Evaluation of the ‘local climate zone’ scheme using temperature observations and model simulations

Abstract ‘Local climate zones’ ( LCZs ) comprise a new and systematic classification of field sites for heat island studies. The classification divides urban and rural landscapes into 17 standard classes, each defined by structural and land cover properties that influence air temperature at screen height. This study is the first to evaluate the conceptual division of LCZs with temperature observations and simulation results from surface–atmosphere models. Results confirm that thermal contrasts exist among all LCZ classes, and that such contrasts are governed largely by building height and spacing, pervious surface fraction, tree density, and soil wetness. Therefore, partitioning of landscapes into structural…

• NS
  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada