AN OBJECTIVE URBAN HEAT-STORAGE MODEL AND ITS COMPARISON WITH OTHER SCHEMES

An objective hysteresis model to predict the storage heat flux in urban areas is presented. A review of observational and theoretical work reveals this approach to be more appropriate than the linear relation between soil heat flux and net all-wave radiation. A scheme to implement the model in any urban area is developed. In essence the model only requires land cover and net all-wave radiation as input, but it can be further refined to include anthropogenic heat release, the three-dimensional form of the surface, and can allow for changes in source area. Tests against energy balance data from a site in Vancouver, BC indicate the model simulates most aspects of measured storage heat flux values for a suburban site in both winter and summer. Comparison with the results of a study in Bonn, Germany involving the use of heat flux plates and detailed heat content change calculations gives good agreement except for a phase difference of about 1 h. There is evidence to suggest that the spatial variation of intra-urban heat storage may be relatively conservative.