URBan ANthrpogenic heat FLUX from Earth observation Satellites (URBANFLUXES)

Description:

The main goal of the proposed project URBANFLUXES (URBan ANthrpogenic heat FLUX from Earth observation Satellites) was to investigate the potential of Earth Observation (EO) to retrieve anthropogenic heat fluxes. The main research question addressed whether EO is able to provide reliable estimates of anthropogenic heat flux spatiotemporal distribution, at local and city scales. URBANFLUXES investigated the potential of EO to retrieve the anthropogenic heat flux, as a key component in the urban energy budget and by developing a method capable of deriving it from space. The objective was to develop a method that could be used operationally in the near future, when observations with adequate temporal resolution become available.

URBANFLUXES EO-based approach it is easily transferable to any urban area and capable of providing anthropogenic heat flux benchmark data for different applications, including climate models to assess the implication of the anthropogenic heat on the Earth system; building energy models to characterize buildings-to-atmosphere/soil/water heat exchange pathways; and decision support systems for urban sustainable planning and mapping of emissions related to energy consumption. URBANFLUXES prepared the ground for further innovative exploitation of European space data in scientific activities (Earth system modelling and climate change studies in cities) and future and emerging applications (sustainable urban planning) by exploiting the improved data quality, coverage and revisit times of the Copernicus Sentinels data. 

The identification of heat fluxes at the urban scale is a key step to assess how the risks related to extreme temperatures are distributed within the city, and how the population can be affected. 

Project information

Lead

IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNAS

Partners

DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUR LUFT - UND RAUMFAHRT EV (DE)

UNIVERSITE PAUL SABATIER TOULOUSE III (FR)

THE UNIVERSITY OF READING (UK)

UNIVERSITAT BASEL (CH)

GOETEBORGS UNIVERSITET (SE)

GEO-K SRL (IT)

STICHTING WAGENINGEN RESEARCH (NL)