Urban boundary layer analysis in the complex coastal terrain of Bilbao using Enviro-HIRLAM

This study analyses the atmospheric boundary layer over the Bilbao metropolitan area during summer (13–18 Jul 2009) and winter (20–29 Jan 2010) episodes using the Environment–High Resolution Limited Area Model (Enviro-HIRLAM) coupled with the building effect parameterisation (BEP). The main objectives of this study are: to evaluate the performance of the model to simulate the land–sea breezes over this complex terrain; to assess the simulations with the integration of an urban parameterisation in Enviro-HIRLAM and finally; and to analyse the urban–atmosphere interactions. Even if the hydrostraticity of the model is a limitation to simulate atmospheric flows over complex terrain, sensibility tests demonstrate that 2.4 km is the optimal horizontal resolution over Bilbao that allows at the same time: to obtain satisfactory reproducibility of the large-scale processes and to explore the urban effects at local scale. During the summer episode, a typical regime of diurnal sea breeze from the NW-N-NE direction and nocturnal valley breezes from the SE direction are observed over Bilbao. The urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon is developed in the city centre expanding to the suburbs from 22 to 10 local time (LT), covering an area of 130 km². The maximum UHI intensity, 1 °C, is reached at the end of the night (5 LT), and it is advected 12 km towards the sea by the land breezes. The urban boundary layer (UBL) height amplitude varies from 100 (night time) to 1,360 m (at 14 LT). During the winter episode, the land breeze dominates the atmospheric diffusion during the day and night time. The maximum UHI intensity, 1.7 °C, is observed at 01 LT. It is spread and remained over the city covering an area of 160 km², with a vertical extension of 33 m. The UBL reaches 780 m height at 16 LT the following day.     

晋江市海陆风对城市热岛的影响

利用2017年晋江市及其周边共27个自动气象站逐小时气象资料,分析了2017年晋江城市热岛强度的日变化及有无海陆风对城市热岛强度的影响,同时研究了不同季节海陆风风速对城市热岛强度的影响,最后通过典型个例海陆风日验证了晋江城市热岛的日变化特征。结果表明:晋江市全年平均热岛强度的日变化趋势呈“V”字型分布;海风能使城市降温,减弱城市热岛强度,而陆风能使夜间热岛显著增强,故与非海陆风日相比,海陆风日热岛强度的日变化幅度增大;热岛强度与海陆风风速呈负相关,海陆风风速越大对城市热岛有一定的缓解作用。     

Interactions of an urban heat island and sea-breeze circulations during winter over the metropolitan area of São Paulo,Brazil

The Town Energy Budget (TEB) model, a detailed urban parameterisation using a generalised canyon geometry, coupled with the Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (RAMS) is used to simulate the wintertime local circulation in the megacity environment of the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo (MASP) in Brazil. Model simulations are performed using actual topography and land-use fields. Comparison with a simple urban parameterisation based on the LEAF-2 scheme is also shown. Validation is based on comparison between model simulations and observations. Sensitivity tests with TEB reveal an important interaction between the sea breeze and the MASP heat island circulation. Even though topography is known to play an important role in the MASP region’s weather, in these tests the simulations were performed without topography in order to unambiguously identify the interaction between the two local circulations. The urban heat island (UHI) forms a strong convergence zone in the centre of the city and thereby accelerates the sea-breeze front toward the centre of the city. The presence of the urban region increases the sea-breeze front propagation mean speed by about 0.32 m s⁻¹ when compared with the situation of no city. After its arrival in the urban region, the sea-breeze front stalls over the centre of the city for about 2 h. Subsequently, the sea breeze progresses beyond the city when the heat island dissipates. Thereafter, the sea breeze propagates beyond the urban area at a decelerated rate compared to a simulation without an UHI.     

