Anthropogenic and natural drivers of a strong winter urban heat island in a typical Arctic city
The Arctic has rapidly urbanized in recent decades with 2 million people currently living in more than a hundred cities north of 65 ∘ N. These cities have a harsh but sensitive climate and warming here is the principle driver of destructive thawing, water leakages, air pollution and other detrimenta...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:acp69680 2023-05-15T14:51:52+02:00 Anthropogenic and natural drivers of a strong winter urban heat island in a typical Arctic city Varentsov, Mikhail Konstantinov, Pavel Baklanov, Alexander Esau, Igor Miles, Victoria Davy, Richard 2018-12-12 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17573-2018 https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/18/17573/2018/ eng eng doi:10.5194/acp-18-17573-2018 https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/18/17573/2018/ eISSN: 1680-7324 Text 2018 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17573-2018 2019-12-24T09:49:37Z The Arctic has rapidly urbanized in recent decades with 2 million people currently living in more than a hundred cities north of 65 ∘ N. These cities have a harsh but sensitive climate and warming here is the principle driver of destructive thawing, water leakages, air pollution and other detrimental environmental impacts. This study reports on the urban temperature anomaly in a typical Arctic city. This persistent warm anomaly reaches up to 11 K in winter with the wintertime mean urban temperature being 1.9 K higher on average in the city center than in the surrounding natural landscape. An urban temperature anomaly, also known as an urban heat island (UHI), was found using remote sensing and in situ temperature data. High-resolution (1 km) model experiments run with and without an urban surface parameterization helped to identify the leading physical and geographical factors supporting a strong temperature anomaly in a cold climate. The statistical analysis and modeling suggest that at least 50 % of this warm anomaly is caused by the UHI effect, driven mostly by direct anthropogenic heating, while the rest is created by natural microclimatic variability over the undulating relief of the area. The current UHI effect can be as large as the projected, and already amplified, warming for the region in the 21st century. In contrast to earlier reports, this study found that the wintertime UHI in the Arctic should be largely attributed to direct anthropogenic heating. This is a strong argument in support of energy efficiency measures, urban climate change mitigation policy and against high-density urban development in polar settlements. The complex pattern of thermal conditions, as revealed in this study, challenges urban planners to account for the observed microclimatic diversity in perspective sustainable development solutions. Text Arctic Climate change Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Arctic Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 18 23 17573 17587 |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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English |
description |
The Arctic has rapidly urbanized in recent decades with 2 million people currently living in more than a hundred cities north of 65 ∘ N. These cities have a harsh but sensitive climate and warming here is the principle driver of destructive thawing, water leakages, air pollution and other detrimental environmental impacts. This study reports on the urban temperature anomaly in a typical Arctic city. This persistent warm anomaly reaches up to 11 K in winter with the wintertime mean urban temperature being 1.9 K higher on average in the city center than in the surrounding natural landscape. An urban temperature anomaly, also known as an urban heat island (UHI), was found using remote sensing and in situ temperature data. High-resolution (1 km) model experiments run with and without an urban surface parameterization helped to identify the leading physical and geographical factors supporting a strong temperature anomaly in a cold climate. The statistical analysis and modeling suggest that at least 50 % of this warm anomaly is caused by the UHI effect, driven mostly by direct anthropogenic heating, while the rest is created by natural microclimatic variability over the undulating relief of the area. The current UHI effect can be as large as the projected, and already amplified, warming for the region in the 21st century. In contrast to earlier reports, this study found that the wintertime UHI in the Arctic should be largely attributed to direct anthropogenic heating. This is a strong argument in support of energy efficiency measures, urban climate change mitigation policy and against high-density urban development in polar settlements. The complex pattern of thermal conditions, as revealed in this study, challenges urban planners to account for the observed microclimatic diversity in perspective sustainable development solutions. |
format |
Text |
author |
Varentsov, Mikhail Konstantinov, Pavel Baklanov, Alexander Esau, Igor Miles, Victoria Davy, Richard |
spellingShingle |
Varentsov, Mikhail Konstantinov, Pavel Baklanov, Alexander Esau, Igor Miles, Victoria Davy, Richard Anthropogenic and natural drivers of a strong winter urban heat island in a typical Arctic city |
author_facet |
Varentsov, Mikhail Konstantinov, Pavel Baklanov, Alexander Esau, Igor Miles, Victoria Davy, Richard |
author_sort |
Varentsov, Mikhail |
title |
Anthropogenic and natural drivers of a strong winter urban heat island in a typical Arctic city |
title_short |
Anthropogenic and natural drivers of a strong winter urban heat island in a typical Arctic city |
title_full |
Anthropogenic and natural drivers of a strong winter urban heat island in a typical Arctic city |
title_fullStr |
Anthropogenic and natural drivers of a strong winter urban heat island in a typical Arctic city |
title_full_unstemmed |
Anthropogenic and natural drivers of a strong winter urban heat island in a typical Arctic city |
title_sort |
anthropogenic and natural drivers of a strong winter urban heat island in a typical arctic city |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17573-2018 https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/18/17573/2018/ |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change |
op_source |
eISSN: 1680-7324 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/acp-18-17573-2018 https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/18/17573/2018/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17573-2018 |
container_title |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
container_volume |
18 |
container_issue |
23 |
container_start_page |
17573 |
op_container_end_page |
17587 |
_version_ |
1766323006998577152 |