Quantifying landcover drivers of urban extreme heat by generating nationwide and city-specific analytical models
We synthesize local high-resolution urban landcover imagery with microclimate data and regional meteorology to determine landcover drivers of extreme urban heat. Resulting outputs are mappable items spatially describing urban temperatures at fine scales, and a web application to analyze changes in urban heat under different climate scenarios.
Urban stakeholders are planting trees to reduce heat and mitigate the effects of climate change. But, to effectively accomplish this goal, stakeholders need to know how land cover types influence air temperature, where are high-risk communities, and how will regional climate dictate the magnitude of potential heat mitigation. We address these unknowns through a novel technological strategy which exploits existing siloed data resources to determine the relative contribution of different urban land cover types to variations in air temperature, and how those microclimate drivers are themselves influenced by regional factors. Furthermore, we will develop tools to accurately predict and map urban air temperatures allowing visualization of extreme heat in cities. Through these visualizations, that can guide stakeholders in making equitable-based decisions of how and where to use nature-based heat mitigation solutions, we address the goals outlined in the multi-agency research and development priorities for the FY 2023 Budget.
We synthesize local high-resolution urban landcover imagery with microclimate data and regional meteorology to determine landcover drivers of extreme urban heat. Resulting outputs are mappable items spatially describing urban temperatures at fine scales, and a web application to analyze changes in urban heat under different climate scenarios.
Urban stakeholders are planting trees to reduce heat and mitigate the effects of climate change. But, to effectively accomplish this goal, stakeholders need to know how land cover types influence air temperature, where are high-risk communities, and how will regional climate dictate the magnitude of potential heat mitigation. We address these unknowns through a novel technological strategy which exploits existing siloed data resources to determine the relative contribution of different urban land cover types to variations in air temperature, and how those microclimate drivers are themselves influenced by regional factors. Furthermore, we will develop tools to accurately predict and map urban air temperatures allowing visualization of extreme heat in cities. Through these visualizations, that can guide stakeholders in making equitable-based decisions of how and where to use nature-based heat mitigation solutions, we address the goals outlined in the multi-agency research and development priorities for the FY 2023 Budget.