughness length for heat is a fixed ratio of the roughness length for momentum, and 2) relating this ratio to the roughness Reynolds number as proposed by Zilitinkevich.Our 1-D column model sensitivity tests suggested that the Zilitinkevich approach can improve the surface heat fluxand skin temperature simulations. A long-term test with the NCEP mesoscaleEta model indicated that this approach can also reduce forecast precipitation bias. Based on these simulations, in January 1996 we operationally implemented the Paulsonscheme with the new land-surface scheme of the NCEP Eta model, along with the Zilitinkevich formulation to specify the roughness length for heat.     

北京地区夏季边界层结构日变化的高分辨模拟对比

使用WRF中尺度数值模式, 分别选用两种不同的边界层参数化方案 (MYJ, YSU) 和3种陆面参数化方案 (SLAB, Noah, RUC), 对2004年7月1日08:00—7月4日20:00 (北京时) 北京地区夏季边界层结构进行1 km的高分辨模拟。对比分析了近地面层风场、温度场以及边界层的日变化特征, 结果发现:WRF模式基本模拟出了北京夏季边界层的日变化特征; 在边界层方案中, MYJ方案描述的边界层结构较YSU方案合理; Noah陆面模式较好地反映了城市的热岛效应; 无降水时, 风速及边界层高度对于陆面过程不敏感, 而降水发生后, 陆面过程对于边界层结构的影响增大; 各方案模拟的城区风速明显偏大, 这是因为没有充分考虑城市建筑物的阻力作用。     

不同下垫面数据和城市冠层参数化方案对江苏气温影响的个例分析

利用中尺度数值模式WRF,分别选用新旧两种下垫面资料和不同城市冠层模型设计试验,以江苏一次秋末高温天气个例(2014年11月20—21日)为背景,研究城市化进程对气温的影响和可能机制。将模式结果与江苏国家气象观测站和地面加密区域自动站观测资料进行对比,并分析3组试验结果发现:(1)采用BEP城市方案对2 m气温、2 m相对湿度和10 m风速等物理量的日变化模拟最优。(2)相比USGS数据,MODIS较新地表覆盖变化数据能更真实反映研究区域当前地表类型分布情况,且能提高近地面风温湿要素空间分布的模拟。(3)分析不同试验模拟的地表能量平衡过程差异,发现相比UCM单层城市冠层方案,BEP多层城市冠层方案在白天能更好模拟出城市地区的温度升高以及相对应的地表感热通量和地面热通量的增加。     

Urban surface modeling and the meso-scale impact of cities

Summary New developments of the international community in modeling the urban canopy surface energy balance are presented and classified into five main categories: (i) models statistically fit to observations, (ii) and (iii) modified vegetation schemes with or without drag terms in the canopy, and (iv) and (v), new urban canopy schemes, that present both horizontal and vertical surfaces, again with or without a drag approach. The advantages and disadvantages of each type of model are explained. In general, the more the physics are correctly simulated, the more complex are the urban phenomenon that can be addressed, on the other hand however, the more consuming of computer-time and difficult to couple with atmospheric models the scheme becomes. Present use of these new models in meso-scale atmospheric models show their ability to reproduce the phenomenon of the urban heat island (UHI) and some of its consequences – urban breezes, storm initiation, interaction with sea-breeze. Their use opens up new perspectives, for example in the mitigation of the UHI, or assessment of the role of air-conditioning systems or the impact of urban dynamics on air pollution. However, there is need to validate further the different urban models available. In particular it is necessary to compare model output with urban surface energy balance measurements. An intercomparison exercise involving these urban schemes is suggested as an efficient way to assess and improve these models.     

多层城市冠层模式的建立及数值试验研究

为在城市气象数值模拟中更好地体现由城市发展引起的下垫面土地利用改变及人为活动对大气过程的影响,建立了基于建筑物三维分布的多层城市冠层模式,冠层内动力方程组考虑了建筑物冠层拖曳力的作用及雷诺应力的影响,通过引入建筑物宽度、间距以及垂直分布密度指数等建筑物形态特征参数,以更好地体现城市复杂地表对大气温度、湿度及动量方程的影响.同时,该模式分屋顶、4个侧壤及地面分别考虑辐射及能量平衡求解表面温度,计算各表面与大气的通量交换,并考虑辐射阴影效应、冠层内部各个面之间的可视因子、以及与冠层内建筑物密度指数、可视因子等相关的多重反射辐射导致的辐射截陷作用.模式的离线检验结果表明:(1)冠层模式计算风廓线与风洞实验测量数据吻合良好;(2)离线冠层模式能够模拟实际小区的风速、温度垂直廓线,并能够较好地体现小区内气温日变化.冠层模式与区域边界层模式耦合检验结果表明:(1)耦合模拟的近地面(2 m处)气温及地表温度的结果明显优于传统的水泥平板方案,尤其是在夜间,水泥平板方案与实测气温最大偏差4 K左右,耦合模拟方案为1-2 K;(2)耦合模拟方案考虑了建筑物对冠层之上的拖曳力影响以及建筑物形态结构对雷诺应力的影响,风速(10 m处)计算结果与观测值相差约在1 m/s,水泥平板方案偏差3 m/s左右.     

