The project focus is on two Canadian cities with contrasting climate and long histories and extensive databases of urban climate research: Montréal and Vancouver, but the results will be applicable to urban areas throughout Canada and other mid-latitude cities with similar climates. The focus is on residential urban and suburban areas that make up a large fraction of the urban area and for which TEB-ISBA has not been extensively tested. The project incorporates two winter measurement seasons, building on the initial results of MUSE (Montréal Urban Snow Experiment).
The project consists of three linked components: observations, modeling and remote sensing. The observational component is comprised of long term continuous observations of the radiation and energy balance including CO2 fluxes in Montréal (three sites - urban residential, suburban and rural) and Vancouver (urban residential and rural with a second seasonal urban residential site). Instrumentation (ceilometer and lidar) is also available for monitoring the boundary layer in Vancouver and from existing facilities provided by McGill University in Montréal.
The modeling component includes mesoscale atmospheric modeling and studies of the atmospheric boundary layer as well as development and evaluation of the TEB-ISBA system. The model system will be evaluated for the winter response of anthropogenic heat forcing (Montréal) and the summer response of anthropogenic water forcing (through garden irrigation in Vancouver). Model development of the TEB hydrological parameterization and advective feedback in the TEB-ISBA coupling is planned.
The remote sensing component includes evaluation and continued development of an urban land use characterization scheme that provides the surface information necessary for the TEB-ISBA modeling system, use of airborne LiDAR data to help parameterize the vertical and horizontal structure of urban environments for the modeling system (including both the built and vegetated environment) and use of other ground or space-based remote sensing to assess surface characteristics, especially temperature and snow cover.
This poster will outline the primary objectives and provide preliminary results from the first summer of observations. It will also outline future plans in terms of the possibility of select IOP (intensive observation periods) that may provide an opportunity for field work collaborations with others in the urban climate community.
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