Improved concepts and methods in analysis and evaluation of the urban climate for optimizing urban planning processes

Planning processes are strongly influenced by an increased awareness of environmental issues concerned by projected land-use transformations. A research project was carried out to produce climate maps for the region of Basel/Switzerland to enable planning authorities taking care of the urban climate and its interrelations with urban structures. Main focus was given to develop and implement a methodology meeting not only the regional requirements of Basel. The new approach is not depending on subjective criteria or manual interventions and ensures its applicability for other regions. Three basic concepts were developed or improved in this study. A new definition of `climatopes’ was introduced, and methods were developed for their digital determination by objective criteria. This definition of climatopes requires adequate information on land-use, which is provided by introducing the concept of `areal types'. In contrast to `traditional’ land-use classes directly derived from satellite images, areal types are complex aggregates reflecting not only different physical surface properties, but also socioeconomic aspects of land-use. `Ventilation classes’ are the second component required to delineate climatopes. They summarize the combined influencing factors of terrain features and land-use structures on wind field and urban ventilation. Their determination is based on topographic information and surface properties derived from a digital terrain model and from land-use data. The spatial distribution of climatopes was computed for Basel. Various quality assessment procedures and the application of climatopes for an automated generation of planning guidelines demonstrate the applicability of the concepts. Climate maps containing the results of the analysis and evaluation of the urban climate of Basel were estimated by the involved planners to be a valuable tool meeting their practical requirements to a high degree.     

Soil carbon pools and fluxes in urban ecosystems

The transformation of landscapes from non-urban to urban land use has the potential to greatly modify soil carbon (C) pools and fluxes. For urban ecosystems, very little data exists to assess whether urbanization leads to an increase or decrease in soil C pools. We analyzed three data sets to assess the potential for urbanization to affect soil organic C. These included surface (0-10 cm) soil C data from unmanaged forests along an urban-rural gradient, data from "made" soils (1 m depth) from five different cities, and surface (0-15 cm) soil data of several land-use types in the city of Baltimore. Along the urban-rural land-use gradient, we found that soil organic matter concentration in the surface 10 cm varied significantly (P=0.001). In an analysis of variance, the urban forest stands had significantly (P=0.02) higher organic C densities (kg m(-2) to 1 m depth) than the suburban and rural stands. Our analysis of pedon data from five cities showed that the highest soil organic C densities occurred in loamy fill (28.5 kg m(-2)) with the lowest occurring in clean fill and old dredge materials (1.4 and 6.9 kg m(-2), respectively). Soil organic C densities for residential areas (15.5 +/- 1.2 kg m(-2)) were consistent across cities. A comparison of land-use types showed that low density residential and institutional land-uses had 44 and 38% higher organic C densities than the commercial land-use type, respectively. Our analysis shows that as adjacent land-use becomes more urbanized, forest soil C pools can be affected even in stands not directly disturbed by urban land development. Data from several "made" soils suggests that physical disturbances and inputs of various materials by humans can greatly alter the amount C stored in these soils.     

Positive effects of vegetation: urban heat island and green roofs

This paper attempts to evaluate the positive effects of vegetation with a multi-scale approach: an urban and a building scale.Monitoring the urban heat island in four areas of New York City, we have found an average of 2 °C difference of temperatures between the most and the least vegetated areas, ascribable to the substitution of vegetation with man-made building materials.At micro-scale, we have assessed the effect of surface albedo on climate through the use of a climatological model. Then, using the CO₂ equivalents as indicators of the impact on climate, we have compared the surface albedo, and the construction, replacement and use phase of a black, a white and a green roof. By our analyses, we found that both the white and the green roofs are less impactive than the black one; with the thermal resistance, the biological activity of plants and the surface albedo playing a crucial role.     

Inconsistency and comprehensiveness of risk assessments for heavy metals in urban surface sediments

Numerous indices have been developed to assess environmental risk of heavy metals in surface sediments, including the total content based geoaccumulation index (I_geo), exchangeable fraction based risk assessment code (RAC), and biological toxicity test based sediment quality guidelines (SQGs). In this study, the three indices were applied to freshwater surface sediments from 10 sections along an urbanization gradient of the Grand Canal, China to assess the environmental risks of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cr) and to understand discrepancies of risk assessment indices and urbanization effects regarding heavy metal contamination. Results showed that Cd, Zn, and Pb were the most enriched metals in urban sections assessed by I_geo and over 95% of the samples exceeded the Zn and Pb thresholds of the effect range low (ERL) of SQGs. According to RAC, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Cr had high risks of adversely affecting the water quality of the Grand Canal due to their remarkable portions of exchangeable fraction in surface sediment. However, Pb showed a relative low risk, and was largely bounded to Fe/Mn oxides in the urban surface sediments. Obviously, the three assessment indices were not consistent with each other in terms of predicting environmental risks attributed to heavy metals in the freshwater surface sediments of this study. It is recommended that risk assessment by SQGs should be revised according to availability and site specificity. However, the combination of the three indices gave us a comprehensive understanding of heavy metal risks in the urban surface sediments of the Grand Canal.     

