Abstract
The increasing urbanization of the greater Salt Lake City area (GSLA) has contributed to the development of an urban canopy over this area. This canopy refers to the effects of building profiles, varying land surface properties and anthropogenic heating on local meteorological conditions including temperature, humidity, and wind velocity. Urban Canopy Models (UCMs) can be used to represent these characteristics on a mesoscale without needing to develop models accounting for effects of individual buildings. One method used to classify urban areas are Local Climate Zones (LCZs), which assign different properties to different types of urban areas. A baseline model that represents current GSLA conditions was developed using a series of sensitivity studies, which focused on the effects of mesh resolution, land surface models, UCMs, anthropogenic heating rates and LCZ urban classifications. The baseline model was validated using measured meteorological data. Four urban growth scenarios were compared to this baseline model to evaluate the effects of future growth on local 2-meter air temperatures, 2-meter relative humidity, and 10-meter wind speed. Results showed increased urban density did not affect daytime temperatures within the GSLA, but did significantly increase local nighttime temperatures. The effects of anthropogenic heating rates were most noticeable during early nighttime hours. Also, increased urbanization affected local temperatures, but did not appear to have "downwind" effects on other areas. A User Guide documenting the modeling approach was developed to support additional studies.
Degree
MS
College and Department
Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering; Mechanical Engineering
Rights
https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Smithson, Corey L., "Evaluating Effects of Urban Growth Within the Greater Salt Lake Area on Local Meteorological Conditions Using Urban Canopy Modeling" (2023). Theses and Dissertations. 9993.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/9993
Date Submitted
2023-06-09
Document Type
Thesis
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd12831
Keywords
urban growth, urban canopy models, local climate zones, land surface models, WRF, Salt Lake City
Language
english