Role of surface characteristics in urban meteorology and air quality

Impacts of Large-Scale Surface Modifications on Meteorological Conditions and Energy Use: A 10-Region Modeling Study

“…The model was modified to use gridded surface characteristics input and to include a bulk-layer vegetation parameterization (Sailor, 1993). Taha (1996Taha ( , 1997 describes the model, its input, initial, and boundary conditions.…”

Mesoscale meteorological and air quality impacts of increased urban albedo and vegetation

“…Using a procedure originally devised by Sailor [ 3] and later modified by Taha [ I5,I6], the land-use composition in each of 2600 cells in the CSUMM modeling domain for the SoCAB was examined to determine the fraction of each cell that could be subject to albedo increase relative to its base value. Within each 5 X 5 km cell, 23 land-use categories were sorted and their fractional areas identified according to data from Horie et al [ 8].…”

“…The potential air quality benefits of lowered summertime air temperatures include a decrease in some photochemical reaction rates, a decrease in temperature-dependent biogenic hydrocarbon emissions from existing·and newly-planted vegetation, a decrease in running and resting-loss evaporative organic gas emissions from mobile, sources, a decrease in evaporative losses from stationary sources, and a decreased need for cooling energy and, thus, generating capacity and emissions from power plants. How-ever, increasing the surface albedo and vegetative cover in the SoCAB may have an effect on the local sea-breeze circulation and thus on the transport of precursor pollutants and ozone from one area to another within the airshed [ 2,3] . Also, decreasing the near-surface temperatures can reduce the depth of the atmospheric layer in which pollutants are mixed, potentially resulting in higher ozone concentrations in some locations.…”

Meso-scale cooling effects of high albedo surfaces: Analysis of meteorological data from White Sands National Monument and White Sands Missile Range

“…The indirect effect is the impact of high albedo surfaces on the near surface air temperatures. Although the indirect effect has been modeled for the Los Angeles basin by Sailor (1993), direct field observations are required. The objective of this report is to investigate the meso-scale climate of a large high albedo area and identify the effects of albedo on the near surface air temperature.…”