The Urban Heat Island Effect Flashcards
What is a climatic dome
When cities create their own climate
Define albedo
The reflectivity of a surface - the ratio between the amount of incoming insolation and the amount of energy reflected back into the atmosphere
Define microclimate
The small-scale variations in the temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed and evaporation that occur in an environment
Define photochemical smog
A form of air pollination that occurs mainly in cities and can be dangerous to health
How is photochemical smog formed
Exhaust fumes become trapped by temperature inversions and, in the presence of sunlight, low-level ozone forms
What is photochemical smog associated with
High-pressure weather systems
Define temperature inversion
An atmospheric condition in which temperature, unusually, increases with height. As inversions are extremely stable conditions and do not allow convection, they trap pollination in the lower layer of the atmosphere
Define urban heat island
The zone sound and above an urban area which has higher temperatures than the surrounding rural areas
What are the two levels within the urban dome
- Below roof level there is an urban canopy where processes act in the space between buildings
- Above this is the urban boundary area
