| 1. |
- Andersson-Sköld, Yvonne, et al.
(author)
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A framework for assessing urban greenery's effects and valuing its ecosystem services
- 2018
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In: Journal of Environmental Management. - : Academic Press. - 0301-4797 .- 1095-8630. ; 205, s. 274-285
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ongoing urban exploitation is increasing pressure to transform urban green spaces, while there is increasing awareness that greenery provides a range of important benefits to city residents. In efforts to help resolve associated problems we have developed a framework for integrated assessments of ecosystem service (ES) benefits and values provided by urban greenery, based on the ecosystem service cascade model. The aim is to provide a method for assessing the contribution to, and valuing, multiple ES provided by urban greenery that can be readily applied in routine planning processes. The framework is unique as it recognizes that an urban greenery comprises several components and functions that can contribute to multiple ecosystem services in one or more ways via different functional traits (e.g. foliage characteristics) for which readily measured indicators have been identified. The framework consists of five steps including compilation of an inventory of indicator; application of effectivity factors to rate indicators' effectiveness; estimation of effects; estimation of benefits for each ES; estimation of the total ES value of the ecosystem. The framework was applied to assess ecosystem services provided by trees, shrubs, herbs, birds, and bees, in green areas spanning an urban gradient in Gothenburg, Sweden. Estimates of perceived values of ecosystem services were obtained from interviews with the public and workshop activities with civil servants. The framework is systematic and transparent at all stages and appears to have potential utility in the existing spatial planning processes.
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| 2. |
- Hu, Yumei, et al.
(author)
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The use of screening effects in modelling route-based daytime road surface temperature
- 2016
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In: Theoretical and Applied Climatology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0177-798X .- 1434-4483. ; 125:1, s. 303-319
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © 2015 The Author(s) Winter road maintenance is essential for road safety. Accurate predictions of the road surface temperature (RST) and conditions can enhance the efficiency of winter road maintenance. Screening effects, which encompass shading effects and the influence of the sky-view factor (ψs), influence RST distributions because they affect road surface radiation fluxes. In this work, light detection and ranging (Lidar) data are used to derive shadow patterns and ψs values, and the resulting shadow patterns are used to model route-based RST distributions along two stretches of road in Sweden. The shading patterns and road surface radiation fluxes calculated from the Lidar data generally agreed well with measured RST values. Variation in land use types and the angle between the road direction and solar azimuth may introduce uncertainties, and accounting for these factors may improve the results obtained in certain cases. A simple shading model that only accounts for the direct radiation at the instant of measurement is often sufficient to provide reasonably accurate RST estimates. However, in certain cases, such as those involving measurements close to sunset, it is important to consider the radiation accumulated over several hours. The inclusion of ψs improves the model performance even more in such cases. Overall, RST models based on the accumulated direct shortwave radiation offered an optimal balance of simplicity and accuracy. General radiation models were built for country road and highway environments, explaining up to 70 and 65 %, respectively, of the observed variation in RST along the corresponding stretches of road.
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| 3. |
- Aminipouri, M., et al.
(author)
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Urban tree planting to maintain outdoor thermal comfort under climate change: The case of Vancouver's local climate zones
- 2019
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In: Building and Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0360-1323. ; 158, s. 226-236
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Spatiotemporal variation of mean radiant temperature (Tmrt), a major driver of outdoor human thermal comfort, is driven by exposure to solar and longwave radiation, which in turn respond to local patterns of shading, wind speed, air humidity and air temperature. In this study, the SOlar and LongWave Environmental Irradiance Geometry (SOLWEIG) model was used to simulate how changes in minimum and maximum air temperature and solar radiation under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 climate projections would change Tmrt in Vancouver over the 2070-2100 period. With micrometeorological variables representative of a changed climate, days with Tmrt above 65 degrees C were predicted to increase three-to five-fold under RCP 4.5 and 8.5, respectively. SOLWEIG was also used to quantify the potential of maximum feasible street tree cover to reduce Tmrt for the hottest day on record for Vancouver (July 29, 2009), and an end-of-century hot day under the two future climate scenarios. SOLWEIG simulations with maximum feasible street tree cover under RCP 4.5 demonstrated an average reduction of 1.3 degrees C in Tmrt, compared to the contemporary extreme heat day with current street trees. However, average Tmrt increased by 1.9 degrees C under the RCP 8.5 scenario even with maximum feasible street tree cover, relative to the contemporary extreme heat day. We conclude that adding street trees has the potential to offset Tmrt increases under the RCP 4.5 scenario, however this measure is insufficient to maintain contemporary Tmrt under the RCP 8.5 scenario.
