Title: Meteorological simulations with use of satellite data for assessing urban heat island under summertime anticyclonic conditions

Authors: Theodoros Nitis, Zvjezdana B. Klaic, Dimitra Kitsiou, Nicolas Moussiopoulos

Addresses: Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Environmental Engineering, Aristotle University Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 483, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece. ' Faculty of Science, Department of Geophysics, Andrija Mohorovicic Geophysical Institute, University of Zagreb, Horvatovac bb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. ' Department of Marine Sciences, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, University Hill, 81100 Mytilene, Greece. ' Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Environmental Engineering, Aristotle University Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 483, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the formation, evolution and evaluation of topography effects on the urban heat island over the city of Zagreb. For this purpose, the non-hydrostatic mesoscale meteorological model MEMO was used and high-resolution simulations were carried out for two summertime anticyclonic periods. Satellite data were used to improve the model|s performance. The simulation results were compared to available observations and it was proved that the model is capable of simulating the mesoscale wind flow reasonably well. The importance of the impact of nearby mountains on the urban heat island was also examined showing that local topography had an important role on its formation and damping.

Keywords: mesoscale meteorological models; atmospheric boundary layer; energy balance; geographical information systems; GIS; remote sensing; simulation; satellite data; urban heat islands; summertime; anticyclonic conditions; air quality; Zagreb; Croatia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2010.030888

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2010 Vol.40 No.1/2/3, pp.123 - 135

Published online: 11 Jan 2010 *

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