Result D01: Processed set of observations for Prague
TURDATA is a supplementary data set for the TURBAN project Prague observation campaign described in the manuscript Bauerová et al. 2024 (submitted for publication). The measurement campaign was focused on air pollution and meteorological measurement, including vertical profiles in selected part of Prague city centre called here as Legerova domain. Within this area, one professional meteorological station (MS) Prague Karlov and one reference traffic air quality monitoring (AQM) station Prague 2-Legerova (classified as traffic hotspot) are located. To gain high spatial and temporal resolution data, the supplementary measurement network was established, which consisted of:
Result D01 is available at this link and in repository.
Result D02: Observational datasets for studies of urban air quality hazard scenarios in Bergen, Norway
This dataset is a collection of available observations for the model development and testing. The dataset has a value beyond the technical model development. It represents two observed periods of extreme deterioration of the urban air quality in Bergen, Norway. The observational dataset for studies of urban air quality hazard scenarios combines a selection of meteorological, air quality, and geospatial (urban features) data.
Result D02 is available at this link and in repository.
Result D03: Publication of article “Challenges of constructing and selecting the 'perfect' boundary conditions for the large-eddy simulation model PALM” in GMD journal
In the top-tier scientific journal Geoscientific Model Development, an article by the TURBAN team titled "Challenges of constructing and selecting the 'perfect' boundary conditions for the large-eddy simulation model PALM" has been published. The article describes the influence of boundary conditions obtained from a regional meteorological model on simulations of a microscale urban model and tests various settings of the regional model to obtain the best results for the urban model.
Result D03 is available at this link and in repository.
Result D04: Improved processes in PALM-4U model
Several new significant improvements of the PALM-4U model core have been designed, implemented and tested in the scope of the TURBAN project. These improvements present a solution to the model limitations that have been identified and explored partly before the start of the project and partly within the duration of the project. One of the significant enhancements is a new method of parallelizing the ray tracing algorithm, which has significantly accelerated radiation calculations within the model, thereby enabling detailed modelling of larger areas than was previously possible. This improvement was subsequently incorporated into the main branch of the model and used in the majority of simulations within the TURBAN project. Another crucial extension involves a new method of non-orthogonal surfaces for radiation, energy balance, and flow near surfaces, which eliminates most of the deviations caused by surface representations using the orthogonal grid of the model. The development took place in close collaboration with Leibniz University Hannover, with the Czech team implementing radiation and energy processes and adjustments to input modules. The Czech team also developed a tool capable of preparing the necessary input data for this new module from existing GIS data. This significant extension was incorporated into the main branch of the model and has already been published in the official PALM release version v.24.04 available here.
Both methods have been presented at significant international conferences, and preparation for the publication of the second mentioned method in an impact scientific journal is underway.
Result D04 is available at this link and in repository.
Result D05: Scenarios simulations of Prague
This dataset contains simulation results for the so-called Holešovičky domain, an area in the city of Prague, Czech Republic, expected to undergo major traffic infrastructure changes in the near future. Three scenarios were modelled: current infrastructure with traffic intensity projections for 2023 (C1), future outlook with a finished part of city inner ring-road in 2030 (C2) and effect of finishing the northern part of the Prague outer ring-road (C3), which will decrease heavy traffic in the domain. Note that all scenarios have slightly different landcover (trees, buildings, bridges, tunnels etc.), so there could be small areas containing NA values in the maps and GIS files. All times are in UTC (local time, CEST is UTC +02:00).
Result D05 is available at this link and in repository.
Result D06: Publication of data and maps from simulation scenarios for Bergen
Newly published data include two collections of simulations scenarios on thermal comfort and air pollution for the area of Danmarksplass in Bergen, Norway. The simulations were conducted using the PALM model v.23.04, with additional modules developed within the TURBAN project. They encompass two episodes: a summer heatwave (July 20th-27th, 2019) and a winter episode with high PM10 and PM2.5 pollution (February 4th-12th, 2021). The simulations are driven by boundary conditions from the WRF-ERA5 reanalysis. The dataset contains raw model results of PM10 and PM2.5 concentration variables, air temperature at 2 m, surface temperature, wind speed at 10 m in NetCDF format, and their processing into map format in PNG images. Additionally, it includes inputs necessary for replicating the simulations. These results serve both further scientific research and urbanistic evaluations of the most burdened parts of Bergen city in Norway.
Result D06 is available from Esau, I., Miles, V., Bures, M., Resler, J., & Eben, K. (2024). Scenarios simulations of Bergen (TURBAN - D06) (v1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo, here, and in repository.
