Abstract
Land use land cover (LULC) significantly impacts local circulation in the Mexico Basin, particularly wind field circulations such as gap winds, convergence lines, and thermally induced upslope/downslope wind. A case study with a high-pressure system over the Mexico Basin isolates the influence of large-scale synoptic forcing. Numerical simulations reveal a wind system composed of meridional circulation and a zonal component. Thermal pressure gradients between the Mexico basin and its colder surroundings create near-surface convergence lines as part of the meridional circulation. Experiments show that the intensity and organization of meridional circulations and downslope winds increase when LULC changes from natural and cultivated land to urban. Zonal circulation exhibits a typical circulation pattern with the upslope flow and descending motion in the middle of the basin. Large values of moist static energy are near the surface where air parcels pick up energy from the surface either as fluxes of enthalpy or latent heat. Surface heat fluxes and stored energy in the ground are drivers of local circulation, which is more evident in zonal circulation patterns.
Highlights
To explore the urban effect (UE) on local circulation and Urban Heat Island (UHI) development, we propose three hypothesis testing experiments in the D03 domain with modified Land use land cover (LULC) from the CTRL experiment: (1) VEGX experiment, where the LULC from the CTRL is replaced completely by the DCP LULC category (2) URBX experiment, same as VEGX except that the CTRL’s urban and built-up category is superposed onto the VEGX’s DCP category, and (3) NATX experiment, same as CTRL but with its urban and built-up LULC category replaced by the dominant DCP category
The present work tests the hypothesis that changes in LULC significantly impact local circulation in the Mexico Basin, near-surface wind field circulations such as gap winds, convergence lines, and thermally induced upslope/downslope wind at the foot of mountain chains
In order to isolate the influence of large-scale synoptic forcing, we select 10 February 2017, as a special case study with a very well-defined high-pressure system over the Mexico Basin at the center of the country
Summary
Urban and builtup areas continue to proliferate around the world, with many cities and industrial complexes built within complex terrain and valleys [5] Compounding this problem, a combination of synoptic conditions, climate change, and deteriorated air quality conditions aggravate citizen’s health conditions in large urban centers [6]. By replacing a natural surface cover with an impervious surface, the overlying air temperature of the urban area increases relative to its natural and rural surroundings due to larger sensible heat fluxes (SHF). This phenomenon, known as Urban Heat Island (UHI), is more intense when light winds and clear skies are present. For example in Central Europe [11], have looked at how different anticyclonic patterns influence the magnitude of the UHI while [12], and [13]
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