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| 4. |
- Andersson-Sköld, Yvonne, et al.
(author)
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An integrated method for assessing climate-related risks and adaptation alternatives in urban areas
- 2015
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In: Climate Risk Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 2212-0963. ; 7, s. 31-50
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © 2015 The Authors. The urban environment is a complex structure with interlinked social, ecological and technical structures. Global warming is expected to have a broad variety of impacts, which will add to the complexity. Climate changes will force adaptation, to reduce climate-related risks. Adaptation measures can address one aspect at the time, or aim for a holistic approach to avoid maladaptation. This paper presents a systematic, integrated approach for assessing alternatives for reducing the risks of heat waves, flooding and air pollution in urban settings, with the aim of reducing the risk of maladaptation. The study includes strategies covering different spatial scales, and both the current climate situation and the climate predicted under climate change scenarios. The adaptation strategies investigated included increasing vegetation; selecting density, height and colour of buildings; and retreat or resist (defend) against sea-level rise. Their effectiveness was assessed with regard to not only flooding, heat stress and air quality but also with regard to resource use, emissions to air (incl. GHG), soil and water, and people's perceptions and vulnerability. The effectiveness of the strategies were ranked on a common scale (from -3 to 3) in an integrated assessment. Integrated assessments are recommended, as they help identify the most sustainable solutions, but to reduce the risk of maladaptation they require experts from a variety of disciplines. The most generally applicable recommendation, derived from the integrated assessment here, taking into account both expertise from different municipal departments, literature surveys, life cycle assessments and publics perceptions, is to increase the urban greenery, as it contributes to several positive aspects such as heat stress mitigation, air quality improvement, effective storm-water and flood-risk management, and it has several positive social impacts. The most favourable alternative was compact, mid-rise, light coloured building design with large parks/green areas and trees near buildings.
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| 5. |
- Carlström, Eric, 1957, et al.
(author)
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Medical Emergencies During a Half Marathon Race - The Influence of Weather
- 2019
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In: International Journal of Sports Medicine. - Stuttgart : Georg Thieme Verlag KG. - 0172-4622 .- 1439-3964. ; 40:5, s. 312-316
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim was to analyze the influence of weather conditions on medical emergencies in a half-marathon, specifically by evaluating its relation to the number of non-finishers, ambulance-required assistances, and collapses in need of ambulance as well as looking at the location of such emergencies on the race course. Seven years of data from the world's largest half marathon were used. Meteorological data were obtained from a nearby weather station, and the Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) index was used as a measure of general weather conditions. Of the 315,919 race starters, 104 runners out of the 140 ambulance-required assistances needed ambulance services due to collapses. Maximum air temperature and PET significantly co-variated with ambulance-required assistances, collapses, and non-finishers (R (2) =0.65-0.92; p=0.001-0.03). When air temperatures vary between 15-29 degrees C, an increase of 1 degrees C results in an increase of 2.5 (0.008/1000) ambulance-required assistances, 2.5 (0.008/1000) collapses (needing ambulance services), and 107 (0.34/1000) non-finishers. The results also indicate that when the daily maximum PET varies between 18-35 degrees C, an increase of 1 degrees C PET results in an increase of 1.8 collapses (0.006/1000) needing ambulance services and 66 non-finishers (0.21/1000).
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Chrysoulakis, N, et al.
(author)
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7E.3: Urban Energy Balance from Space: the URBANFLUXES Project
- 2018
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In: 10th International Conference on Urban Climate/14th Symposium on the Urban Environment, New York, US, August 2018.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The H2020-Space project URBANFLUXES investigated the potential of Copernicus Sentinels to retrieve the key components of the Urban Energy Budget (UEB). The Discrete Anisotropic Radiative Transfer (DART) model was used to estimate the net all-wave radiation fluxes. The storage heat flux was determined using the Element Surface Temperature Method (ESTM) after being modified to use satellite observations. Turbulent sensible and latent heat fluxes were estimated with the Aerodynamic Resistance Method (ARM). The fluxes were evaluated with in-situ flux measurements in London, Basel and Heraklion. URBANFLUXES prepared the ground for further innovative exploitation of Earth Observation data in climate variability studies scales and emerging applications (sustainable urban planning, mitigation technologies) to benefit climate change mitigation and adaptation. The wide range of data produced (e.g. land cover, vegetation phenology, surface morphology) have a much large possible applications. This project website (http://urbanfluxes.eu) provides more detailed information.
