Evaluation of the Town Energy Balance (TEB) Scheme with Direct Measurements from Dry Districts in Two Cities

Abstract The Town Energy Balance (TEB) model of Masson simulates turbulent fluxes for urban areas. It is forced with atmospheric data and radiation recorded above roof level and incorporates detailed representations of the urban surface (canyon geometry) to simulate energy balances for walls, roads, and roofs. Here the authors evaluate TEB using directly measured surface temperatures and local-scale energy balance and radiation fluxes for two “simple” urban sites: a downtown area within the historic core of Mexico City, Mexico (stone buildings five to six stories in height), and a light industrial site in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (flat-roofed, single-story warehouses). At both sites, vegetation cover is less than 5%, which permits direct evaluation of TEB in the absence of a coupled vegetation scheme. Following small modifications to TEB, notably to the aerodynamic resistance formulations, the model is shown to perform well overall. In Mexico City, with deep urban canyons and stone walls, almos...

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