Effect of increasing urban albedo on meteorology and air quality of Montreal (Canada) – Episodic simulation of heat wave in 2005

Abstract Increasing albedo is an effective strategy to mitigate urban air temperature in different climates. Using reflective urban surfaces decreases the air temperature, which potentially reduces the rate of generation of smog. However, for implementing the albedo enhancement, complicated interactions between air, moisture, aerosols, and other gaseous contaminant in the atmosphere should be considered. We used WRF-CHEM to investigate the effect of increasing albedo in Montreal, Canada, during a heat wave period (July 10th through July 12th, 2005) on air quality and urban climate. The reflectivity of roofs, walls, and roads are increased from 0.2 to 0.65, 0.6, and 0.45, respectively. Air temperature at 2-m elevation is decreased during all hours in the simulation period and the maximum reduction is about 1 °C on each day (T max is reduced by about 0.7 °C) The concentration of two regulated pollutants −ozone (O 3 ) and fine particulate matters (PM 2.5 ) − is calculated at a height of 5-m above the ground. The maximum decrease in 8-h averaged ozone concentration is about 3% (∼0.2 ppbv). 24-h averaged PM 2.5 concentration decreases by 1.8 μg/m 3 . This relatively small change in concentration of pollutants is related to the decrease in planetary boundary layer height caused by increasing the albedo. Additionally, the combined effect of decreased solar heat gain by building surfaces and decreased air temperature reduces the energy consumption of HVAC systems by 2% (∼0.1 W/m 2 ), which exacerbates the positive effect of the albedo enhancement on the air quality.

[1]  Jason Ching,et al.  Simulation of Meteorological Fields Within and Above Urban and Rural Canopies with a Mesoscale Model , 2004 .

[2]  G. Grell.  Prognostic evaluation of assumptions used by cumulus parameterizations , 1993 .

[3]  M. Jacobson.  GATOR-GCMM: A global through urban scale air pollution and weather forecast model , 2001 .

[4]  D. Golden,et al.  Photochemical smog. Rate parameter estimates and computer simulations , 1977 .

[5]  P. Lacarrére,et al.  Parameterization of Orography-Induced Turbulence in a Mesobeta--Scale Model , 1989 .

[6]  Ali G. Touchaei,et al.  Evaluation of the seasonal effect of increasing albedo on urban climate and energy consumption of buildings in Montreal , 2015 .

[7]  G. Grell,et al.  A generalized approach to parameterizing convection combining ensemble and data assimilation techniques , 2002 .

[8]  H. Akbari,et al.  Effect of aging processes on solar reflectivity of clay roof tiles , 2014 .

[9]  Ronnen Levinson,et al.  A novel technique for the production of cool colored concrete tile and asphalt shingle roofing products , 2009 .

[10]  H. Akbari,et al.  Methods of creating solar-reflective nonwhite surfaces and their application to residential roofing materials , 2005 .

[11]  A. Clappier,et al.  An Urban Surface Exchange Parameterisation for Mesoscale Models , 2002 .

[12]  Mark Z. Jacobson,et al.  GATOR‐GCMM: 2. A study of daytime and nighttime ozone layers aloft, ozone in national parks, and weather during the SARMAP field campaign , 2001 .

[13]  J. Barton.  Canada-Wide Standards and Innovative Transboundary Air Quality Initiatives , 2008, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A.

[14]  Haider Taha,et al.  Mesoscale meteorological and air quality impacts of increased urban albedo and vegetation , 1997 .

[15]  Haider Taha,et al.  Meteorological and air quality impacts of heat island mitigation measures in three U.S. cities , 2000 .

[16]  Ali G. Touchaei,et al.  Modeling and labeling heterogeneous directional reflective roofing materials , 2014 .

[17]  Christopher M Tessum,et al.  Twelve-month, 12 km resolution North American WRF-Chem v3.4 air quality simulation: Performance evaluation , 2014 .

[18]  G. Stenchikov,et al.  The impact of aerosols on solar ultraviolet radiation and photochemical smog. , 1997, Science.

[19]  B. Lamb,et al.  Natural sulfur emissions to the atmosphere of the continental United States , 1992 .

[20]  Tijian Wang,et al.  Impacts of different urban canopy schemes in WRF/Chem on regional climate and air quality in Yangtze River Delta, China , 2014 .

[21]  H. Akbari,et al.  Solar spectral optical properties of pigments—Part II: survey of common colorants , 2004 .

