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Impact of albedo change in Europe
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Earth is currently transitioning from a mostly rural to a mostly urban planet. In 2030 the urbanized areas will be nearly tripled compared to 2000 (Seto et al. 2012). The use of dark building materials, such as asphalt and concrete, leads to a lower albedo in urbanized areas than in natural environment (Brest 1987). It negatively affects climate and it might be more relevant in the near future. The substitution of rooftops’ membranes and pavements’ traditional materials with bright ones and a wise planning of the future urban sprawl can remedy the low urban albedo. Here we investigate the potential effect of the increase in albedo on the instantaneous change in radiative forcing in a sample of European cities. We find a distinct but surprising geographical variation of the potential. With Scandinavian cities being potentially more effective that north-central European ones. Our results highlight that the increase in albedo in European cities can contribute to reduce instantaneous radiative forcing (IRF) at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) mostly depending on urban morphology.
The IPCC Working Group I Fourth Assessment Report reports that since pre-industrial times until 2005, Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) led to a decrease in RF of 0.2 [± 0.2] W m-2 due to an increase in Earth’s albedo (Salomon et al. 2007). The magnitude of the LULCC-induced decrease in RF is comparable to the effect of some anthropogenic long-lived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (e.g., nitrous oxide). The increase in Earth’s albedo is mainly ascribable to deforestation and modification of land for agricultural use (Foster et al. 2007). However, the effect of the LULCC on RF embodies the contribution of urbanization since it is not trivial to isolate...
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19. Oleson, K. W., Bonan, G. B., Feddema, J. Effects of white roofs on urban temperature in a global climate model. Geophysical research letters, 37, L03701, doi:10.1029/2009GL042194 (2010)
The Industrial Revolution was not only a turning point in the progress of human history, but the start of a great change in the Earth’s environment. Technological advances in industry and mass migration into urban areas led to a rising demand for energy sources, a demand met by fossil fuels. Casper, J. (2010) describes coal as ‘symbolic of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution’, the increased combustion of these ‘dirty’ fossil fuels further polluted the air and enhanced the volume of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Changes in land use attributed to population rise, reduced the amount of photosynthesising biomass on Earth, diminished an important ‘carbon sink’ and concluded to enhance the Greenhouse Effect.
Solar radiation can change seasonally and in different locations, and can impact thermal performance of vegetated roofs and
Throughout history climates have drastically changed. There have been shifts from warm climates to the Ice Ages (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2009, p.204). Evidence suggests there have been at least a dozen abrupt climate changes throughout the history of the earth. There are a few suspected reasons for these past climate changes. One reason may be that asteroids hitting the earth and volcanic eruptions caused some of them. A further assumption is that 22-year solar magnetic cycles and 11-year sunspot cycles played a part in the changes. A further possibility is that a regular shifting in the angle of the moon orbiting earth causing changing tides and atmospheric circulation affects the global climate (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2009, p.205). Scientific studies suggest that all these played a role in past global warming and cooling periods. Today, however, there is a lot of conflict on whether humans are causing a global warming that could be disastrous to humans and all species of plants and animals on this earth. This paper will first explain the greenhouse effect, then take a look at both sides argument, and, finally, analyze the effect of global warming on world-wide sustainability
...ts and roofs absorb sun’s energy, thus heating up the surface of an urban city, intensifying the UHI. The Berkeley Heat Island Team concluded that lighter asphalts, or ‘cool pavements’, reflected as much as 30 to 50 percent of sun light, which is significantly higher than 5 percent of new asphalt, and 10 to 20 percent of aged asphalt, and ‘cool roofs’ decrease temperature inside and outside the building. Such ‘Cool technologies’ also seem applicable to Seoul, in renewal and development of infrastructure continues. Government schemes to reduce energy consumption, initiate plans to raise efficiency of special areas, limit cars driving, encourage riding bicycles, create urban forests and gardens, rooftop greenery, and more. There are also methods of planning routes for wind, Blue Way, by planning infrastructures, to let wind swiftly flow in to decrease the heat.
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Land use change and land cover over time is an inevitable phenomenon occurring globally due to both temporary and or permanent interest of the inhabitants in a particular area (Eludoyin et al, 2010). Most parts of the world are not in their natural state due to a number of reasons and mainly human activities. Due to anthropogenic activities, the earth’s surface is being significantly altered and the presence on the Earth of man and his use of land has had a profound effect upon the natural environment (Wilkie and Finn, 1996). Land use and land cover change (LULCC), has become a central component in current strategies for managing natural resources and monitoring environmental changes.
...al Climate Change." Climate Dynamics 42.3/4 (2014): 617-627. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Hardy, J. T. Climate Change: Causes, Effects, and Solutions. New York: J. Wiley, 2003. Print.
Tóth, F.L., M. Mwandosya, C. Carraro, J. Christensen, J. Edmonds, B. Flannery, C. Gay-Garcia, H. Lee, K.M. Mayer-Abich, E. Nikitina, A. Rahman, R. Richels, Y. Ruqiu, A. Villavicencio, Y. Wake and J. Weyant (2001) Decision-making frameworks. In Climate Change 2001: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, ed. B. Metz, O. Davidson, R. Swart and J. Pan. Cambridge University Press, 601–688.
The earth is a complex system, which continues to evolve and change. Climate change and global warming are currently popular in the political agenda. But what does “climate” really mean? The difference between weather and climate can be conveyed in a single sentence: “Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get.” Based on research of the geologic record, we know that climate change has happened throughout Earth's history and at present, ever-increasing evidence points to the roles that humans play in altering Earth systems. The Earth and its atmosphere receive heat energy from the sun; the atmospheric heat budget of the Earth depends on the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation from the planet; which has been constant over the last few thousand years. However present evidence seems to suggest that the recent increase in temperature has been brought about by pollution of the atmosphere, in particular the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide, mostly through Anthropogenic Forcing (human activity) and other various internal and external factors. I...
In this paper, we have identified several significant factors that contribute to the formation of urban heat island based on different research. Those factors are colour and type of materials use for pavement and roofs, lack of evapotranspiration, geometric effects of buildings, and waste heat generated by energy usage. A study by Mohajerani, Bakaric, and Jeffrey-Bailey (2017) in Australia showed