Result D07: Publication of atricle "Heat exposure variations and mitigation in a densely populated neighborhood during a hot day: Towards a people-oriented approach to urban climate management"
In this paper which was published in a top scientific journal Building and Environment we present a synergy of sophisticated computational fluid dynamics models a human-oriented paradigm by analyzing outdoor thermal exposure on five different pedestrian routes in Prague-Dejvice (Czech Republic), employing the PALM modelling system and realistic use-cases. Our simulations reveal important spatio-temporal variability in the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) in the urban neighborhood.
Our findings particularly emphasize the negative effect of open spaces, such as gaps between buildings and shorter buildings, on the thermal exposure of pedestrians. These configurations allow more direct irradiation to reach ground level, while the other adverse climatic characteristics of midrise/highrise developments are largely preserved.
The effect of urban greenery is quite variable during the day. Trees can reduce UTCI by up to 10 °C, but this strongly depends on the location (e.g., distance from neighboring buildings). Irrigated grass reduces UTCI by about 1.8 °C, but dried grass has little heat mitigation effect.
In conclusion, our results suggest that expert-based knowledge together with sophisticated and fine-scale models can identify effective heat stress reduction measures without draconian changes to, or investments in, the urban environment.
Result D07 is available from Geletic et al.: Heat exposure variations and mitigation in a densely populated neighborhood during a hot day: Towards a people-oriented approach to urban climate management. Building and Environment, 2023. Available here and in repository.
Result D08: Interpretative output for public authorities
A manual summarizing the findings learned from field observations and scenario modelling. Best practice on how urban planning, decisions of local authorities and public investment can reduce the impacts of climate change, improve air quality and living conditions are described.
The main focus is on clarity and usability in practice. The document include examples of suitable solutions. The result will help to maximize the effect of the results V1, V2 and V5-V7.
Result D08 for Prague is available at this link and in repository, and for Bergen at this link.
Result D09: Satellite remote sensing dataset for urban climate in Bergen and Prague
Shared dataset contains remote sensing data necessary for a land surface temperature (LST) calculation. Layers were processed for two cities; Bergen (Norway) and Prague (Czech Republic). Original data were downloaded from the U.S. Geological Survey. For a LST calculation, a land surface emissivity (LSE) algorithm was used.
Processing of LANDSAT-8 and LANDSAT-9 data:
1. Reading metadata file for each scene (*MTL.txt)
2. Reprojection of scene (note: Bergen scenes have two UTM Zones; 31N and 32N)
3. Cloud cover raster (see folder 01_CloudCover)
4. Calculation Top-Of-Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance for bands 10 and 11 (TB_10 and TB_11), saving to folder 02_TOA-reflectance
5. Calculating of NDVI and Fractional Vegetation Cover (FVC), saving to folder 03_FVC-NDVI
6. Calculating of LSE for both bands, same as different and mean LSE (folder 04_LSE)
7. Calculating of LST
8. Saving of metadata file (see *metadata.txt)
Result D09 is available at this link and in repository.
Result D10: Technical report presenting web GIS for urban climate
This paper highlights the importance of improving stakeholder understanding of environmental factors such as air quality and the urban heat island effect to achieve sustainable development goals. While accurate spatial and temporal environmental data are critical for sustainable solutions, the challenge lies in translating complex environmental information for non-specialists. To solve this problem, we propose using web GIS storytelling as a powerful tool for communicating and disseminating information about the environment. This paper aims to show example of implementation of a web-based geographic information system (GIS) on our case study in Bergen, Norway. This platform “Web GIS Bergen, air quality and thermal comfort” was created as an open portal. This document explains the components of the platform, their rationale, and implementation, which includes important steps. They involve the collection of relevant environmental data, including modelling results and remote sensing data. Futhermore, the design and interface of the platform has been carefully considered to provide a user-friendly experience based on interactive maps and storytelling. Combining data visualization and storytelling, the platform promotes a comprehensive understanding of complex environmental data, including “invisible killers” such as air pollution and the urban heat island effect, which significantly affect sustainable development. The strategic integration of this web-based GIS platform in Bergen can serve as an attractive model for other urban areas looking for practical tools for sustainable development, engaging stakeholders for a healthier and more sustainable urban future.
Result D10 is available at this link and in repository.
Result D11: Data fusion technology/software package
The package scripts combine and interpolate provided heterogeneous datasets of high resolution (NETATMO data and PALM simulations). The software package accepts diverse meteorological data sets, namely, the meteorological observations from stations (here given by the NETATMO set of stations from the Bergen data collected for the project, see Esau,
2023) and results of PALM simulations (here, the PALM runs in large domain set2, see Esau et al., 2024). The package also utilized the digital elevation model (DEM) of the Norwegian Mapping Authorities provided in geo-tiff format.
Result D11 is available at this link and in repository.
