Opportunistic weather sensors: an Amsterdam case study of private weather stations, commercial microwave links and smartphones

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lotte de Vos ◽  
Arjan Droste ◽  
Marjanne Zander ◽  
Aart Overeem ◽  
Hidde Leijnse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Weather Information ◽  
Opportunistic Sensing ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
Weather Stations ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Urban Weather ◽  
Commercial Microwave Links

<p>Several opportunistic sensors (private weather stations, commercial microwave links and smartphones) are employed to obtain weather information and successfully monitor urban weather events. The ongoing urbanisation and climate change urges further understanding and monitoring of weather in cities. Two case studies during a 17-day period over the Amsterdam metropolitan area, the Netherlands, are used to illustrate the potential and limitations of hydrometeorological monitoring using non-traditional and opportunistic sensors. We employ three types of opportunistic sensing networks to monitor six important environmental variables: (1) air temperature estimates from smartphone batteries and personal weather stations; (2) rainfall from commercial microwave links and personal weather stations; (3) solar radiation from smartphones; (4) wind speed from personal weather stations; (5) air pressure from smartphones and personal weather stations; (6) humidity from personal weather stations. These observations are compared to dedicated, traditional observations where possible, although such networks are typically sparse in urban areas. First we show that the passage of a front can be successfully monitored using data from several types of non-traditional sensors in a complementary fashion. Also we demonstrate the added value of opportunistic measurements in quantifying the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect during a hot episode. The UHI can be clearly determined from personal weather stations, though UHI values tend to be high compared to records from a traditional network. Overall, this study illustrates the enormous potential for hydrometeorological monitoring in urban areas using non-traditional and opportunistic sensing networks.</p>

scholarly journals Hydrometeorological Monitoring Using Opportunistic Sensing Networks in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. E167-E185 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. W. de Vos ◽  
A. M. Droste ◽  
M. J. Zander ◽  
A. Overeem ◽  
H. Leijnse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Heat Island ◽  
Opportunistic Sensing ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
Weather Stations ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Commercial Microwave Links

Abstract The ongoing urbanization and climate change urges further understanding and monitoring of weather in cities. Two case studies during a 17-day period over the Amsterdam metropolitan area, the Netherlands, are used to illustrate the potential and limitations of hydrometeorological monitoring using nontraditional and opportunistic sensors. We employ three types of opportunistic sensing networks to monitor six important environmental variables: 1) air temperature estimates from smartphone batteries and personal weather stations, 2) rainfall from commercial microwave links and personal weather stations, 3) solar radiation from smartphones, 4) wind speed from personal weather stations, 5) air pressure from smartphones and personal weather stations, and 6) humidity from personal weather stations. These observations are compared to dedicated, traditional observations where possible, although such networks are typically sparse in urban areas. First, we show that the passage of a front can be successfully monitored using data from several types of nontraditional sensors in a complementary fashion. Also, we demonstrate the added value of opportunistic measurements in quantifying the urban heat island (UHI) effect during a hot episode. The UHI can be clearly determined from personal weather stations, though UHI values tend to be high compared to records from a traditional network. Overall, this study illustrates the enormous potential for hydrometeorological monitoring in urban areas using nontraditional and opportunistic sensing networks.

scholarly journals Estimating the Urban Heat Island in Residential Areas in the Netherlands Using Observations by Weather Amateurs

2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 711-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Wolters ◽  
Theo Brandsma
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Scale Population ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
Weather Stations ◽  
Neighborhood Scale ◽  
One Year

AbstractA better quantification of the urban heat islands (UHIs) in the Netherlands is urgently needed given the heat stress–related problems in the recent past combined with the expected temperature rise for the coming decades. Professional temperature observations in Dutch urban areas are scarce, however. Therefore, this research explores the use of observations from weather stations that were installed and maintained by weather amateurs. From a set of over 200 stations, suitable and representative data have been selected from 20 stations, using a set of objective selection criteria that are based on metadata. One year of data (January–December 2010) was considered. From these data, estimates have been obtained of the magnitude of the UHI in Dutch low-rise residential areas. A positive relation (linear model with r2 ≈ 0.7) was derived between the summer-averaged UHI and the (neighborhood scale) population density around the observational sites. It was found that the UHI in summer is strongest in nighttime conditions and that it increases with decreasing wind speed, decreasing cloud cover, and increasing sea level air pressure. The summer-averaged UHI was ~0.9°C. During nighttime in a relatively warm 1-month subperiod of the summer, the average UHI was ~1.4°C. During spring and autumn, the UHI was lower than in summer; during winter, no significant UHI was observed. The agreement in results among the different stations and the accordance of the magnitude and variation of the observed UHI with those described in the literature show that automatic observations from weather amateurs can be of sufficient quality for atmospheric research, provided that detailed metadata are available.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Urban Canopy Scheme TERRA_URB in the COSMO Model for Selected European Cities