Maximum urban heat island intensity in a medium-sized coastal Mediterranean city

This paper studies the maximum intensity of the urban heat island (UHI) that develops in Volos urban area, a medium-sized coastal city in central Greece. The maximum temperature difference between the city center and a suburb is 3.4°C and 3.1°C during winter and summer, respectively, while during both seasons the average maximum UHI intensity is 2.0°C. The UHI usually starts developing after sunset during both seasons. It could be attributed to the different nocturnal radiative cooling rate and to the different anthropogenic heat emission rate that are observed at the city center and at the suburb, as well as to meteorological conditions. The analysis reveals that during both seasons the daily maximum hourly (DMH) UHI intensity is positively correlated with solar radiation and with previous day’s maximum hourly UHI intensity and negatively correlated with wind speed. It is also negatively correlated with relative humidity during winter but positively correlated with it during summer. This difference could be attributed to the different mechanisms that mainly drive humidity levels (i.e., evaporation in winter and sea breeze (SB) in summer). Moreover, it is found that SB development triggers a delay in UHI formation in summer. The impact of atmospheric pollution on maximum UHI intensity is also examined. An increase in PM10 concentration is associated with an increase in maximum UHI intensity during winter and with a decrease during summer. The impact of PM10 on UHI is caused by the attenuation of the incoming and the outgoing radiation. Additionally, this study shows that the weekly cycle of the city activities induces a weekly variation in maximum UHI intensity levels. The weekly range of DMH UHI intensity is not very large, being more pronounced during winter (0.4°C). Moreover, a first attempt is made to predict the DMH UHI intensity by applying regression models, whose success is rather promising.     

The influence of atmospheric circulation on the intensity of urban heat island and urban cold island in Poznań, Poland

The study has analyzed influence of an atmospheric circulation on urban heat island (UHI) and urban cold island (UCI) in Poznań. Analysis was conducted on the basis of temperature data from two measurement points situated in the city center and in the ?awica airport (reference station) and the data concerning the air circulation (Nied?wied?’s calendar of circulation types and reanalysis of National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)). The cases with UHI constitute about 85 % of all data, and UCI phenomena appear with a frequency of 14 % a year. The intensity of UHI phenomenon is higher in the anticyclonic circulation types. During the year in anticyclonic circulation, intensity of UHI is 1.2 °C on average while in cyclonic is only 0.8 °C. The occurring of UHI phenomena is possible throughout all seasons of the year in all hours of the day usually in anticyclonic circulation types. The cases with highest UHI intensity are related mostly to nighttime. The cases of UCI phenomena occurred almost ever on the daytime and the most frequently in colder part of the year together with cyclonic circulation. Study based on reanalysis data indicates that days with large intensity of UHI (above 4, 5, and 6 °C) are related to anticyclonic circulation. Anticyclonic circulation is also promoting the formation of the strongest UCI. Results based on both reanalysis and the atmospheric circulation data (Nied?wied?’s circulation type) confirm that cases with the strongest UHI and UCI during the same day occur in strong high-pressure system with the center situated above Poland or central Europe.     

Characterization and estimation of urban heat island at Toronto: impact of the choice of rural sites

In this study, the urban heat island of Toronto was characterized and estimated in order to examine the impact of the selection of rural sites on the estimation of urban heat island (UHI) intensity (?T _u-r). Three rural stations, King Smoke Tree (KST), Albion Hill, and Millgrove, were used for the analysis of UHI intensity for two urban stations, Toronto downtown (Toronto) and Toronto Pearson (Pearson) using data from 1970 to 2000. The UHI intensity was characterized as winter dominating and summer dominating, depending on the choice of the rural station. The analyses of annual and seasonal trends of ?T _u-r suggested that urban heat island clearly appears in winter at both Toronto and Pearson. However, due to the mitigating effect on temperature from Lake Ontario, the estimated trend of UHI intensity was found to be less at Toronto compared to that at Pearson which has no direct lake effect. In terms of the impacts of the rural stations, for both KST and Millgrove, the trends in UHI intensity were found to be statistically significant and also were in good agreement with the estimates of UHI intensities reported for other large cities in the USA. Depending on the choice of the rural station, the estimated trend for the UHI intensity at Toronto ranges from 0.01°C/decade to 0.02°C/decade, and that at Pearson ranges from 0.03°C/decade to 0.035°C/decade during 1970–2000. From the analysis of the seasonal distribution of ?T _u-r, the UHI intensity was found to be higher at Toronto in winter than that at Pearson for all three rural stations. This was likely accounted for by the lower amount of anthropogenic heat flux at Pearson. Considering the results from the statistical analysis with respect to the geographic and surface features for each rural station, KST was suggested to be a better choice to estimate UHI intensity at Toronto compared to the other rural stations. The analysis from the current study suggests that the selection of a unique urban–rural pair to estimate UHI intensity for a city like Toronto is a critical task, as it will be for any city, and it is imperative to consider some key features such as the physiography, surface characteristics of the urban and rural stations, the climatology such as the trends in annual and seasonal variation of UHI with respect to the physical characteristics of the stations, and also more importantly the objectives of a particular study in the context of UHI effect.     

