Assessment Of Adaptation Measures Research Articles

Proposed Methodology for Climate Change Adaptation of Water Infrastructures in the Mediterranean Region

Water Infrastructure (WI) is one of the most important sectors of Critical Infrastructure (CI); it encompasses drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater. The WI is vulnerable to the effects of Climate Change (CC) that can disrupt its functionality; thus, it needs to be adapted to CC, especially in the Mediterranean region, where these effects are expected to intensify during the twenty-first century. For this adaptation a Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) is required in the development of WI to identify the important climate hazards and to recommend the required measures for the adaptation of the WI to these hazards. In the present work, a CRVA methodology is developed and presented based on a literature survey and the relevant European Commission guidelines; it is structured around five key steps: (1) Description of the WI, (2) Climate change assessment, (3) Vulnerability assessment, (4) Risk assessment, and (5) Assessment of adaptation measures. The application of the methodology is illustrated indicatively to a wastewater system in Greece for which preliminary estimations are performed, results are discussed, and conclusions are drawn. The proposed methodology can be modified for application to other sectors of CI; moreover, is a valuable resource in academic curricula and ongoing research initiatives.

Parametric investigation of Urban Heat Island dynamics through TEB 1D model for a case study: Assessment of adaptation measures

At present, the urban population has to cope with the effects caused from Urban Heat Island (UHI), poor air quality and increased frequency and/or intensity of extreme weather and climate events. The expected increase of these extremes in areas of the planet and the way to adapt to them has emphasized the need to investigate in detail the climate of the cities. Local vulnerability and risk assessments, supported by using regional climate models at very high resolution, are key to support development and implementation of effective local adaptation measures to make well-adapted and climate-resilient cities, i.e. more sustainable ones. This study aims to provide some quantitative information on the effectiveness of main local adaptation measures to reduce the magnitude of UHI, in terms of temperature and energy fluxes. The investigation was conducted by adopting the TEB 1D model for the Toulouse city case-study. Different urban configurations and adaptation measures have been considered in the model set up. The results confirm that different adaptation measures may reduce the temperature on the town elements during the daylight hours; among the different measures, the green roof prevent the radiative cooling, increasing the roof night temperature and contributing to the night UHI.

Measures against heat stress in the city of Gelsenkirchen, Germany

In the near-surface atmosphere, heat waves during the summer cause situations that may lead to human-biometeo-rological impairment. Because of their high population density, overheated cities are particularly strongly affected by heat stress. In the future, due to the effects of climate change, heat stress will increase in terms of its intensity and spatial expansion in the areas of concern. Taking the example of the city of Gelsenkirchen, Germany, this article presents a method for the identification of areas requiring adaptation or protection. A scenario of the future increase of heat stress events is presented, based on data of the German climate change model STAR II. For the identification of areas requiring adaptation and protection, spatial analyses of the urban heat island, land use and demographic aspects were performed using GIS tools. The application and assessment of adaptation measures is investigated for an urban quarter using the microscale numerical model ENVI-met. Finally adaptation measures in urban planning against heat stress are discussed. The relevant urban planning adaptation measures, which are also important in view of climate change, not only involve heat stress reduction in the residential areas already affected, but also in-volve the protection and optimisation of existing favourable and compensation areas.