Weather and Climate Measurements in Urban Domes

For the first time in history, more than 50% of the global population has been concentrated in urban areas.  As such, substantial numbers of people, infrastructure and assets in densely urbanized areas are exposed to extreme weather threats.  Consistent with urbanization, at least 70% of fossil-fuel carbon dioxide and a significant amount of anthropogenic methane emissions are generated from these small fractions of the Earth’s land surface.  In response, major cities around the world are taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions given cities are projected to experience significant increases over the next two decades. During the past decade, the availability of weather observations on the meso- and micro-scales has been growing in response to rapidly advancing technologies and emerging business models.  These data will be critical for improving weather forecasting accuracy by meeting the initialization requirements of the similarly advancing high resolution numerical weather prediction capabilities.  However, no current or planned system is yet capable of monitoring the atmospheric emissions trends for trace gases and aerosols attributed to the world’s largest cities.  To effectively reduce emissions and verify the effectiveness of regulatory programs and international treaties, accurate accounting is necessary.  To this end, a combination of “bottom-up”  inventory estimates with "top-down" methods which rely on objectively measurable changes in atmospheric composition in and around source regions is required.  Developing a scientifically defensible internationally recognized methodology to Measure, Report and Verify (MRV) emissions from cities must be developed to effectively diagnose and improve the validity of reported emissions around the world.  Such techniques will become fundamental to supporting the urban policy management decisions that confront nations today and in the future.  This presentation will provide an overview of various weather and climate monitoring initiatives currently underway that involve numerous public, private and academic partners.