昆明主城区城市地表径流污染特征分析

昆明市位于滇池上游,城市地表径流污染负荷对滇池水质具有直接影响。通过对昆明主城区内不同功能区12个监测点7次降雨径流过程水样的采集与分析,研究了昆明主城区城市地表径流污染特征。结果表明,昆明主城区城市地表径流中TSS、COD、TN和TP的多场降雨平均浓度分别为182.8、138.2、2.37和0.43 mg/L。不同功能区的地表径流水质存在显著差异(p<0.05);各功能区径流污染负荷顺序为:公路区>商业区>住宅区>文教区;不同功能区单场降雨径流水质动态变化规律是:污染物浓度在降雨径流初期相对较高,中后期浓度快速下降,并逐渐趋于稳定;地表利用功能、降雨特征和交通流量是影响城市地表径流水质的主要因素;城市地表径流中COD、TN、TP与TSS之间有较好的相关性,说明大部分的污染物质是以颗粒吸附态存在。     

Temporal and spatial patterns of micropollutants in urban receiving waters

Based on a monitoring program over the course of a year, we characterize the temporal and spatial distribution of selected micropollutants in an urban watershed within the city of Leipzig, Germany. Micropollutants revealed a ubiquitous presence in untreated and treated wastewater, surface water and groundwater. The loads of 4-nonylphenol in the effluents of the municipal wastewater treatment plant followed a seasonal trend, whereas the loads of all other micropollutants were highly variable and not correlated to seasons. In the surface water, load seasonality of caffeine, galaxolide and tonalide resulted from a rapid removal with increased water temperature. The loads of 4-nonylphenol and of caffeine in the colder months increased when rainfall occurred. In the groundwater, complex spatial and temporal patterns were apparent and were related to varying input, retardation and removal processes. As a consequence, an assessment of micropollutants in urban waters should consider different micropollutants' temporal and spatial variability.     

Analysis of surface and aerosol polarized reflectance for aerosol retrievals from polarized remote sensing in PRD urban region

A precise estimate of polarization induced by surface is crucial for polarized remote sensing dedicated to monitoring aerosol properties over urban area. The accurate knowledge of interaction between surface and aerosol polarized reflectance is essential for accurately achieving aerosol properties. In order to study surface and aerosol polarized reflectance for aerosol retrievals over urban area, a new airborne directional polarimetric camera (DPC) with high spatial resolution (4 m at 4000 m a.g.l) was developed. The surface polarized reflectance over distinct surface covers of urban area (forest, shrub, and soil) were studied using DPC measurements during a field campaign in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China. The large variations were found in surface polarized reflectance of distinct urban covers due to surface type variability. For all surface types, the empirical BPDF model cannot describe accurately surface polarized reflectance at all possible illumination and observation geometries. From the quantitatively study of relationship between surface and aerosol polarized contribution to DPC measurements, we show that the polarized contributions of aerosol, which optical properties were defined by ground-based measurements, are much larger than the polarized contribution of surface, and found that the polarized contribution of surface covers increases with decreasing NDVI. The effect of polarization accuracy of measurements on aerosol retrieval was also investigated using DPC measurements, and found that 0.1% polarization accuracy of measurements can be neglected when AOD is retrieved using polarized measurements. Based on the information of effects of polarized reflectance differences between distinct surface covers and polarization accuracy of polarized measurements on retrieved aerosols over urban area, we found that the accuracy of aerosol retrieval over forest covers is higher than other surface types using polarized remote sensing.     

On the influence of the urban roughness sublayer on turbulence and dispersion

The concept of the urban roughness sublayer is discussed and this lowest atmospheric layer over a rough surface is shown to have a non-negligible vertical extension over typical urban surfaces. The existing knowledge on the turbulence and flow structure within an urban roughness sublayer is reviewed, focusing on the height dependence of turbulent fluxes and a scaling approach for turbulence statistics, such as velocity variances, in the above-roof part of the roughness sublayer. Finally, the implication of this turbulence and flow structure upon dispersion characteristics is investigated. The most prominent difference of explicitly taking into account the roughness sublayer in a dispersion simulation (as compared to assuming a `constant flux layer') is a clearly enhanced ground level concentration far downwind from the source. For the example of a tracer release experiment over a (sub) urban surface (Copenhagen) it is shown that introducing the roughness sublayer clearly improves the model performance.     