Modeling of urban heat island and its impacts on thermal circulations in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region,China

Through regulating the land–atmosphere energy balance, urbanization plays an important role in modifying local circulations and cross-border transport of air pollutants. The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) metropolitan area in northern China is frequently influenced by complex atmospheric thermal circulations due to its special topography and geographic position. In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model combined with remote sensing is used to explore the urbanization impacts on local circulations in the BTH region. The urban heat island (UHI) effect generated around Beijing and Tianjin shows complex interactions with local thermal circulations. Due to the combined effects of UHI and topography, the UHI circulation around Beijing and valley breeze at the southern slopes of Yan Mountain are coupled together to reinforce each other. At the coastal cities, the increased land/sea temperature gradient considerably accelerates the sea breeze along Bohai Bay and moves the sea breeze front further inland to reach as far as Beijing. This study may lay a foundation for the better understanding of air pollutant dispersion on complex terrain.

     

Interactions between thermal advection in frontal zones and the urban heat island of Wrocław, Poland

Summary This paper deals with variability in the air temperature field of an urban area during thermal advection, associated with frontal zones, and its interaction with an urban heat island (UHI). Thermal changes experienced in Wrocław, Poland form the basis of this case study analysis. The discussion also contributes to questions concerning the definition of the UHI and ways to select UHI episodes from existing data sets. It is shown that changes in temperature generated during periods of advection are of short duration, only a few hours at most, but thermal contrasts between various parts of a city at such times are sometimes large, reaching an intensity of 5–6 K, even as large as 9 K. Thus, their intensity is comparable with that of the UHI occurring on cloudless and windless nights. The thermal influence of advection is often greater than that due to urban factors; it is only on occasions with less dynamic advection, that a concentric temperature field is formed due to the modified physical properties of the city. In the majority of cases, the thermal field is non-concentric and this is linked with the location of a frontal zone at any given time. The thermal effects of advection recorded in a data set might easily be viewed as episodes of UHI existence, especially if analysis is conducted based on the data derived from just two stations – one urban the other rural. On occasions when such ‘quasi-UHI’ occur the role of the location of the rural, reference station is also evaluated. Precise definition of the urban heat island can be of significance when conducting comparative studies of the UHI in cities located in different geographical zones and when making an urban climate synthesis.     

Urban Heat Island and Boundary Layer Structures under Hot Weather Synoptic Conditions: A Case Study of Suzhou City, China

A strong urban heat island (UHI) appeared in a hot weather episode in Suzhou City during the period from 25 July to 1 August 2007. This paper analyzes the urban heat island characteristics of Suzhou City under this hot weather episode. Both meteorological station observations and MODIS satellite observations show a strong urban heat island in this area. The maximum UHI intensity in this hot weather episode is 2.2℃, which is much greater than the summer average of 1.0℃ in this year and the 37-year (from 1970 to 2006) average of 0.35℃. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulation results demonstrate that the rapid urbanization processes in this area will enhance the UHI in intensity, horizontal distribution, and vertical extension. The UHI spatial distribution expands as the urban size increases. The vertical extension of UHI in the afternoon increases about 50 m higher under the year 2006 urban land cover than that under the 1986 urban land cover. The conversion from rural land use to urban land type also strengthens the local lake-land breeze circulations in this area and modifies the vertical wind speed field.     