Further Development of the Vegetated Urban Canopy Model Including a Grass-Covered Surface Parametrization and Photosynthesis Effects

The vegetated urban canopy model (VUCM), which includes parametrizations of urban physical processes for artificial surfaces and vegetated areas in an integrated system, has been further developed by including physical processes associated with grass-covered surfaces in urban pervious surfaces and the photosynthesis effects of urban vegetation. Using measurements made from three urban/suburban sites during the BUBBLE field campaign in 2002, the model’s performance in modelling surface fluxes (momentum flux, net radiation, sensible and latent heat fluxes and storage heat flux) and canopy air conditions (canopy air temperature and specific humidity) was critically evaluated for the non-precipitation and the precipitation days. The observed surface fluxes at the urban/suburban sites were significantly altered by precipitation as well as urban vegetation. Especially, the storage heat at urban surfaces and underlying substrates varied drastically depending on weather conditions while having an important role in the formation of a nocturnal urban surface layer. Unlike the nighttime canopy air temperature that was largely affected by the storage-heat release, the daytime canopy air conditions were highly influenced by the vertical turbulent exchange with the overlying atmosphere. The VUCM well reproduced these observed features in surface fluxes and canopy air conditions at all sites while performing well for both the non-precipitation and the precipitation days. The newly implemented parametrizations clearly improved the model’s performance in the simulation of sensible and latent heat fluxes at the sites, more noticeably at the suburban site where the vegetated area fraction is the largest among the sites. Sensitivity analyses for model input parameters in VUCM elucidated the relative importance of the morphological, aerodynamic, hydrological and radiative/thermal properties in modelling urban surface fluxes and canopy air conditions for daytime and nighttime periods. These results suggest that the VUCM has great potential for urban atmospheric numerical modelling for a range of cities and weather conditions in addition to having a better physical basis in the representation of urban vegetated areas and associated physical processes.     

Combining a Detailed Building Energy Model with a Physically-Based Urban Canopy Model

A scheme that couples a detailed building energy model, EnergyPlus, and an urban canopy model, the Town Energy Balance (TEB), is presented. Both models are well accepted and evaluated within their individual scientific communities. The coupled scheme proposes a more realistic representation of buildings and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, which allows a broader analysis of the two-way interactions between the energy performance of buildings and the urban climate around the buildings. The scheme can be used to evaluate the building energy models that are being developed within the urban climate community. In this study, the coupled scheme is evaluated using measurements conducted over the dense urban centre of Toulouse, France. The comparison includes electricity and natural gas energy consumption of buildings, building façade temperatures, and urban canyon air temperatures. The coupled scheme is then used to analyze the effect of different building and HVAC system configurations on building energy consumption, waste heat released from HVAC systems, and outdoor air temperatures for the case study of Toulouse. Three different energy efficiency strategies are analyzed: shading devices, economizers, and heat recovery.     

A Multi-layer Radiation Model for Urban Neighbourhoods with Trees

A neighbourhood-scale multi-layer urban canopy model of shortwave and longwave radiation exchange that explicitly includes the radiative effects of tall vegetation (trees) is presented. Tree foliage is permitted both between and above buildings, and mutual shading, emission and reflection between buildings and trees are included. The basic geometry is a two-dimensional canyon with leaf area density profiles and probabilistic variation of building height. Furthermore, the model accounts for three-dimensional path lengths through the foliage. Ray tracing determines the receipt of direct shortwave irradiance by building and foliage elements. View factors for longwave and shortwave diffuse radiation exchange are computed once at the start of the simulation using a Monte Carlo ray tracing approach; for subsequent model timesteps, matrix inversion rapidly solves infinite reflections and interception of emitted longwave between all elements. The model is designed to simulate any combination of shortwave and longwave radiation frequency bands, and to be portable to any neighbourhood-scale urban canopy geometry based on the urban canyon. Additionally, the model is sufficiently flexible to represent forest and forest-clearing scenarios. Model sensitivity tests demonstrate the model is robust and computationally feasible, and highlight the importance of vertical resolution to the performance of urban canopy radiation models. Full model evaluation is limited by the paucity of within-canyon radiation measurements in urban neighbourhoods with trees. Where appropriate model components are tested against analytic relations and results from an independent urban radiation transfer model. Furthermore, system response tests demonstrate the ability of the model to realistically distribute shortwave radiation among urban elements as a function of built form, solar angle and tree foliage height, density and clumping. Separate modelling of photosynthetically-active and near-infrared shortwave bands is shown to be important in some cases. Increased canyon height-to-width ratio and/or tree cover diminishes the net longwave radiation loss of individual canyon elements (e.g., floor, walls), but, notably, has little effect on the net longwave loss of the whole urban canopy. When combined with parametrizations for the impacts of trees on airflow and hydrological processes in the urban surface layer, the new radiation model extends the applicability of urban canopy models and permits more robust assessment of trees as tools to manage urban climate, air quality, human comfort and building energy loads.     

The urban boundary-layer field campaign in marseille (ubl/clu-escompte): set-up and first results

The UBL/CLU (urban boundary layer/couche limite urbaine) observation and modelling campaign is a side-project of the regional photochemistry campaign ESCOMPTE. UBL/CLU focuses on the dynamics and thermodynamics of the urban boundary layer of Marseille, on the Mediterranean coast of France. The objective of UBL/CLU is to document the four-dimensional structure of the urban boundary layer and its relation to the heat and moisture exchanges between the urban canopy and the atmosphere during periods of low wind conditions, from June 4 to July 16, 2001. The project took advantage of the comprehensive observational set-up of the ESCOMPTE campaign over the Berre–Marseille area, especially the ground-based remote sensing, airborne measurements, and the intensive documentation of the regional meteorology. Additional instrumentation was installed as part of UBL/CLU. Analysis objectives focus on (i) validation of several energy balance computational schemes such as LUMPS, TEB and SM2-U, (ii) ground truth and urban canopy signatures suitable for the estimation of urban albedos and aerodynamic surface temperatures from satellite data, (iii) high resolution mapping of urban land cover, land-use and aerodynamic parameters used in UBL models, and (iv) testing the ability of high resolution atmospheric models to simulate the structure of the UBL during land and sea breezes, and the related transport and diffusion of pollutants over different districts of the city. This paper presents initial results from such analyses and details of the overall experimental set-up.