山地城市暴雨径流污染特性及控制对策

为了解山城重庆的暴雨径流污染特性,充实国内仍然薄弱的基础资料,对4种用地类型的4场暴雨进行了监测,测试指标包括TSS、COD、TP、TN和NH3-N。结果表明,对于坡度2.5%的交通干道和坡度30%的校园人行道,从污染物浓度降幅的角度考虑初期径流的控制量应分别为2～3 mm和1.8 mm。随降雨时间的延长,路面污染物浓度迅速降低,坡度越大,降低速率越快。对于平均浓度,校园屋顶和草坪的各污染物浓度均达到地表水环境质量Ⅴ类标准(总氮和氨氮除外)。交通干道和校园人行道的总磷平均浓度也满足地表水环境质量Ⅴ类标准,但2种下垫面的COD、TN和氨氮平均浓度分别超出地表水环境质量Ⅴ类标准的2～8倍、1.9～3.1倍和1.9～4.3倍。对于交通干道,场次降雨径流的总氮、总磷和氨氮平均浓度与初期浓度的比值和污染物浓度20 min降幅接近(分别为0.5～0.53和50%～55%)接近,而COD和TSS平均浓度与初期浓度的比值和污染物浓度20 min降幅相近(分别为0.35～0.37和78%～84%)。对于校园人行道,污染物浓度20 min降幅均达到90%以上(90%～96%),场次降雨径流的总氮、总磷、氨氮、COD和TSS的平均浓度与初期浓度的比值接近(0.3～0.4)。研究结果为山地城市暴雨径流的污染控制提供了参考。     

Spatial variability of different fractions of particulate matter within an urban environment and between urban and rural sites

The spatial variability of different fractions of particulate matter (PM) was investigated in the city of Basel, Switzerland, based on measurements performed throughout 1997 with a mobile monitoring station at six sites and permanently recorded measurements from a fixed site. Additionally, PM10 measurements from the following year, which were concurrently recorded at two urban and two rural sites, were compared. Generally, the spatial variability of PM4, PM10, and total suspended particulates (TSP) within this Swiss urban environment (area = 36 km2) was rather limited. With the exception of one site in a street canyon next to a traffic light, traffic density had only a weak tendency to increase the levels of PM. Mean PM10 concentration at six sites with different traffic densities was in the range of less than +/- 10% of the mean urban PM10 level. However, comparing the mean PM levels on workdays to that on weekends indicated that the impact of human activities, including traffic, on ambient PM levels may be considerable. Differences in the daily PM10 concentrations between urban and more elevated rural sites were strongly influenced by the stability of the atmosphere. In summer, when no persistent surface inversions exist, differences between urban and rural sites were rather small. It can therefore be concluded that spatial variability of annual mean PM concentration between urban and rural sites in the Basel area may more likely be caused by varying altitude than by distance to the city center.     

Storm water runoff concentration matrix for urban areas

The infrastructure (roads, sidewalk, commercial and residential structures) added during the land development and urbanisation process is designed to collect precipitation and convey it out of the watershed, typically in existing surface water channels, such as streams and rivers. The quality of surface water, seepage water and ground water is influenced by pollutants that collect on impervious surfaces and that are carried by urban storm water runoff. Heavy metals, e.g. lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) and readily soluble salts in runoff, contribute to the degradation of water. An intensive literature search on the distribution and concentration of the surface-dependent runoff water has been compiled. Concentration variations of several pollutants derived from different surfaces have been averaged. More than 300 references providing about 1300 data for different pollutants culminate in a representative concentration matrix consisting of medians and extreme values. This matrix can be applied to long-term valuations and numerical modelling of storm water treatment facilities.     

Metal distributions in soil receiving urban pavement runoff and snowmelt.

