Surface urban heat island (SUHI) is defined as the elevated land surface temperature (LST) in urban area in comparison with non-urban areas, and it can influence the energy consumption, comfort and health of urban residents. In this study, the existence of daytime SUHI, in Cairo and its new towns during the summer, is investigated using three different approaches; (1) utilization of pre-urbanization observations as LST references; (2) utilization of rural observations as LST references (urban-rural difference); and (3) utilization of the SIUHI (Surface Intra Urban Heat Island) approach. A time series of Landsat TM & ETM+ data (46 images) from 1984 to 2015 was employed in this study for daytime LST calculation during summer. Different statistical hypothesis tests were utilized for the evaluation of LST and SUHI in the case studies. The results demonstrated that there is no significant LST difference between the urban areas studied, and their corresponding built-up areas. In addition, daytime LST in new towns during the summer is 2 K warmer than in Cairo. Utilization of a pre-urbanization observations approach, alongside an evaluation of the long-term trend, demonstrated that there is no daytime SUHI during the summer in the study areas, and construction activities in the study areas do not result in cooling or warming effects. Utilization of the rural observations approach showed that LST is lower in Cairo than its surrounding areas. This demonstrates why the selection of suitable rural references in SUHI studies is an important and complicated task, and how this approach may lead to misinterpretation in desert city areas with significant landscape and surface difference with their most surrounding areas (e.g., Cairo). Results showed that, although SIUHI technique can be representative for the changes of variance of LST in urban areas, it is not able to identify the changes of mean LST in urban areas.
The research aims to quantify the environmental carrying capacity of both Petrified Forest Protectorate in East Greater Cairo and Hassanah Dome Protectorate in West Greater Cairo, with their sustainable use and preservation. The environmental carrying capacity works as a sustainable method not to exceed the environmental limits of nature reserves or in other words, the number of visitors does not exceed the maximum allowed for visiting the reserve. The methodology used in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has been used. The elements of the methodology are at 3 levels, namely, physical carrying capacity (PCC), which depends on the optimal rate of space used per capita and open period, real carrying capacity (RCC), which depends on environmental and social factors, and effective carrying capacity (ECC), which depends on administrative and operational capacity. The results of the research found that the Petrified Forest Protectorate (East of Greater Cairo) accommodates 186,286 visitor per day, and Hassanah Dome Protectorate (West of Greater Cairo) accommodates 26,612 visitor per day. In addition to assessing the level of the ecological carrying capacity index (ECCI), which measures the extent of support for the population and its activities, and by comparing the total environmental carrying capacity of the two protectorates that reached 212,898 visitors per day with the population of Greater Cairo (Cairo Governorate and Giza Governorate), which reached 17 million (Capmas, 2017), it was found that the environmental carrying capacity of the two protectorates is not sufficient to support recreational activities and environmental tourism for people of Greater Cairo.
Ge eo oJ Jo ou ur rn na al l o of f TTo ou ur ri is sm m a an nd d G Ge eo os si it te es s Year X
Cairo's rapid transit networks are one of the main electrical transport means in the city that depend mainly on the traditional sources of energy. According to the energy and environmental world crisis, the research examines the potential use of regional solar energy by covering the first of Cairo's rapid transit networks with the solar system to substitute the traditional one. A three phase simulation modelling is proposed. The first phase is the ideal solar system (ISS) for evaluating the feasibility and efficiency of using the solar system. The second one is the solar energy reduction simulation model (SERSM) to be applied for the urban and environmental conditions. The proposed SERSM simulates the shadow cast within the environmental conditions on Cairo's rapid transit line representing the urban conditions according to the track aspect ratio. The third one conducts a detailed field survey for an action area for validating phase two results of solar energy reduction. The research shows the potentiality and the feasibility of using solar energy to substitute a portion of the used traditional energy sources of the rapid transit line, where a 34.5 km length can be covered. It is expected to produce about 7500 MWH monthly, equivalent to 50-60% of the electrical consumption of the line.
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