Scaling the Daytime Urban Heat Island and Urban-Breeze Circulation

Abstract

Abstract The urban-breeze circulation is a mesoscale response of the atmospheric flow that is related to horizontal variations in temperature associated, for dry conditions, with gradients in sensible heat flux densities. This local circulation is difficult to observe with a simple observational deployment, and the 3D numerical simulations needed to model it are very demanding in computer time. A theoretical approach scaling the daytime urban heat island and urban-breeze characteristics has been developed and provides a simple set of equations that depend on measurable parameters. Three-dimensional high-resolution numerical simulations, performed with the Nonhydrostatic Mesoscale (Meso-NH) atmospheric model, were used to generate a set of urban-breeze circulations forced by an idealized urban environment. The pertinent forcing parameters chosen were the size of the city, the height of the thermal inversion topping the mixed turbulent air layer, and the difference (urban – rural) of surface heat flux. Scaling laws are presented that describe the shape of the urban heat island and the horizontal and vertical wind intensity and profiles.