Collaborative Research: Interactions of Urban Systems with Storms and Heatwaves, and Resulting Impacts

该奖项提供资金，以促进对城市过程的基本理解，作为陆地表面特性、大气化学和人类适应性选择的功能，旨在减少风暴和热浪对城市地区的影响。这项研究将集中在芝加哥、纽约和丹佛地区，这些地区在地理、气候、城市特征和城市化进程方面各不相同。由此产生的对城市进程的理解的改善，最终有望改善受到更频繁和极端风暴和热浪事件影响的脆弱城市社区的生活质量。该项目将有助于评估绿色基础设施选择和未来城市扩张的影响。使用卫星数据集进行风暴和热浪表征、数据同化和验证，将确保可移植性，适用于全球其他城市化地区，这些地区的原位和雷达观测有限，以及气候条件相似的城市。该项目将通过同行评议的出版物、会议和研讨会上的演讲、面向市民和城市管理者的网络研讨会以及面向全球的社交媒体传播项目发现。该项目将培养一名博士后和两名研究生，成为在气候模型开发、水文气象数据分析和城市可持续性方面具有跨学科专业知识的下一代大气科学家。该项目将综合利用数值模型开发活动、模型增强以及来自空间和地球表面的新测量技术，来表征土地覆盖、城市形态、几何、尺度和气溶胶异质性对影响风暴和热浪的城市边界层过程的非线性影响。本项目将有助于实现以下目标：(i)分析大气与城市内地表特性和特征之间的相互作用对风暴和热浪的影响；（ii）分析城市气溶胶对风暴和热浪的贡献；（iii）分析由于人类发展和适应选择而变化的城市景观的影响。该项目还将阐明由于城市气溶胶异质性造成的大气化学相互作用，以及与改变风暴和热浪的辐合和对流有关的城市内地表过程。利用新模式开发活动和模式改进的天气化学联系可能会提高城市的天气预报能力。项目技术和由此产生的研究结果也将成为可持续和弹性城市系统综合研究的新范例，特别是在评估未来城市化和城市气候变化适应战略（如绿色和凉爽屋顶）将如何影响城市地区的风暴和热浪方面。该合作项目由物理和动态气象学以及环境可持续性项目共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award provides funding to advance fundamental understanding of urban processes as a function of land surface properties, atmospheric chemistry, and human adaptive choices designed to reduce impacts of storms and heatwaves over urban areas. The study will focus on Chicago, New York, and Denver regions that vary in geography, climatology, urban characteristics, and urbanization processes. The resulting improvement in the understanding of urban processes is ultimately expected to improve the quality of life for vulnerable urban communities impacted by more frequent and extreme storms and heatwaves events. This project will help evaluate the impact of green infrastructure choices and future urban expansion. The use of satellite datasets for storm and heatwave characterization, data assimilation, and validation will ensure portability to other urbanized areas across the world with limited in-situ and radar observations as well as cities with similar climatic conditions. The project will disseminate project findings through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences and workshops, webinars to citizens and city administrators, and social media for global reach. The project will train a postdoc and two graduate students to be next-generation atmospheric scientists with interdisciplinary expertise in climate model development, hydrometeorological data analysis, and urban sustainability. This project will utilize a combination of numerical model development activities, model enhancements, and new measurement techniques from space and the earth’s surface to characterize the nonlinear effects of land cover, urban morphology, geometry, scale, and aerosol heterogeneity on the urban boundary layer processes impacting storms and heatwaves. This project will contribute to the following objectives: (i) analyze the effects of interactions between the atmosphere and intra-urban land surface properties and characteristics on storms and heatwaves, (ii) analyze the contribution of urban aerosols on storms and heatwaves, and (iii) analyze the impacts of changing urban landscapes due to human development and adaptation choices. The project will also articulate atmospheric chemistry interactions due to urban aerosol heterogeneity and intra-urban land surface processes related to convergence and convection that modify storms and heatwaves. The weather-chemistry linkages using new model development activities and model enhancements will likely improve weather forecasting capabilities for cities. Project techniques and resulting findings will also serve as a new paradigm for integrated studies for sustainable and resilient urban systems, especially in evaluating how future urbanization and urban climate change adaptation strategies like green and cool roofs will impact storms and heatwaves over urban areas.This collaborative project is co-funded by the Physical and Dynamic Meteorology and Environmental Sustainability programs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.