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Temporal dynamics of Vancouver’s urban heat island

University of British Columbia

A study of the urban heat island of Vancouver, British Columbia is reported. Hourly urban and rural air temperature observations are used to investigate the daily cycle of heat island growth, seasonal variations of nocturnal heat island intensity, and important controls on heat island magnitude. Urban - rural differences in nocturnal cooling are analyzed and related to heat island dynamics. Seasonal variations of rural thermal admittance are estimated from soil properties, and the relationship between thermal admittance, cooling potential, and heat island magnitude is explored. The heat island of Vancouver is found to be most significant at night, with the daily cycle of heat island magnitude linked to urban - rural differences in cooling/warming rates. Nocturnal heat island magnitude is shown to vary significantly from day-to-day, and seasonally, but the causes of these variations are not obvious. The inverse square root of wind speed and a measure of cloud amount and type are shown to be linearly related to heat island intensity on average, but cannot be used to predict heat island intensity on any particular occasion. Distinct seasonal variations in rural thermal admittance are observed, and although they are physically capable of producing significant seasonal variability of heat island magnitude, only a weak relationship between the two measures is found. It is concluded that while heat island magnitude behaves predictably on average, the magnitude of the urban - rural temperature difference on any particular occasion is unpredictable as a result of other unknown influences, or random effects.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-01-27

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/3927

Geography

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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