TY - JOUR
T1 - The microscale cooling effects of water sensitive urban design and irrigation in a suburban environment
AU - Broadbent, Ashley
AU - Coutts, Andrew M.
AU - Tapper, Nigel J.
AU - Demuzere, Matthias
AU - Beringer, Jason
N1 - Funding Information:
Ashley Broadbent was funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities. While at Arizona State University, Ashley Broadbent was supported by NSF Sustainability Research Network (SRN) Cooperative Agreement 1444758, NSF grant EAR-1204774, and NSF SES-1520803. Nigel Tapper and Andrew Coutts are funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities. The contribution of Matthias Demuzere is funded by the Flemish regional government through a contract as a FWO (Fund for Scientific Research) post-doctoral research fellow. We are indebted to all those who assisted during the Mawson Lakes field campaign: Darren Hocking, Emma White, Naim Daliri-Milani, Stephen Livesley, and Margaret Loughnan. Finally, a sincere thank you to the two anonymous reviewers who provided helpful suggestions and comments.
Funding Information:
Acknowledgments Ashley Broadbent was funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities. While at Arizona State University, Ashley Broadbent was supported by NSF Sustainability Research Network (SRN) Cooperative Agreement 1444758, NSF grant EAR-1204774, and NSF SES-1520803. Nigel Tapper and Andrew Coutts are funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities. The contribution of Matthias Demuzere is funded by the Flemish regional government through a contract as a FWO (Fund for Scientific Research) post-doctoral research fellow. We are indebted to all those who assisted during the Mawson Lakes field campaign: Darren Hocking, Emma White, Naim Daliri-Milani, Stephen Livesley, and Margaret Loughnan. Finally, a sincere thank you to the two anonymous reviewers who provided helpful suggestions and comments.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria.
PY - 2018/10/1
Y1 - 2018/10/1
N2 - Prolonged drought has threatened traditional potable urban water supplies in Australian cities, reducing capability to adapt to climate change and mitigate against extreme. Integrated urban water management (IUWM) approaches, such as water sensitive urban design (WSUD), reduce the reliance on centralised potable water supply systems and provide a means for retaining water in the urban environment through stormwater harvesting and reuse. This study examines the potential for WSUD to provide cooling benefits and reduce human exposure and heat stress and thermal discomfort. A high-resolution observational field campaign, measuring surface level microclimate variables and remotely sensed land surface characteristics, was conducted in a mixed residential suburb containing WSUD in Adelaide, South Australia. Clear evidence was found that WSUD features and irrigation can reduce surface temperature (Ts) and air temperature (Ta) and improve human thermal comfort (HTC) in urban environments. The average 3 pm Ta near water bodies was found to be up to 1.8 °C cooler than the domain maximum. Cooling was broadly observed in the area 50 m downwind of lakes and wetlands. Design and placement of water bodies were found to affect their cooling effectiveness. HTC was improved by proximity to WSUD features, but shading and ventilation were also effective at improving thermal comfort. This study demonstrates that WSUD can be used to cool urban microclimates, while simultaneously achieving other environmental benefits, such as improved stream ecology and flood mitigation.
AB - Prolonged drought has threatened traditional potable urban water supplies in Australian cities, reducing capability to adapt to climate change and mitigate against extreme. Integrated urban water management (IUWM) approaches, such as water sensitive urban design (WSUD), reduce the reliance on centralised potable water supply systems and provide a means for retaining water in the urban environment through stormwater harvesting and reuse. This study examines the potential for WSUD to provide cooling benefits and reduce human exposure and heat stress and thermal discomfort. A high-resolution observational field campaign, measuring surface level microclimate variables and remotely sensed land surface characteristics, was conducted in a mixed residential suburb containing WSUD in Adelaide, South Australia. Clear evidence was found that WSUD features and irrigation can reduce surface temperature (Ts) and air temperature (Ta) and improve human thermal comfort (HTC) in urban environments. The average 3 pm Ta near water bodies was found to be up to 1.8 °C cooler than the domain maximum. Cooling was broadly observed in the area 50 m downwind of lakes and wetlands. Design and placement of water bodies were found to affect their cooling effectiveness. HTC was improved by proximity to WSUD features, but shading and ventilation were also effective at improving thermal comfort. This study demonstrates that WSUD can be used to cool urban microclimates, while simultaneously achieving other environmental benefits, such as improved stream ecology and flood mitigation.
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U2 - 10.1007/s00704-017-2241-3
DO - 10.1007/s00704-017-2241-3
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85028991285
SN - 0177-798X
VL - 134
SP - 1
EP - 23
JO - Theoretical and Applied Climatology
JF - Theoretical and Applied Climatology
IS - 1-2
ER -