Heat Fluxes and Stability in Cities

Knowledge of the surface sensible heat flux and atmospheric stability is fundamental for many applications, e.g., they are needed in models to calculate air pollution dispersion and mesoscale airflow. Direct observations of these characteristics in cities are rare. Here we present results of measured sensible heat fluxes and atmospheric stability from a series of intensive measurement campaigns conducted in a range of North American cities (Mexico City, Miami, Tucson, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Vancouver, and Chicago). The study sites encompass a range of land use types (light industrial, residential and down-town) with distinct land cover and climatic regimes. Simple parameterization schemes, for both sensible heat flux and atmospheric stability, are evaluated.