Assessing the impact of urban land conversion on local and regional surface climate and its socio-economic consequence in Western North Africa
Research on specific physical processes associated with urbanization to assess the impact of urban land conversion on regional-scale surface climate and its impact on society.
- Urbanization affects surface climate by reducing the vegetation fraction, transpiration, water infiltration and consequent increase in surface runoff and flash-flooding
- Mapping the extent of urban land conversion allows to assess the impact of land cover and land use and provides means to prioritize actions.
- Modeling land surface processes using remote sensing will strengthen the predictive
capabilities and offer a baseline for decision making and planning