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Garbero ◽  
Massimo Milelli ◽  
Edoardo Bucchignani ◽  
Paola Mercogliano ◽  
Mikhail Varentsov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Urban Canopy ◽  
Anthropogenic Heat ◽  
Climate Modelling ◽  
Model Framework ◽  
European Cities ◽  
Cosmo Model ◽  
Anthropogenic Heat Flux ◽  
Urban Heat

The increase in built surfaces constitutes the main reason for the formation of the Urban Heat Island (UHI), that is a metropolitan area significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas. The urban heat islands and other urban-induced climate feedbacks may amplify heat stress and urban flooding under climate change and therefore to predict them correctly has become essential. Currently in the COSMO model, cities are represented by natural land surfaces with an increased surface roughness length and a reduced vegetation cover, but this approach is unable to correctly reproduce the UHI effect. By increasing the model resolution, a representation of the main physical processes that characterize the urban local meteorology should be addressed, in order to better forecast temperature, moisture and precipitation in urban environments. Within the COSMO Consortium a bulk parameterization scheme (TERRA_URB or TU) has been developed. It parametrizes the effects of buildings, streets and other man-made impervious surfaces on energy, moist and momentum exchanges between the surface and atmosphere, and additionally accounts for the anthropogenic heat flux as a heat source from the surface to the atmosphere. TU implements an impervious water-storage parameterization, and the Semi-empirical Urban canopy parametrization (SURY) that translates 3D urban canopy into bulk parameters. This paper presents evaluation results of the TU scheme in high-resolution simulations with a recent COSMO model version for selected European cities, namely Turin, Naples and Moscow. The key conclusion of the work is that the TU scheme in the COSMO model reasonably reproduces UHI effect and improves air temperature forecasts for all the investigated urban areas, despite each city has very different morphological characteristics. Our results highlight potential benefits of a new turbulence scheme and the representation of skin-layer temperature (for vegetation) in the model performance. Our model framework provides perspectives for enhancing urban climate modelling, although further investigations in improving model parametrizations, calibration and the use of more realistic urban canopy parameters are needed.

scholarly journals Characterization of the subsurface urban heat island and its sources in the Milan city area, Italy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Previati ◽  
Giovanni B. Crosta
Keyword(s):  
Urban Heat Island ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Shallow Aquifer ◽  
Heat Island ◽  
Groundwater Temperature ◽  
City Area ◽  
Groundwater Environment ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
The Impact

AbstractUrban areas are major contributors to the alteration of the local atmospheric and groundwater environment. The impact of such changes on the groundwater thermal regime is documented worldwide by elevated groundwater temperature in city centers with respect to the surrounding rural areas. This study investigates the subsurface urban heat island (SUHI) in the aquifers beneath the Milan city area in northern Italy, and assesses the natural and anthropogenic controls on groundwater temperatures within the urban area by analyzing groundwater head and temperature records acquired in the 2016–2020 period. This analysis demonstrates the occurrence of a SUHI with up to 3 °C intensity and reveals a correlation between the density of building/subsurface infrastructures and the mean annual groundwater temperature. Vertical heat fluxes to the aquifer are strongly related to the depth of the groundwater and the density of surface structures and infrastructures. The heat accumulation in the subsurface is reflected by a constant groundwater warming trend between +0.1 and + 0.4 °C/year that leads to a gain of 25 MJ/m2 of thermal energy per year in the shallow aquifer inside the SUHI area. Future monitoring of groundwater temperatures, combined with numerical modeling of coupled groundwater flow and heat transport, will be essential to reveal what this trend is controlled by and to make predictions on the lateral and vertical extent of the groundwater SUHI in the study area.

