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Regional Impacts of Urbanization in the United StatesWe simulate the impact of impervious surface areas (ISA) on the U.S. local and regional climate. At a local scale, we find the urban area warmer than the surrounding vegetation in most cities, except in arid climate cities where urban temperature is cooler for much of the daytime. For all 9 regions studied, simulated results show that the growing season maximum surface temperature difference between urban and the dominant vegetation occurs around mid-day and is strongest in the northern regions. Regional temperature differences of 3.0 C, 3.4 C, and 3.9 C were simulated in the Northeast, Midwest, and Northwest, respectively. In these regions evaporative cooling, during the growing season, creates a stronger urban heat island (UHI). The UHI is less pronounced during winter when vegetation is dormant. Our results suggest that the ISA temperature is set by building material's characteristics and its departure from that of the surrounding vegetation is essentially driven by evaporative cooling. Except when rainfall is small, the highest surface runoff to precipitation ratios are simulated in most cities, especially when precipitation events occur as heavy downpours. In terms of photosynthesis, we provide a detailed distribution of maximum production in the U.S., a needed product for policy and urban planners.
Document ID
20170011094
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Bounoua, Lahouari
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Zhang, Ping
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Nigro, Joseph
(Science Systems and Applications, Inc. Lanham, MD, United States)
Lachir, Asia
(Cadi Ayyad Univ. Marrakesh, Morocco)
Thome, Kurtis
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
November 14, 2017
Publication Date
April 20, 2017
Publication Information
Publication: Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing
Volume: 43
Issue: 3
ISSN: 0703-8992
e-ISSN: 1712-7971
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN48906
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX17AE79A
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG15HQ01C
WBS: WBS 365382.04.23.04
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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