Evaluation of surface urban energy and water balance scheme (SUEWS) using scaled 2D model experiments under various seasons and sky conditions

Abstract

Urban energy balance models are essential for better understanding of urban climate processes and mitigating urban heat island intensity. In this study, the Surface Urban Energy and Water Balance Scheme (SUEWS) is evaluated using scaled outdoor experiments of idealized city models consisting of street canyons (aspect ratio H/W = 2, H = 0.5) and hollow concrete building models, under various seasonal and sky conditions in a humid subtropical climate in 2020, using three evaluation approaches. The results indicate that the model effectively simulates net all-wave radiation (Q∗), with the coefficient of determination (R2) exceeding 0.970. Storage heat flux (ΔQS) derived from the Objective Hysteresis Model (OHM) is compared to those obtained from the residual term method (RTM) and element surface temperature method (ESTM), revealing the RTM tend to overestimate ΔQS compared to the observation-based ESTM. Compared to using default OHM coefficients, applying fitted OHM coefficients obtained under seasons and sky conditions improves the simulations of ΔQS and sensible heat flux (QH), reducing statistical errors by approximately 50% for ΔQS and increasing R2 in rainy summer from 0.353 to 0.793 for QH, respectively. Additionally, the improved available energy simulation suggests the importance of accurately partitioning between QH and latent heat flux (QE) for the future development of SUEWS.