Abstract
We present the coupling of the microscopic traffic simulation package SUMO with the microscale building-resolving large-eddy simulation model PALM to calculate the effect of anthropogenic heat from vehicles on near-surface meteorological conditions. Spatially and temporally resolved anthropogenic heat flux is calculated from the fuel consumption of each simulated vehicle in SUMO. The coupled model is applied to one summer and one winter day for a central district of Berlin, Germany, using the Berlin SUMO Traffic dataset. Traffic heat follows the simulated diurnal cycle of vehicle activity and fuel consumption, with street-average values above 10 W m−2 between 10:00 and 21:00, a peak-hour street-average of about 26 W m−2, and localized maxima up to 2,100 W m−2 near traffic lights. The domain-mean effect on 2 m air temperature is small, with daily mean increases of about 0.02 K over non-building areas. Spatially averaged responses reach about 0.14 K in summer and 0.18 K in winter during weak-wind periods, while individual hotspot grid cells reach up to 2.6 K. The framework provides a process-based method for representing traffic-related anthropogenic heat in microscale urban-climate simulations.
Interactive results summary
From traffic activity to urban heat
Change the spatial scale to inspect the magnitudes reported for the Berlin case study.
Daily mean · non-building area
0.02 KSmall district-scale mean response
For both selected days, the daily mean 2 m air-temperature increase across the non-building area is about 0.02 K.
Values summarize the reported SUMO–PALM case study. Consult the preprint for model assumptions, uncertainty and spatial context.
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