Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI) Roundtable I How Surfaces Affect Air Temperatures: A Study of Urban Landscapes and Their Effects on Heat Elizabeth Sebastian CCRI Educator - Fusion Academy Alex Gittelson CCRI Graduate Intern - Columbia University Dr. Stuart Gaffin CCRI NASA Mentor
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ClimateChangeResearchInitiative(CCRI)RoundtableI
HowSurfacesAffectAirTemperatures:AStudyofUrbanLandscapesandTheirEffectsonHeat
ElizabethSebastianCCRIEducator- FusionAcademy
AlexGittelsonCCRIGraduateIntern- ColumbiaUniversity
Dr.StuartGaffinCCRINASAMentor
IntroductionsandRoles
Alex“Alexei”GittelsonMPACandidateinEnvironmentalScienceandPolicy,ColumbiaUniversityRole:Research
ElizabethSebastianScienceandMathDepartmentHead,FusionAcademyRole:Educator
Dr.StuartGaffinResearchScientist,NASAGISSandColumbiaUniversityRole:ResearchLeader,Mentor,Advisor
ResearchObjectives
• Howsurfacetemperatureaffectsairtemperature
• Howdifferentsurfacesreflectsunheat– controlledversusoutdoorenvironments
• Whyandhowurbanenvironmentsaregenerallyhotter– roadsversusbuildingsversusnature
• Howcitiesaffectclimatechangeandwhatcanbedone
EducationalObjectives
• Createaunitandpossiblyseveralunitson:– WhatistheUrbanHeatIslandEffect– Howdoesitdirectlyaffectus– Howtocollectdataofsurfaceandabovesurfaceair
temperaturesusingFLIRphoneattachments(experiment;possiblylongterm)
– Howtouseresultstocreatenewdesignstoreduceheatislandeffect
– Explorehowreducingheatislandeffectwillhelpglobally
GeneralConcepts
Air temperature versus surface temperatureUrban Heat Island (UHI) EffectInfrared radiationEmissivityAlbedoGreen/Gray Infrastructure
General Concepts
BigQuestions- StillUnanswered• HowmuchcanwecoolNYCclimatewithmassiveGreenInfrastructure(GI)?(1– 2o C?)
• WhatcombinationofalbedoandGIstrategiesworkbest?• Arethereotherapproaches&newmaterials?• Whataboutpavements?(roofsareonly10-20%urbanhorizontal
surfaces)• Verticalfacades:canwereduceheatinspacesbetweenbuildings(urban
canyonheating)?
Big Questions - Still Unanswered
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Urban Heat Island: GI and Albedo?
Surface Types Measured Over Time
Con Edison Test Site, Gaffin et al, 2010
Rosenzweig et al, 2009
WealreadyknowplentyaboutcommonurbansurfacetemperaturesandhowGIreducesthem
However,weknowmuchlessaboutairtemperaturesabove thesesurfaces.
Experiencewith‘offtheshelf’airtempprobeshasgenerallybeeninconclusive
EventhelargestGI(CentralPark)waschallenging– tookmanyattempts
FLIRthermalinfrared(IR)camerasareextremelypowerfulandprecise:(i)Measureswithin0.1degreesinCelcius orFahrenheit(CLARIFY)
(ii)Eliminatescross-calibrationanddriftissues
(iii)Vastdatacollection
HowtotestAnair tempproxyforcamerawouldbeanimportantmethodologicaladvance.
Candidatesinclude:• Heavyandcopypaper(tested)• Foam(tested)• Metallicfoils(notyettested)
• Measuretemperatureofsurfaces• Determineshortwave(SW)andlongwave(LW)
Proxiesideallyneedtoreflect bothVisible(SW)andIR(LW)backgroundradiation
SW
WhitePaper
LW SW
MetallicFoil?
LW
Whitesheetairtempproxies
FoamCore Heavy
Simple
Copy
FoamCore Heavy
SimpleCopy
KeyCentralParkWeatherStationExperiment
6o Cdropistoomuch
Whythefindingsarestillinconclusive
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Discussion
• Theidealairtempproxyis‘white’inbothvisibleand IRspectrums
• Whitecopypaperisnot‘white’intheIR
• HoweverpapermaybeagoodproxyforhumanthermalcomfortasourbodiesabsorbbackgroundIRaswell
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Going forward
● Metallicfoils(i.e.aluminum)arereflectiveinSWandLWbecauseemissivity islow=>infraredreflectivityhigh
● Needtotestmetallicfoilsnextandmoreonwhitesheets
● ControlledversusOutdoor
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