Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

5-2010

Abstract

We examined the horizontal and vertical nocturnal cooling influence of a small park with irrigated lawn and xeric surfaces (∼3 ha) within a university campus of a hot arid city. Temperature data from 0.01- to 3-m heights observed during a bicycle traverse of the campus were combined with modeled spatial temperature data simulated from a three-dimensional microclimate model (ENVI-met 3.1). A distinct park cool island, with mean observed magnitudes of 0.7–3.6°C, was documented for both traverse and model data with larger cooling intensities measured closer to surface level. Modeled results possessed varying but generally reasonable accuracy in simulating both spatial and temporal temperature data, although some systematic errors exist. A combination of several factors, such as variations in surface thermal properties, urban geometry, building orientation, and soil moisture, was likely responsible for influencing differential urban and non-urban near-surface temperatures. A strong inversion layer up to 1 m over non-urban surfaces was detected, contrasting with near-neutral lapse rates over urban surfaces. A key factor in the spatial expansion of the park cool island was the advection of cooler park air to adjacent urban surfaces, although this effect was mostly concentrated from 0- to 1-m heights over urban surfaces that were more exposed to the atmosphere.

Discipline

Environmental Sciences

Research Areas

Political Science

Publication

Theoretical and Applied Climatology

Volume

103

Issue

1

First Page

197

Last Page

211

ISSN

0177-798X

Identifier

10.1007/s00704-010-0293-8

Publisher

Springer (part of Springer Nature): Springer Open Choice Hybrid Journals

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-010-0293-8

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