Wet and dry deposition of anthropogenic metals and particulates generated from urban and traffic activities can result in contamination of urban-land-use soils. These particulate residuals encompass a wide size gradation, from 1 to greater than 10 000 microm. This study hypothesized that such contamination of surficial soils can be analyzed and explained as a function of the soil/residual granulometry. This study analyzed the gradation-based physical characteristics for 10 urban transportation land-use sites with soil/residual complexes (SRCs) located throughout metropolitan Cincinnati, Ohio, and an urban residential reference site. Particle density (rho(s)) of SRCs ranged from 2.8 to 2.1 g/cm3, with the lower particle density associated with particles less than 100 microm. For each site, specific surface area generally increased with decreasing particle size, while the predominance of total surface area was associated with the coarser size fractions, except for the clayey glacial till reference site not influenced by traffic. Cumulative analysis for lead, copper, cadmium, and zinc associated with SRCs indicated that more than 50% of the metal mass was associated with particles greater than 250 microm, with more than 80% associated with particles greater than 106 microm. Study results are similar to rainfall-runoff and snowmelt distributions. Results provide guidance when considering potential fate and control of metals transported by urban drainage and are distributed across the SRC size gradation.     

Characterization of aerosols and its radiative impacts over urban and rural environments--a case study from Hyderabad and Srisailam

In the troposphere anthropogenic aerosol emissions are increasing in recent decades, which can influence the earth's climate. The present study addresses the characterization of aerosols and their radiative impacts over urban (Hyderabad) and rural (Srisailam) environments by using aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements from MICROTOPS-II sunphotometer. AOD measurements over the urban site showed high values compared to the rural site. Over the urban environment aerosol forcing at the surface is as high as -42 W m(-2) and at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) is +10 W m(-2) whereas at the rural environment aerosol forcing at the surface has been observed to be -11 W m(-2) and at TOA it is observed to be +5.7 W m(-2). The difference between TOA and the surface forcing over the urban environment is +32 W m(-2) and over the rural environment is +5.3 W m(-2), which shows the absorption capacity of the respective atmospheres.     

Continuous measurements of aerosol physical properties in the urban atmosphere

Simultaneous continuous measurements have been made at an urban background site of PM₁₀ mass by Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance, particle number density by condensation nucleus counter and Fuchs surface area using an epiphaniometer. Concurrent measurements of gaseous NO_x and CO have been used to indicate road traffic emissions, and data from a nearby meteorological station have been used for relative humidity, temperature and windspeed. The data indicate that particle number density is a far better indicator of traffic activity than PM₁₀ mass which is strongly influenced by a high background, and also tends to peak rather later than the gaseous pollutants and particle number, presumably as a result of advection of accumulation mode aerosol. PM₁₀ mass and Fuchs surface area generally show a very similar temporal trend, although there is a tendency for the ratio of surface area to dry particle mass to increase with relative humidity. The sampling period included bonfire night celebrations which caused substantial increases in all particle parameters, although the ratio of particle mass to number was considerably higher than for the morning rush hour road traffic-influenced peak.     

Evolution rates and PCB content of surface films that develop on impervious urban surfaces

Surface films on impervious surfaces mediate the fate of organic contaminants in urban areas. Using sheltered 3-mm diameter glass beads as a surrogate impervious urban surface, studies in downtown Toronto showed that surface films developed at a consistent rate of 1.6–2.6 nm day⁻¹. Linear film growth was observed up to and including the last day of three studies of 89-, 273-, and 84-day duration. Total PCB content (sum of 15 PCB congeners) also increased linearly, at a similar rate as the surface film. A complementary study using unsheltered beads showed that up to 80% of film mass and PCB content were removed by film wash-off during rain events. The film growth rate on beads exposed at a rural site, 200 km northeast of Toronto, was 12–20 times lower with PCB burdens that were 7–22 times lower compared to Toronto. Based on these findings, it is estimated that approximately 56–226 g of PCBs are captured by a 70 nm thick film covering just the horizontal surface area of Toronto. This is a substantial quantity of PCB that is available for rapid surface–air exchange and wash-off.     

Distribution and availability of arsenic in soils from the industrialized urban area of Beijing, China

Concentrations of arsenic (As) were determined in soils of 5 industrial sites in an urban area of Beijing, China. Fifty seven typical surface soils were sampled to determine total concentrations of metals, pH and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). One hundred and eight deep soils were submitted to a four-step, sequential extraction to assess the relative mobility and bioavailability of As in the soil profiles. Total concentrations of As in surface soils ranged from 5.7 to 2.3 x 10(1) mg kg(-1), dw with greater concentrations inside the perimeter of the chemical plant which had greater concentrations than did other plants. 75.4% of surface soil samples in the industrial area contained concentrations of As that were greater than was considered to be the background concentration of 7.8 mg kg(-1), dw for the region. The mean concentration (9.9 mg kg(-1), dw) in the industrial soils was greater than that soils from other type of land use. Concentrations of As were significantly and negatively correlated with soil pH and DOC in industrial soils. Although mean concentration of total As in the soils from all sites were less at greater depths, the entire range from 0 to 180 cm (especially 0-80 cm) contained concentrations of As that were greater than background. Sequential extractions of soil indicated that only some surface soils had relatively great amount of extractable fraction of As. Most soils had relatively great amount of residual As. This result suggests that most arsenic in Beijing industrial soils should be immobile and of limited bioavailability.     

