A multi-resolution ensemble study of a tropical urban environment and its interactions with the background regional atmosphere
Author(s)
Li, Xian-Xiang; Koh, Tieh Yong; Entekhabi, Dara; Roth, Matthias; Panda, Jagabandhu; Norford, Leslie Keith; ... Show more Show less
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This study employed the Weather Research and Forecasting model with a single-layer urban canopy model to investigate the urban environment of a tropical city, Singapore. The coupled model was evaluated against available observational data from a sensor network and flux tower. The effects of land use type and anthropogenic heat (AH) on the thermal and wind environment were investigated with a series of sensitivity tests using an ensemble approach for low advection, high convective available potential energy, intermonsoon season cases. The diurnal cycle and spatial pattern of urban heat island (UHI) intensity and planetary boundary layer height were investigated. The mean UHI intensity peaked in the early morning at 2.2°C, reaching 2.4°C in industrial areas. Sea and land breezes developed during daytime and nighttime, respectively, with the former much stronger than the latter. The model predicted that sea breezes from different coastlines of the Malay Peninsula meet and converge, inducing strong updrafts. AH was found to play roles in all the processes studied, while the effect of different land use types was most pronounced during nighttime, and least visible near noon.
Date issued
2013-09Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringJournal
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
Li, Xian-Xiang, Tieh-Yong Koh, Dara Entekhabi, Matthias Roth, Jagabandhu Panda, and Leslie K Norford. “A Multi-Resolution Ensemble Study of a Tropical Urban Environment and Its Interactions with the Background Regional Atmosphere.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 118, no. 17 (September 13, 2013): 9804–9818.
Version: Final published version
ISSN
2169897X