The extent and intensity of the urban heat island in Iași city,Romania

The study underlines the characteristics of the urban heat island of Ia?i (Ia?i’s UHI) on the basis of 3 years of air temperature measurements obtained by fixed-point observations. We focus on the identification of UHI development and intensity as it is expressed by the temperature differences between the city centre and the rural surroundings. Annual, seasonal and daily characteristics of Ia?i’s UHI are investigated at the level of the classical weather observation. In brief, an intensity of 0.8 °C of UHI and a spatial extension which corresponds to the densely built area of the city were delineated. The Ia?i UHI is stronger during summer calm nights—when the inner city is warmer with 2.5–3 °C than the surroundings—and is weaker during windy spring days. The specific features of Ia?i’s UHI bear a profound connection to the specificity of the urban structure, the high atmospheric stability in the region and the local topography. Also, the effects of Ia?i’s UHI upon some environmental aspects are presented as study cases. For instance, under the direct influence of UHI, we have observed that in the city centre, the apricot tree blossoms earlier (with up to 4 days) and the depth of the snow cover is significantly lower (with up to 10 cm for a rural snow depth of 30 cm) than in the surrounding areas.     

苏州—无锡—常州城市带热岛效应个例研究

应用WRF(weather research and forecasting)及其耦合的多层城市冠层模式BEP(building energy parameterization),对2013年8月13日长江三角洲地区一次高温天气过程进行了模拟。此次过程盛行东南风,风向与苏州—无锡—常州城市带走向一致。模拟结果表明:苏州—无锡—常州城市带热岛效应明显,热岛强度向下游城市逐渐增加;在东南风作用下,三座城市的热岛连成一片,形成了一个更强大的热岛环流。夜晚,边界层逐渐趋于稳定,热岛环流减弱,有利于热岛温度向下游地区输送。热岛效应导致城市边界层高度明显上升。白天太湖产生强盛的湖风对其周边城市影响显著,来自太湖的冷气团导致无锡和常州边界层内热岛强度明显下降,抑制城市热岛向上发展,削弱了无锡与常州两城市热岛间的联系。白天太湖使得无锡和常州边界层高度明显下降。     

基于MODIS的安徽省代表城市热岛效应时空特征

利用2001—2010年覆盖安徽省的MODIS数据,选取在气候、地理、城市化等方面具有代表性的合肥、芜湖、阜阳作为研究对象,并结合GIS技术,分析地表温度的日变化及季节变化特征,得到安徽省代表城市热岛效应的时空分布。结果表明:安徽省省会合肥的热岛效应最为显著,安徽省南部代表城市芜湖的热岛效应强于北部代表城市阜阳, 同时具有显著的日变化和季节变化特征。近10年来,安徽代表城市热岛面积和热岛强度均呈增加趋势,但合肥热岛强度大于3 ℃的极端热岛效应有一定缓解。白天大片水体对缓解城市的热岛效应作用明显,而夜晚则不明显,甚至成为地表温度的高值中心。夏季地表温度与归一化植被指数的负相关最显著,即提高城市植被覆盖度对降低地表温度和缓解城市热岛效应有重要影响。     

Trends in extreme rainfall events of Bangladesh

Previous studies have shown that urbanization in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in southern China can have significant effect on the land-sea breeze circulation in the region. In this study, some characteristics of this urban heat island (UHI) effect are further investigated by some idealized numerical experiments. This study focuses on three aspects of the UHI effects. Firstly, the interaction of UHI effects associated with different city clusters in the PRD region. Secondly, the UHI effect and the strength of the background wind field. Thirdly, seasonal variation of the UHI effect. Experiment results suggest that the interaction of the UHI effects due to the closely distributed city clusters in the PRD region is not significant, while the UHI effect in the region may depend on the strength of the background wind. The seasonal-mean UHI effect in the region shows a significant variation associated with the change of seasons.     

