2002 Annual

Wednesday, 16 January 2002
Mapping environmental indices for the Orlando, Florida metropolitan area (Formerly Environmental paper 5.8)
Donald M. Yow, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
A network of thirty air-temperature sensors has been collecting ten-minute data in the Orlando area since June 1999. In addition to urban climate studies, these data have been used to create maps of environmental indices. For example, it is possible to create a high-resolution map of the metropolitan area showing summertime cooling degree-days. Environmental indices considered thus far include heating and cooling degree-days, various growing degree-days, and the freeze-free season length. Special attention has been given to the affect of Orlando's urban heat island on the magnitude and spatial pattern of these indices. These maps will be useful to the fields of energy, agriculture, urban planning, and human health.

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