Urban heat mitigation: Bridging thermodynamics with aerodynamics

Die öffentlichen Vorträge im Rahmen des Meteorologischen Kolloquiums werden von internationalen Gästen gehalten, die spannende Einblicke in Ihre Forschung bieten. Den Präsentationen kann auch gut ohne Vorwissen gefolgt werden.

Kurzzusammenfassung/Abstract:

As the climate warms and as the urban population continues to increase, heat becomes one of the most pressing environmental issues in cities. Various urban heat mitigation strategies such as white and green roofs have been proposed. From the physical science perspective, key questions to address include how effective these strategies are and where/when they are mostly effective. In this talk, I will first use two examples to demonstrate that the surface energy balance provides a strong constraint on the cooling effects of urban heat mitigation strategies. In both examples, convective heat transfer efficiency plays an important role in controlling the effectiveness of urban heat mitigation strategies. I will then discuss the challenges in modeling and parameterizing flow and scalar (e.g., heat) transfer over complex urban environments. I will conclude my talk with some discussions on the role of atmospheric feedback.