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Improving Urban Climate Simulation by Integrating Remotely Sensed HighResolution Albedo into the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model
Project Start Date
05/01/2025
Project End Date
05/01/2028

Team Members:

Person Name Person role on project Affiliation
Xiaojing Tang Principal Investigator James Madison University , Harrisonburg    ,  USA    
Dan Li Co-Investigator Boston University , Boston    , USA    
Angela Erb Co-Investigator University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston , USA
Cenlin He Co-Investigator National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) , Boulder   , USA    
Crystal Schaaf Collaborator University of Massachusetts Boston, Dorchester , US
Abstract

With more than 50% of the global population living in cities and the continued urbanization trends, urban areas represent critical hotspots of water, energy, and health challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. A better understanding and prediction of urban microclimate and hydrology within the context of global environmental change plays a key role in tackling these challenges. Although correctly characterizing the albedo of building materials is identified as the most important factor to improve urban simulation results, most urban land surface models used in weather and climate models (e.g., the single-layer urban canopy model in the Weather Research and Forecasting or WRF model) still employ tabulated albedo values, which have extremely limited spatial variability. We propose to improve urban albedo characterization in weather models using remote sensing data. Specifically, we will (1) develop a new, high-resolution urban albedo dataset based on Landsat and Sentinel-2, (2) separate roof from impervious ground in the NLCD impervious surface dataset, (3) conduct and analyze WRF simulations with the new urban albedo dataset, and (4) implement the new albedo dataset into publicly released WRF versions. The proposed research will improve the characterization of the albedo parameters in WRF, improve the simulation of urban meteorological variables at the weather scale, and thus empower stakeholders and researchers to better navigate urban planning and policies in a changing climate.

Project Research Area