苏州-无锡-常州城市带热岛效应个例研究

应用WRF（weather research and forecasting）及其耦合的多层城市冠层模式BEP（building energy parameterization）,对2013年8月13日长江三角洲地区一次高温天气过程进行了模拟.此次过程盛行东南风,风向与苏州-无锡-常州城市带走向一致.模拟结果表明：苏州-无锡-常州城市带热岛效应明显,热岛强度向下游城市逐渐增加;在东南风作用下,三座城市的热岛连成一片,形成了一个更强大的热岛环流.夜晚,边界层逐渐趋于稳定,热岛环流减弱,有利于热岛温度向下游地区输送.热岛效应导致城市边界层高度明显上升.白天太湖产生强盛的湖风对其周边城市影响显著,来自太湖的冷气团导致无锡和常州边界层内热岛强度明显下降,抑制城市热岛向上发展,削弱了无锡与常州两城市热岛间的联系.白天太湖使得无锡和常州边界层高度明显下降.     

The urban heat island of a city in an arid zone: the case of Eilat, Israel

Summary This study presents the results of a preliminary research that was conducted in the city of Eilat, located in an extreme hot and arid zone on the northern coast of the Red Sea. The purpose was to analyse the characteristics of the local urban heat island (UHI). Diurnal pre-dawn and early-afternoon measurements were taken in winter and summer weather conditions on three separate occasions for two consecutive years. The results show the development of a moderate UHI located around the most intensive area of human activity; the city business centre and dense hotel belt. The UHI is more significant at midday during the summer period, while early morning inversions in winter have a weakening effect on the UHI intensity. It was found that the topography and wind regime have a dominant effect on the location and intensity of the UHI, while the sea has a very marginal effect. Due to the UHI influences on the spatial distribution of the heat stress in the city, it is suggested that further applied UHI research should be focused on the summer period.     

Summer temperature variability across four urban neighborhoods in Knoxville,Tennessee, USA

The urban heat island (UHI) is a well-documented effect of urbanization on local climate, identified by higher temperatures compared to surrounding areas, especially at night and during the warm season. The details of a UHI are city-specific, and microclimates may even exist within a given city. Thus, investigating the spatiotemporal variability of a city’s UHI is an ongoing and critical research need. We deploy ten weather stations across Knoxville, Tennessee, to analyze the city’s UHI and its differential impacts across urban neighborhoods: two each in four neighborhoods, one in more dense tree cover and one in less dense tree cover, and one each in downtown Knoxville and Ijams Nature Center that serve as control locations. Three months of temperature data (beginning 2 July 2014) are analyzed using paired-sample t tests and a three-way analysis of variance. Major findings include the following: (1) Within a given neighborhood, tree cover helps negate daytime heat (resulting in up to 1.19 ^°C lower maximum temperature), but does not have as large of an influence on minimum temperature; (2) largest temperature differences between neighborhoods occur during the day (0.38–1.16 ^°C difference), but larger differences between neighborhoods and the downtown control occur at night (1.04–1.88 ^°C difference); (3) presiding weather (i.e., air mass type) has a significant, consistent impact on the temperature in a given city, and lacks the differential impacts found at a larger-scale in previous studies; (4) distance from city center does not impact temperature as much as land use factors. This is a preliminary step towards informing local planning with a scientific understanding of how mitigation strategies may help minimize the UHI and reduce the effects of extreme weather on public health and well-being.     