Occurrence,distribution, and multi-phase partitioning of triclocarban and triclosan in an urban river receiving wastewater treatment plants effluent in China

Occurrence, distribution, spatial and seasonal variations, and partitioning between aqueous phase and suspended particulate matters (SPM) of triclocarban (TCC) and triclosan (TCS) in Xiaoqing River, which receives wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents, were studied. The distribution of the total TCC and TCS levels in surface water and sediments along the river were discussed. The highest TCC and TCS concentrations were both found near the discharge port of WWTPs, and the TCC and TCS levels decreased downstream of the WWTPs as a result of their distances from the source of WWTP discharges. The mean values of TCC and TCS in low-flow season were 1.62 and 1.80 times, respectively, as much as in high-flow season in surface water. The study on partitioning of TCC and TCS between aqueous phase and SPM shown the mean level of dissolved TCC accounted for about 10 % of the total level in surface water, whereas the TCS level was about 30 %. The TCC concentrations detected in the surface sediment samples (0 to 5 cm) ranged from 226 to 1,956 ng/g, with a mean value of 733 ng/g. The TCS levels were between 85 and 705 ng/g, with a mean value of 255 ng/g. The distribution and variations of TCC and TCS in sediments along the river were highly consistent with those in the water phase. The TCC and TCS levels in deep sediments (5 to 10 cm) were significantly lower than those in surface sediments. The mean TCC level in surface sediments was about 2.4 times as much as in deep sediments, and the TCS level in surface sediments was 3.1 times as much as in deep sediments.     

凤眼莲在城市重污染河道修复中的应用

外港河是秦淮河重要支流,长期以来遭受严重污染。2006年4月份起对外港河进行了综合生态治理。在前期清淤和截污的基础上,7月份开始引种凤眼莲。在上游排污口附近和外港河河口段分别设置的4个生态区以及河面上布设的水面载体内全面放养以凤眼莲为主的浮水植物。经过5个多月的初步治理,外港河水体透明度从40 cm以下提高到120 cm左右,COD下降了70.4％,TSS、TN和NH₃-N分别下降了39.6％、49.7％和21.8％。结果证明,凤眼莲在净化严重污染的河道方面起到了良好的效果,引种凤眼莲治理城市重污染河道是切实可行的;此外,用PVC管设计制作的水面载体来放养浮水植物可以点缀水面环境,美化城市河道景观。     

Occurrence and source characterization of perfluorochemicals in an urban watershed

Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) are used in numerous applications, mainly as surfactants, and occur ubiquitously in the environment as complex mixtures. This study was undertaken to characterize the occurrence and sources of commonly detected PFC compounds in surface waters of the Marina catchment, a watershed that drains an urbanized section of Singapore. Of the 19 target PFCs, 13 were detected with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) (5-31 ng L⁻¹) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) (1-156 ng L⁻¹) being the dominant components. Other compounds detected included perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (C7-C12) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (C6 and C8). Sulfonamide compounds detected 2-(N-ethylperfluorooctanesulfonamido) acetic acid (N-EtFOSAA), 2-(N-methylperfluorooctanesulfonamido) acetic acid (N-MeFOSAA), perfluorooctanesulfonamido acetic acid (FOSAA) and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (FOSA) were putative transformation products of N-EtFOSE and N-MeFOSE, the N-ethylated and N-methylated ethyl alcohol derivatives, respectively. Surface water concentrations were generally higher during dry weather than during storm water flow: the median concentrations of total PFCs in dry and wet weather were 57 and 138 ng L⁻¹ compared to 42 and 79 ng L⁻¹, respectively, at Stamford and Alexandra canal, suggesting the presence of a continuous source(s) which is subject to dilution during storm events. In rain water, median concentrations were 6.4 ng L⁻¹, suggesting rain contributed from 12-25% to the total PFC load for non-point source sites. The longitudinal concentration profile along one of the canals revealed a point source of sulfonated PFCs (PFOS), believed to originate from aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). Sources were characterized using principal component analysis (PCA) and by plotting PFHxS/PFOA against PFOS/PFOA. Typical surface waters exhibit PFOS/PFOA and PFHxS/PFOA ratios below 0.9 and 0.5, respectively. PCA plots reveal waters impacted by “non-typical” PFC sources in Alexandra canal.