Original paper
On the self-ventilation of an urban heat island
Gross, Günter
Meteorologische Zeitschrift Vol. 28 No. 1 (2019), p. 87 - 92
14 references
published: Mar 22, 2019
published online: Feb 21, 2019
manuscript accepted: Jan 23, 2019
manuscript revision received: Jan 21, 2019
manuscript revision requested: Jan 21, 2018
manuscript received: Jan 10, 2019
Open Access (paper may be downloaded free of charge)
Abstract
Measurements of a new German Meteorological Service urban observation network in Hannover were used to analyse the urban heat island (UHI) and the dynamics of urban wind. The UHI was well pronounced on many nights of the year and had a maximum intensity during the observation period of more than 6 K. A strong correlation between the UHI intensity and wind speed difference between the urban and the rural station was found. During the night, wind speed inside the city was significantly higher than in the surrounding rural area for an increasing air temperature contrast. This effect was attributed to the weaker thermal stability inside the city when there was a well-developed heat island, which enhanced the turbulent momentum flux from above.
Keywords
urban rural measurements • urban heat island • urban wind speed