• Featured in Physics
  • Editors' Suggestion

Role of City Texture in Urban Heat Islands at Nighttime

J. M. Sobstyl, T. Emig, M. J. Abdolhosseini Qomi, F.-J. Ulm, and R. J.-M. Pellenq
Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 108701 – Published 9 March 2018
Physics logo See Focus story: City Structure Influences Nighttime Temperatures
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

An urban heat island (UHI) is a climate phenomenon that results in an increased air temperature in cities when compared to their rural surroundings. In this Letter, the dependence of an UHI on urban geometry is studied. Multiyear urban-rural temperature differences and building footprints data combined with a heat radiation scaling model are used to demonstrate for more than 50 cities worldwide that city texture—measured by a building distribution function and the sky view factor—explains city-to-city variations in nocturnal UHIs. Our results show a strong correlation between nocturnal UHIs and the city texture.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 1 May 2017
  • Revised 19 December 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.108701

© 2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Statistical Physics & ThermodynamicsGeneral PhysicsInterdisciplinary Physics

Focus

Key Image

City Structure Influences Nighttime Temperatures

Published 9 March 2018

Mathematical analysis of the two-dimensional layout of a city reveals much about its three-dimensional structure and provides useful measures of the urban heat island effect.

See more in Physics

Authors & Affiliations

J. M. Sobstyl1, T. Emig2,3, M. J. Abdolhosseini Qomi4, F.-J. Ulm1,2, and R. J.-M. Pellenq1,2,5,*

  • 1Concrete Sustainability Hub, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
  • 2CNRS/MIT/AMU Joint Laboratory “MultiScale Materials Science for Energy and Environment”, UMI ⟨MSE⟩2, MIT Energy Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
  • 3Laboratoire de Physique Theorique et Modeles Statistiques, CNRS UMR 8626, Universite Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay cedex, France
  • 4Advanced Infrastructure Materials for Sustainability Laboratory (AIMS Lab), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering, E4130 Engineering Gateway, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, USA
  • 5Centre Interdisciplinaire de Nanosciences de Marseille, CINaM, CNRS/Aix-Marseille Université, Campus de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France

  • *Corresponding author. pellenq@mit.edu

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 120, Iss. 10 — 9 March 2018

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×