In situ air temperature and humidity measurements over diverse land covers in Greenbelt, Maryland, November 2013–November 2015

Abstract

Abstract. As our climate changes through time there is an ever-increasing need to quantify how and where it is changing so that mitigation strategies can be implemented. Urban areas have a disproportionate amount of warming due, in part, to the conductive properties of concrete and asphalt surfaces, surface albedo, heat capacity, lack of water, etc. that make up an urban environment. The NASA Climate Adaptation Science Investigation working group at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, conducted a study to collect temperature and humidity data at 15 min intervals from 12 sites at the center. These sites represent the major surface types at the center: asphalt, building roof, grass field, forest, and rain garden. The data show a strong distinction in the thermal properties of these surfaces at the center and the difference between the average values for the center compared to a local meteorological station. The data have been submitted to Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center (ORNL-DAAC) for archival in comma separated value (csv) file format (Carroll et al., 2016) and can be found by following this link: http://daac.ornl.gov/cgi-bin/dsviewer.pl?ds_id=1319.

Effects of trees, gardens, and nature trails on heat index and child health: design and methods of the Green Schoolyards Project

“…To include a highly impervious area for comparison within park sites, we installed one of the 10 sensors at each park’s parking lot, just outside park boundaries. To capture air temperature and relative humidity experienced by humans, we installed sensors at two meters above ground level, similar to previous studies [ 32 , 33 , 38 ]. To promote community awareness of our project and deter vandalism, we attached a small laminated tag with a description of the sensor and our contact information to each sensor.…”

Effects of trees, gardens, and trails on heat index and child health: Design and methods of the Green Schoolyards Project

“…We measured heat index-the combination term for air temperature and relative humidity that captures what the temperature feels like (24)-by semi-permanently installing 10 HOBO MX2302A external air temperature/relative humidity sensor data loggers (Onset Computer Corporation, MA) at each park. Previous studies have used comparable networks of in situ sensors to monitor microclimatic conditions of a given area (25)(26)(27). Measurement of near-surface air temperatures is advantageous over the use of land surface temperatures as a proxy for air temperatures, as research has shown land surface temperatures are not directly comparable to air temperatures (28,29).…”

“…To include a highly impervious area for comparison within park sites, we installed one of the 10 sensors at each park's parking lot, just outside park boundaries. To capture air temperature and relative humidity experienced by humans, we installed sensors at two meters above ground level, similar to previous studies (26,27,32). To promote community awareness of our project and deter vandalism, we attached a small laminated tag with a description of the sensor and our contact information to each sensor.…”

Effects of trees, gardens, and nature trails on heat index and child health: Design and methods of the Green Schoolyards Project

“…We measured heat index-the combination term for air temperature and relative humidity that captures what the temperature feels like (31)-by semi-permanently installing 10 HOBO MX2302A external air temperature/relative humidity sensor data loggers (Onset Computer Corporation, MA) at each park. Previous studies have used comparable networks of in situ sensors to monitor microclimatic conditions of a given area (32)(33)(34). Measurement of near-surface air temperatures is advantageous over the use of land surface temperatures as a proxy for air temperatures, as research has shown land surface temperatures are not directly comparable to air temperatures (35,36).…”

“…To include a highly impervious area for comparison within park sites, we installed one of the 10 sensors at each park' s parking lot, just outside park boundaries. To capture air temperature and relative humidity experienced by humans, we installed sensors at two meters above ground level, similar to previous studies (33,34,39). To promote community awareness of our project and deter vandalism, we attached a small laminated tag with a description of the sensor and our contact information to each sensor.…”