18-1

Urban Changes & Climate

Urban Heat Island Science Concepts

Urbanization Surface Types

Effects Surface Energy Budget -
Cities
Ozone - Temperature
Mitigation Strategies Relationship

Climate and Global Change

 18-2

Urban Heat Island

How has urban Atlanta
growth changed the
climate system
over cities?
• Landsat 7 images
from the 1970s,
1980s and 1990s
show trends in 1974 1985
urbanization

- Note changes in green, i.e., forested area

- For example, Atlanta, GA gobbled up

380,000 acres of trees between 1973 and
1992 - averages about 55 acres of trees per
day

1996
Climate and Global Change
 18-3

Urban Heat Island

Madison County Growth

1984 – 13% Developed

1990 – 21% Developed2000 – 30% Developed2020 – 50% Developed

LEGEND
Developed Land
Undeveloped Land

Change: 1984 – 1990 Change: 1990 - 2000

Climate and Global Change
 18-4

Urban Heat Island

What happens to the Sun’s energy
at the Earth’s surface over a city?
• An acre of forest or cropland receives as
much sunlight as an acre of buildings

• Green space will be cooler because of

transpiration and shading of the ground

• Urban surfaces get much hotter than

vegetated surfaces during the day.

• They release this energy at night, creating

a dome of warmer air at night

Climate and Global Change

 18-5

Urban Heat Island

What is “Urban Heat
Island”?
• Urban areas are warmer, like
an “island” of heat surrounded
by cooler rural areas

• Large horizontal temperature

gradient exist at the urban/rural
boundary, could be as large as
4C/km

• Urban areas appear like a “plateau” with weaker increasing

gradient. This
pattern is influenced by distinct intra-urban land uses: open
areas, parks,
lakes (cool), dense buildings, commercial areas or industrial
areas (warm)

• Intensity of the UHI depends on the urban-rural temperature

difference

Climate and Global Change

 18-6

Urban Heat Island

Atlanta Urban Heat Island
• Atlanta metro region 9/28/2000
Landsat-7 image
• True-color image (top)
- Urban areas are gray
- Wooded suburbs and open fields
are green QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
• Surface temperature (bottom)
- Yellow areas are relatively cool
- Red areas are hot
• Note correlation between hot areas and
roads, etc.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/UrbanRain/urbanrain2.html
Climate and Global Change
 18-7

Urban Heat Island

Atlanta Urban Heat Island (Con’t)

• Atlanta Central Business District (CBD) Midtown

Residential

- May
1997

CBD

Climate and Global Change

 18-8

Urban Heat Island

Atlanta Urban Heat Island (Con’t)
Midtown
• Atlanta cross-city Residential
temperature

CBD

Climate and Global Change

 18-9

Climate Elements
Urban Heat Island Intensity
• Factors below contribute to UHI, relative roles are not certain

• Factors combine to make the urban area store sensible heat

during the day,
and inhibit this excess heat from dissipating rapidly at night.
Altered energy budget terms
Increased absorption of short
wave radiation
Increased long wave radiation for
sky
Decreased long wave radiation
loss
Anthropogenic heat source
Increased sensible heat storage
Decreased evaporative cooling
Decreased total turbulent heat
transport
Features of urbanization underlying energy budget
change
Canyon geometry - increased surface area and
multiple reflection, dark materials (e.g., asphalt
Air pollution - greater absorption and emission
Canyon geometry -- reduction of sky view factor
Waste heat from city buildings and traffic
Construction materials - increased thermal
admittance
Construction materials - increased water-proofing,
less vegetation, shrubs, and other plants
Canyon geometry - reduction of wind speed
Climate and Global Change
 18-
10

Urban Heat Island

Urban Heat Island Effects
• UHI has several direct and indirect
effects; including biological, economic
and meteorological effects

- Increases demand for cooling

energy

- Increases electricity generation

which leads to higher emissions
of SO2, CO, NO, CO2,
accelerates the formation of
harmful smog, higher O3

- Increases chemical weathering

of building materials Climate and Global Change
 18-
11

Urban Heat Island

an Heat Island Effects (Con’t)
UHI has several direct and indirect effects; including biological, economic
nd meteorological effects (Con’t)

Temperature affects ozone amount

> Increases the thermal

destruction of some
hydrocarbon-nitrate
molecules
(peroxyacetyl-
nitrate or
PANs)
that free NO2
> Increases the
vegetative emission
of VOCs and
evaporation
of VOCs
Climate and Global Change
 18-
12

Urban Heat Island

an Heat Island Effects (Con’t)
Induces convergence over city

Initiates convective activity downwind of city

Precipitation and cloud cover enhancement occur downwind of city

Trends of global warming are higher in urban areas; most weather

stations are located near urban areas, which could bias the trends of
global warming.

Climate and Global Change

 18-
13

Urban Heat Island

n be done to mitigate the effects of urbanization?
has been flying aircraft over
ties to determine their thermal
teristics that drive the
pment of the urban heat

g with city officials, urban

rs, architects, schools and
roups to educate and affect
e

or of roofs
re trees
ter community planning

Climate and Global Change

 18-
14

Urban Heat Island

Urban Heat Island Summary
•night.
Urban areas are usually warmer than rural areas, especially at
Under
ideal
inward conditions,
flow at UHI generates its own circulation, radially
street level, radially outward flow above.

•since
First
thenoticed
1960’s,~170 years ago. Even with numerous studies
it is still not well-understood.

•geographical
Formation of UHI and its magnitude results from urban and
characteristics, city size (population, height-to-width ratio),
meteorological
conditions (wind speed, cloud cover).

•summer,
UHI has distinct seasonal behavior, usually greatest in the
weakest
in the winter.

•precipitation
UHI not only
andaffects
air temperature, it affects cloudiness,
quality. It also impacts global warming.
Climate and Global Change