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| 8. |
- Chrysoulakis, Nektarios, et al.
(author)
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A novel approach for anthropogenic heat flux estimation from space
- 2016
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In: IGARSS 2016 - IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. 10-15 July 2016. Beijing; China. - : IEEE. - 2153-7003. - 9781509033324
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The recently launched H2020 project URBANFLUXES (URBan ANthrpogenic heat FLUX from Earth observation Satellites) investigates the potential of EO to retrieve anthropogenic heat flux, as a key component in the Urban Energy Budget (UEB). URBANFLUXES advances existing Earth Observation (EO) based methods for estimating spatial patterns of turbulent sensible and latent heat fluxes, as well as urban heat storage flux at city scale and local scale. Independent methods and models are engaged to evaluate the derived products and statistical analyses provide uncertainty measures. Optical, thermal and SAR data are exploited to improve the accuracy of the UEB components spatial distribution calculation. Synergistic use of different types and of various resolution EO data allows estimates in local and city scale. Ultimate goal of the URBANFLUXES is to develop a highly automated method for estimating UEB components to use with Copernicus Sentinel data, enabling its integration into applications and operational services.
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| 9. |
- Chrysoulakis, Nektarios, et al.
(author)
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A novel approach for anthropogenic heat flux estimation from space
- 2015
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In: ICUC9 – 9 th International Conference on Urban Climate jointly with 12th Symposium on the Urban Environment. 20-24 July 2015, Toulouse, France.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- How people live, work, move from place to place, what they consume and the technology they use, all affect the fabric, morphology and emissions in a city and in turn its climate. To understand the relations between urban form, energy use and carbon emissions an important challenge is to disaggregate urban areas into different spatial units and evaluate their impacts on energy fluxes and greenhouse gas emissions. There is a need in Earth system science communities for spatially disaggregated anthropogenic heat data, at local and city scales. The anthropogenic heat flux is the heat flux resulting from vehicular emissions, space heating and cooling of buildings, industrial processing and the metabolic heat release by people. Such information is practically impossible to derive by point in-situ flux measurements, while satellite remote sensing has proven a valuable tool for estimating energy budget parameters exploiting Earth Observation (EO) data. While EO data are widely used for urban studies, their main application area is limited to land cover mapping and similar applications. Nevertheless, currently available EO data and forthcoming satellite systems can considerably contribute to the study of urban climate. To this aim the recently launched H2020 project URBANFLUXES (URBan ANthrpogenic heat FLUX from Earth observation Satellites) investigates the potential of EO to retrieve anthropogenic heat flux, as a key component in the urban energy budget. The urban energy budget is considered in the context of a volume because of the three dimensional nature of the city, and includes the fluxes into, or out of, or the storage change within the control volume. URBANFLUXES advances existing EO-based methods for estimating spatial patterns of turbulent sensible and latent heat fluxes, as well as urban heat storage flux at city scale and local scale. Independent methods and models are engaged to evaluate the derived products and statistical analyses provide uncertainty measures. Optical, thermal and SAR data from existing satellite sensors are exploited to improve the accuracy of the energy budget components spatial distribution calculation. Synergistic use of different types and of various resolution EO data allows estimates in local and city scale. In-situ reflectance measurements of urban materials for calibration. The URBANFLUXES project prepares the ground for further innovative exploitation of EO data in scientific activities involving Earth system modelling and climate change studies in cities. The URBANFLUXES products will support system models to provide more robust climate simulations. Ultimate goal of the URBANFLUXES is to develop a highly automated method for estimating urban energy budget components to use with Copernicus Sentinel data, enabling its integration into applications and operational services. The improved data quality, spatial coverage and revisit times of the Copernicus data will allow support of future emerging applications regarding sustainable urban planning, with the objective of improving the quality of life in cities.
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