A research on the thermal behavior of Heraklion city center is conducted by the Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics of FORTH (Remote Sensing Lab - http://rslab.gr) in collaboration with the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). With the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, satellite missions and analytical surface data, the thermal properties of the buildings and of impervious surfaces in the city center will be explored. Consequently, the effects of materials as well as urban morphology on energy efficiency of buildings and thermal comfort will be assessed. This study aims to map city center areas with substantial heat burden, that is, areas to which building materials and building density absorb and trap more solar and thermal radiation. This process creates the Urban Heat Island phenomenon, which influences to a great extend the quality of life of the city’s residents and visitors, intensifying thermal burden during heat waves.

For this reason, airborne campaigns have been scheduled on Thursday 26/7 and Friday 27/7 in Heraklion city center. In addition, thermal mapping of the study area has been designed jointly with JPL to conduct selective monitoring over specific areas. Both aerial and thermal satellite missions will be combined with meteorological measurements taken on the spot by a micro-meteorological flux tower that the RSlab has placed in Heraklion city center. The findings of this experiment will be discussed in a Symposium on Urban Climate that will take place in New York in the beginning of August (ICUC10).

Institute for Applied and Computational Mathematics

Remote Sensing Lab

http://rslab.gr