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Reviews and news on sustainable materials and renewable technologies.

Microclimates in a desert city were related to land use and vegetation index

Abstract A heterogeneous patchwork mosaic of soil, vegetation, and built surfaces that result from a variety of urban land uses cause urban microclimates within cities. We studied the seasonal relationships of land use, urban plant cover and microclimate in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, metropolitan. Early morning (0500 HR) and afternoon (1500 HR) near-surface temperatures and humidities were measured along multiple transects in this desert city and outlying areas during June ...

Tests of three urban energy balance models

Abstract Observations of surface characteristics, meteorological conditions and energy balance components from Vancouver, B.C. are used to test the validity of the output from three one-dimensional surface energy balance models. The results show that whereas all of the models provide good simulations of net radiation, none can consistently predict the turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat using easily available input data. Inability to handle the role of water ...

Validation of an urban canyon model for nocturnal long-wave radiative fluxes

Abstract The urban canyon radiation model of Arnfield (1976, 1982) is validated using measurements of long-wave fluxes taken within a scaled down urban canyon constructed from concrete building blocks. A custom-designed traversing system allowed miniature radiometers to be automatically moved around the perimeter of a canyon cross-section, thereby providing for the validation of individual model grid-points. The agreement between measured and modelled radiation is generally very good. Some differences ...

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