RCN-SEES: Urban Heat Island Network

目前有35亿人居住在城市，预计到2050年这一数字将增加到60亿。在世界大部分地区，城市变暖的速度是农村地区的两倍，预计在整个21世纪，城市热浪的频率将随着气候变化而增加。解决城市热岛的经济、环境和人类成本需要从多个学科的角度更好地了解这些复杂的系统。这个为期四年的城市热岛网络的目标是促进对城市热岛的多学科理解，研究如何通过工程和设计实践改善城市热岛，并与负责管理城市变暖的广泛利益相关者分享这些新见解，以减少对健康、经济和环境的影响。城市热岛网络将包括大气科学家、工程师、建筑师、景观设计师、城市规划师、公共卫生以及教育和推广专家，他们将分享信息，评估研究方向，并向更大的研究界以及参与制定减轻城市变暖影响的战略的利益攸关方传达知识和研究建议。该网络将把已经参与城市热岛研究但以前没有机会就这一主题相互交流的机构聚集在一起。明尼苏达大学正在对全球100个城市热岛进行一项新的分析。佐治亚理工学院在了解城市化对气候变化的贡献方面处于领先地位。佐治亚大学正在推进城市化和降水之间相互作用的知识。英国气象局正在设计模型，以模拟城市热岛对地区和全球气候的影响。劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室？S热岛集团在先进材料和建筑设计方面走在了减少城市变暖的前沿。积极能源在实际缓解热岛和建筑节能方面处于领先地位。明尼苏达州卫生部正在评估气候变化对公共健康的影响，包括城市热岛。与明尼苏达科学博物馆(SMM)的合作确保该网络接触到纽约、费城、匹兹堡和哥伦比亚特区华盛顿的受众。城市热岛网络的计划活动包括在双城和亚特兰大大都市区举办一年一度的暑期研习班，以促进城市热岛的合作科学；与明尼苏达科学博物馆合作，吸引大量公众受众；将该网络的工作注入富兰克林研究所的城市气候教育伙伴关系(UCEP)；以及将一组服务不足的双城青年纳入该网络的工作。SMM评估和研究学习司对城市热岛网络动态和活动的评估将为今后扩大网络规模和实施其他研究协调网络的努力提供信息。

Three and a half billion people currently live in cities, and this is projected to rise to six billion by 2050. In much of the world, cities are warming at twice the rate of rural areas and the frequency of urban heat waves is expected to increase with climate change throughout the 21st century. Addressing the economic, environmental and human costs of urban heat islands requires a better understanding of these complex systems from many disciplinary perspectives. The goal of this four-year Urban Heat Island Network is to advance multidisciplinary understanding of urban heat islands, examine how they can be ameliorated through engineering and design practices, and share these new insights with a wide array of stakeholders responsible for managing urban warming so that the health, economic, and environmental impacts can be reduced. The Urban Heat Island Network will involve atmospheric scientists, engineers, architects, landscape designers, urban planners, public health, and education and outreach experts, who will share information, evaluate research directions, and communicate knowledge and research recommendations to the larger research community as well as to stakeholders engaged in developing strategies to mitigate the effects of urban warming. The Network will bring together institutions that are already engaged in urban heat island research but have not previously had opportunities to interact with one another on this subject. The University of Minnesota is conducting a novel analysis of 100 urban heat islands around the globe. Georgia Tech is a leader in understanding the contributions of urbanization to climate change. The University of Georgia is advancing knowledge of the interactions between urbanization and precipitation. The UK Met Office is designing models to simulate the impact of urban heat islands on the regional and global climate. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab?s Heat Island Group is at the forefront of advanced materials and building design to reduce urban warming. PositivEnergy is a leader in practical heat island mitigation and building energy conservation. The Minnesota Department of Health is evaluating public health impacts of climate change, including urban heat islands. Collaboration with the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) ensures that the Network reaches audiences in New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington, DC.Planned activities of the Urban Heat Island Network include holding annual summer institutes in the Twin Cities and Atlanta metropolitan areas to advance the collaborative science of urban heat islands; partnering with the Science Museum of Minnesota to engage large public audiences; infusing the work of the Network into the Franklin Institute's Urban Climate Education Partnership (UCEP); and integrating a team of underserved Twin Cities youth into the Network's work. Evaluation of Urban Heat Island Network dynamics and activities by SMM's Department of Evaluation and Research in Learning will inform future efforts to scale up the network and to implement other research coordination networks.