[22]  H. Taha.  Episodic Performance and Sensitivity of the Urbanized MM5 (uMM5) to Perturbations in Surface Properties in Houston Texas , 2008 .

[23]  Hashem Akbari,et al.  The climate effects of increasing the albedo of roofs in a cold region† , 2013 .

[24]  Zeldin,et al.  Use of meteorological data in air quality trend analysis , 1978 .

[25]  A. Arnfield.  Two decades of urban climate research: a review of turbulence, exchanges of energy and water, and the urban heat island , 2003 .

[26]  Volker Grewe,et al.  Assessment of temperature, trace species, and ozone in chemistry-climate model simulations of the recent past , 2006 .

[27]  Alain Clappier,et al.  A new building energy model coupled with an urban canopy parameterization for urban climate simulations—part I. formulation, verification, and sensitivity analysis of the model , 2009 .

[28]  Spyros N. Pandis,et al.  Impact of grid resolution on the predicted fine PM by a regional 3-D chemical transport model , 2013 .

[29]  William P. L. Carter,et al.  Smog chamber studies of temperature effects in photochemical smog , 1979 .

[30]  H. Taha.  Meso-urban meteorological and photochemical modeling of heat island mitigation , 2008 .

[31]  Andrea Presciutti,et al.  Retroreflective façades for urban heat island mitigation: Experimental investigation and energy evaluations , 2015 .

[32]  Oliver Wild,et al.  Fast-J: Accurate Simulation of In- and Below-Cloud Photolysis in Tropospheric Chemical Models , 2000 .

[33]  R. Mathur,et al.  Diagnostic analysis of ozone concentrations simulated by two regional-scale air quality models , 2011 .

[34]  C. Rosenzweig,et al.  Estimating the Effects of Increased Urbanization on Surface Meteorology and Ozone Concentrations in the New York City Metropolitan Region , 2007 .

[35]  David D. Parrish,et al.  NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL REANALYSIS , 2006 .

[36]  Z. Janjic.  The Step-Mountain Eta Coordinate Model: Further Developments of the Convection, Viscous Sublayer, and Turbulence Closure Schemes , 1994 .

[37]  M. Memmesheimer,et al.  Modal aerosol dynamics model for Europe: development and first applications , 1998 .

[38]  A. Rosenfeld,et al.  COOL COMMUNITIES: STRATEGIES FOR HEAT ISLAND MITIGATION AND SMOG REDUCTION , 1998 .

[39]  H. Taha.  Urban Surface Modification as a Potential Ozone Air-quality Improvement Strategy in California: A Mesoscale Modelling Study , 2008 .

[40]  Alberto Martilli,et al.  A new Building Energy Model coupled with an Urban Canopy Parameterization for urban climate simulations—part II. Validation with one dimension off-line simulations , 2009 .

[41]  W. Collins,et al.  Radiative forcing by long‐lived greenhouse gases: Calculations with the AER radiative transfer models , 2008 .

[42]  B. Vogel,et al.  Intercomparison of the gas-phase chemistry in several chemistry and transport models , 1998 .

[43]  W. Stockwell,et al.  The second generation regional acid deposition model chemical mechanism for regional air quality modeling , 1990 .

[44]  W. Stockwell,et al.  Comparison of the EMEP, RADM2 and RACM Mechanisms , 2003 .

[45]  H. Akbari,et al.  Cool surfaces and shade trees to reduce energy use and improve air quality in urban areas , 2001 .

[46]  W. Slinn,et al.  Predictions for particle deposition on natural waters , 1980 .

[47]  P. Palmer,et al.  Estimates of global terrestrial isoprene emissions using MEGAN (Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature) , 2006 .

[48]  Calculated Influence of Temperature-Related Factors on Ozone Formation Rates in the Lower Troposphere , 1995 .

[49]  D. Jacob,et al.  Why are there large differences between models in global budgets of tropospheric ozone , 2007 .

[50]  Yupeng Wang,et al.  Characterizing urban heat island in Montreal (Canada)—Effect of urban morphology , 2015 .

[51]  H. D. Orville,et al.  Bulk Parameterization of the Snow Field in a Cloud Model , 1983 .

[52]  I. J. Ackermann,et al.  Modeling the formation of secondary organic aerosol within a comprehensive air quality model system , 2001 .

[53]  Ali G. Touchaei,et al.  Measuring solar reflectance of variegated flat roofing materials using quasi-Monte Carlo method , 2016 .