Land Loss with Compensation: What Are the Determinants of Income Among Households in Central Vietnam?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-55
Author(s):  
Nguyen Quang Phuc ◽  
A. C. M. (Guus) van Westen ◽  
Annelies Zoomers
Keyword(s):  
Household Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Skill Training ◽  
Land Loss ◽  
Central Vietnam ◽  
Compensation Packages ◽  
Household Members ◽  
The Government ◽  
Using Data

The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of household income following the loss of land owing to urban expansion in central Vietnam. Using data mainly from household surveys in the peri-urban areas of Hue city, the regression model indicates that demographic factors and livelihood strategy choices have important impacts on household income; financial compensation and support packages do not appear to be strong determinants of household income after the loss of land. This implies a failure of the current compensation programmes in the process of compulsory land acquisition, because the government believes that compensation packages make important contributions to livelihood reconstruction. This study suggests that investing in education and skill training for household members affected by land loss as well as assistance in converting compensation money into an adequate livelihood should be taken into consideration.

scholarly journals Biomimicry-Based Strategies for Urban Heat Island Mitigation: A Numerical Case Study under Tropical Climate

Biomimetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Kevin Araque ◽  
Paola Palacios ◽  
Dafni Mora ◽  
Miguel Chen Austin
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Urban Heat Island ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Outdoor Thermal Comfort ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Heat Island ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
Historical Heritage ◽  
Pet Index ◽  
Radiant Temperature

In recent years, demographic growth has caused cities to expand their urban areas, increasing the risk of overheating, creating insurmountable microclimatic conditions within the urban area, which is why studies have been carried out on the urban heat island effect (UHI) and its mitigation. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate the cooling potential in the application of strategies based on biomimicry for the microclimate in a historical heritage city of Panama. For this, three case studies (base case, case 1, and case 2) of outdoor thermal comfort were evaluated, in which the Envi-met software was used to emulate and evaluate the thermal performance of these strategies during March (highest temperature month) and October (rainier month). The strategies used were extracted from the contrast of zebra skin, human skin, evaporative cooling, and ant skin. The results showed a reduction of 2.8 °C in the air temperature at 11:00, the radiant temperature decreased by 2.2 °C, and the PET index managed to reduce the thermal comfort indicator among its categories. The importance of thinking based on biomimicry in sustainable strategies is concluded; although significant changes were obtained, high risks of discomfort persist due to the layout and proximity of the building.

scholarly journals Ecological variation in wealth–fertility relationships in Mongolia: the ‘central theoretical problem of sociobiology’ not a problem after all?

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1796) ◽  
pp. 20141733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Alvergne ◽  
Virpi Lummaa
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Market Integration ◽  
Low Fertility ◽  
Theoretical Problem ◽  
Economic Returns ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Mass Privatization ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Socioeconomic Success ◽  
Status Enhancement

The negative wealth–fertility relationship brought about by market integration remains a puzzle to classic evolutionary models. Evolutionary ecologists have argued that this phenomenon results from both stronger trade-offs between reproductive and socioeconomic success in the highest social classes and the comparison of groups rather than individuals. Indeed, studies in contemporary low fertility settings have typically used aggregated samples that may mask positive wealth–fertility relationships. Furthermore, while much evidence attests to trade-offs between reproductive and socioeconomic success, few studies have explicitly tested the idea that such constraints are intensified by market integration. Using data from Mongolia, a post-socialist nation that underwent mass privatization, we examine wealth–fertility relationships over time and across a rural–urban gradient. Among post-reproductive women, reproductive fitness is the lowest in urban areas, but increases with wealth in all regions. After liberalization, a demographic–economic paradox emerges in urban areas: while educational attainment negatively impacts female fertility in all regions, education uniquely provides socioeconomic benefits in urban contexts. As market integration progresses, socio-economic returns to education increase and women who limit their reproduction to pursue education get wealthier. The results support the view that selection favoured mechanisms that respond to opportunities for status enhancement rather than fertility maximization.

Urban Homeownership and Mental Health: Mediating Effect of Perceived Sense of Control

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim R. Manturuk
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Sense Of Control ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Subjective Trust ◽  
Control Part

What are the mechanisms responsible for homeowners’ better mental health? Social disorganization theory suggests that the relationship between homeownership and mental health is mediated by perceived sense of control, trust in neighbors, and residential stability. This hypothesis is tested using data collected from respondents in 30 low–wealth urban areas. Using propensity score matching and regression models, I find that low–income homeowners report a greater sense of control and trust in their neighbors than comparable renters. Homeownership likewise has an impact on mental health, but the effect is entirely mediated by perceived sense of control. Part of that mediating effect is related to avoiding serious delinquency in mortgage payments. However, subjective trust and residential mobility did not mediate the relationship between homeownership and mental health. The study findings are discussed in light of the need for a cohesive theory of homeownership, particularly given changing economic realities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document