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，作为土地表面特性，大气化学和人类适应性选择的函数，旨在减少风暴和热浪对城市地区的影响。该研究将集中在地理、气候、城市特征和城市化进程各不相同的芝加哥、纽约和丹佛地区。由此提高对城市进程的认识，最终有望改善受更频繁和更极端的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展的影响。使用卫星数据集进行风暴和热浪特征描述、数据同化和验证，将确保可移植到世界各地现场和雷达观测有限的其他城市化地区以及气候条件相似的城市。该项目将通过同行评审的出版物、在会议和讲习班上的介绍、面向公民和城市管理人员的网络研讨会以及面向全球的社交媒体传播项目结果。该项目将培养一名博士后和两名研究生成为下一代大气科学家，他们在气候模型开发，水文气象数据分析和城市可持续性方面具有跨学科的专业知识。该项目将利用数值模型开发活动、模型增强以及空间和地球表面的新测量技术相结合，以表征土地覆盖、城市形态、几何形状、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。该项目将有助于实现以下目标：（一）分析大气和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，（二）分析城市气溶胶对风暴和热浪的贡献，以及（三）分析由于人类发展和适应选择而改变城市景观的影响。该项目还将阐明由于城市气溶胶异质性和城市内与改变风暴和热浪的会聚和对流有关的陆地表面过程而引起的大气化学相互作用。利用新的模型开发活动和模型增强的天气-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还将成为可持续和具有复原力的城市系统综合研究的新范例，特别是在评估未来的城市化和城市气候变化适应战略，如绿色和凉爽的屋顶将如何影响城市地区的风暴和热浪。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过评估使用的支持基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

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.