Mesoscale and macroscale aspects of the morning Urban Heat Island around Athens,Greece

Summary This paper examines the characteristics of the morning Urban Heat Island (UHI) in Athens basin, Greece. The study is performed by using and analyzing mesoscale and synoptic data covering the period 1990–2001. The UHI was estimated using the 0600 Local Time (LT) minimum temperature differences between rural and urban areas of the city. The analysis results in 7 UHI classes. A strong UHI was found for the 1/3 of days. The specific meteorological characteristics (surface and upper air, cooling rate) of each UHI class were revealed and examined. The spatial and temporal characteristics of the UHI were also identified. The UHI is largest on nights with clear skies and low relative humidity. In all seasons the UHI switches on rapidly in afternoon. During spring and summer, sea breeze commonly reduces and delays the UHI. Cases documenting the sensitivity and rapidity of changes of the UHI to changes in classes (cloud cover, wind) are also presented. The cooling rate is higher in the urban area under negative and lower under positive UHI conditions. Mesoscale and macroscale phenomena were examined during the different UHI classes through a weather type scheme. It was emerged that high UHI classes are associated with anticyclonic conditions or advection in the lower troposphere, while low UHI classes are associated with strong northeasterly winds. Anticyclonic conditions which frequently occur in spring and early summer, reduce or reverse the UHI to Urban Cooling Island.     

Climate Change driven evolution of hazards to Europe’s transport infrastructure throughout the twenty-first century

Air circulation due to the urban heat island (UHI) effect can influence the dispersion of air pollutants in a metropolis. This study focusses on the influence of the UHI effect on particulate matter (PM; including PM_2.5 and PM_2.5–10) between May and September 2010–2012 in the Taipei basin. Meteorological and PM data were obtained from the sites, owned by the governmental authorities. The analysis was carried out using t test, relative indices (RIs), Pearson product–moment correlation and stepwise regression. The results show that the RI values for PM were the highest at moderate UHI intensity (MUI; 2 °C ≤ UHI < 4 °C) rather than at strong UHI intensity (SUI; 4 °C ≤ UHI) during the peak time for anthropogenic emissions (20:00 LST). Neither the accumulation of PM nor the surface convergence occurred in the hot centre, as shown by the case study. At MUI, more than 89 % of the synoptic weather patterns showed that the weather was clear and hot or that the atmosphere was stable. The variation in PM was associated with horizontal and vertical air dispersion. Poor horizontal air dispersion, with subsidence, caused an increase in PM at MUI. However, the updraft motion diluted the PM at SUI. The stepwise regression models show that the cloud index and surface air pressure determined the variation in PM_2.5–10, while cloud index, wind speed and mixing height influenced the variation in PM_2.5. In conclusion, a direct relationship between UHI effect and PM was not obvious.     

阳泉市城市热岛效应特征分析

利用阳泉市3个国家级气象站资料分析了阳泉市城市热岛效应的年际变化、季节变化、月变化和日变化特征,结果表明：阳泉市存在弱的城市热岛效应,1972年-2011年平均热岛强度0．554℃。阳泉市热岛强度冬、秋季强,春、夏季弱;12月最强,5月最弱;阳泉市热岛强度整体呈显著上升趋势,热岛强度的增加主要是由于夏季热岛强度的增强。热岛强度日变化表现为12时最小,从傍晚开始随降温逐渐增大,到早晨气温降到最低时最大,日出之后迅速减小;2008年-2011年最强热岛强度出现在2010年1月14日08时达7．9℃。阳泉市主要城市发展因子与霾日数、气温呈显著正相关,在目前的经济发展水平条件下,城市化发展可能使阳泉城市温度增高,城市绿地面积的增加可能对热岛效应有缓解。     

Estimation of urban heat island intensity using biases in surface air temperature simulated by a nonhydrostatic regional climate model

This study demonstrates that urban heat island (UHI) intensity can be estimated by comparing observational data and the outputs of a well-developed high-resolution regional climate model. Such an estimate is possible because the observations include the effects of UHI, whereas the model used does not include urban effects. Therefore, the errors in the simulated surface air temperature, defined as the difference between simulated and observed temperatures (simulated minus observed), are negative in urban areas but 0 in rural areas. UHI intensity is estimated by calculating the difference in temperature error between urban and rural areas. Our results indicate that overall UHI intensity in Japan is 1.5 K and that the intensity is greater in nighttime than in daytime, consistent with the previous studies. This study also shows that root mean square error and the magnitude of systematic error for the annual mean temperature are small (within 1.0 K).