Thesis
Quantifying microclimatic differences in urban heat and urban heat stress within Philadelphia
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Jun 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00010563
Abstract
As anthropogenic climate change continues to worsen, there is a need for heat mitigation strategies to be implemented throughout urban areas. Heat Stress (HS) is caused by both urban heat (UH) and urban heat islands (UHI) and leads to adverse impacts on people, wildlife, and the economy. Location-specific research documenting how UH and HS differ within cities can help to select, plan, design, and/or evaluate the effectiveness of heat adaptation strategies. This study documents spatiotemporal differences in UH and HS in five neighborhoods of Philadelphia during the summer of 2023 and investigates the impacts of vegetative shading and street orientations for reducing HS. Mobile and fixed measurements of UH and HS were made by civic scientists and Drexel University research staff. The results indicate that two UH parameters (e.g. dry bulb temperature and globe temperature) vary significantly by location and date, while other UH parameters (e.g. relative humidity and wind speed) do not. HS parameters (e.g. the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and the heat index (HI)) also vary significantly by location and date. Street orientation has an impact on HS parameters. Specifically, the HI differed by 4.4°C and 3.6°C in the north-south (NS) and east-west (EW) orientations, respectively, from the north-east (NE) orientation. The WBGT differed by a multiplier of 1.1 in both the NS and EW orientations from the south-west (SW) orientation. The results fill knowledge gaps regarding intra-urban microclimatic differences, and their significance on outdoor daytime HS. From an applied perspective, this applied research is used to discuss new strategies adapting Philadelphia to increasingly acute UH.
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Details
- Title
- Quantifying microclimatic differences in urban heat and urban heat stress within Philadelphia
- Creators
- Samantha P. Seiden
- Contributors
- Franco Montalto (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- viii, 68 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Civil/Architectural/Environmental Engineering (1970-2026); College of Engineering (1970-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991021890211404721