Result D12: Article by Patiño et al.: "On the suitability of dispersion models of varying degree of complexity for air quality assessment and urban planning" submitted to Building and Environment, currently under review
This manuscript extends the original plan of the comparison of the LES and Gauss based models PALM and ATEM. With cooperation with the project ARAMIS, the third model GRAL based on Lagrangian approach was added to the comparison. These three modelling techniques with different levels of complexity were validated and compared during a wintertime episode with respect to PM10 concentrations measured in the area of Legerova and Sokolska streets in Prague characterized by a heavy traffic load.
Results indicated that, although the Gaussian model ATEM could comply with common statistical performance criteria, the predictions poorly represented the spatial variability of concentrations in the domain. The Lagrangian model GRAL provided a better simulation of the effect of terrain and the formation of vortices inside street canyons, but it tended to overpredict the influence of these phenomena. Finally, the most sophisticated Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model PALM, demonstrated the best performance considering an exhaustive analysis of the model outputs in the temporal and spatial dimensions. Apart from the validation, a sensitivity test of the selected models to driving meteorology and emission inputs was carried out. Even though advanced models have the capability to simulate complex urban environments, their suitability for urban planning is subject to further considerations, such as computational cost, user expertise and usefulness of the output provided. Due to increasing computation power and intensive work on the whole modelling chain, sophisticated models can become a routine tool for regulatory applications and be part of future integrated urban services.
Result D12 is available at this link and in repository.
Result D13: Article by Ezau et al.: "A city-scale turbulence-resolving model as an essential element of integrated urban services" submitted to Urban Climate, currently under review
In this paper, we consider urban LES in a broader context as a mature high-resolution model for integrated urban services (IUS), which is an initiative of the World Meteorological Organization that provides a modelling component for urban decision-support systems. A decision-support system requires iterations of quantitative information from knowledge providers and qualitative expert assessments from communities of practice. We present two pilot PALM-aided IUS from the “Turbulent-resolving urban modelling of air quality and thermal comfort” (TURBAN) project. One pilot has its focus on an air quality service contributing to a decision-support system of the port of Bergen, Norway. Another pilot contributes to air quality and thermal comfort services in Prague, Czech Republic. Co-production sessions with stakeholders in the TURBAN project identified critical enablers for urban LES in IUS. We also show benefits of IUS communication with a “storylines and simulations” (SAS) approach based on a web-based geoinformation system (WebGIS). Result D13 is available at this link and in repository.
Result D14: Web pages for dissemination of results
In the framework of the TURBAN project, an intuitive website, serving as a platform for presenting the project's outcomes to the public, was created. The website features the project's goals, the process of its implementation, specific tasks, as well as overall results, including links to publications published within the project.
Result D14 is available in repository.
Result D15: Series of workshops
The result D15 consists of a series of Norwegian and Czech workshops. In the days of 3rd to 5th April 2024, a series of workshops took place in the Norwegian cities of Bergen, Ålesund, and Trondheim. The workshops were intended for both professional and lay audiences, attended by people from universities, research institutions, as well as representatives from municipalities. Selected project results with implications for urban planning applications were presented at the workshops. The workshops were jointly organized by the TURBAN and URSA MAJOR projects.
The Prague workshop was held in the Small Hall of Profesní dům, Malostranské náměstí on the topic "Air quality and thermal comfort in the capital city of Prague" on November 6, 2023. The workshop was organized in a popular science form for both the employees of the Prague City Hall and the city districts of the capital city of Prague, both for professional and lay public. Thanks to the organization of the workshop, new areas of cooperation were identified and the requirements of local governments were clarified.
Result D15 for Prague is available here and for Bergen here.
Result D16: Article by Geletic et al.: "Monitoring a simulace kvality ovzduší v mikro-měřítkové úrovni; hot-spot Praha-Legerova"
Overview paper presenting main results of the project TURBAN to the experts on urban development and general public. The paper appeared in the journal Urbanismus a územní rozvoj. This journal is widely studied by staff of municipalities and other relevant persons. The paper is available in the published paper version of the journal, electronic author copy can be requested via library service available on this link.
Result D17: Maps of simulations and measurements for Prague
The new set of professional maps includes model output maps from the PALM model for Prague, specifically for the Legerova and Sokolská streets and their surroundings. Simulations of 6 selected episodes from various parts of the year are presented, with maps containing variables such as PET, UTCI, and concentrations of substances PM10, PM2.5, and for winter episodes S4 and S6 also NO and NO2 substances. Additionally, the file contains maps of measurements of NO, NO2, O3, PM10, and PM2.5 concentrations obtained from a sensor network and included in the TURDATA file (Result D01).
Result D17 is available at this link and in repository.
Result D18: Maps of detailed, spatially, and temporally resolved emissions for Prague
This new set of professional maps contains spatially and temporally resolved emission maps for Prague, specifically for the area of Legerova and Sokolská streets and their surroundings. These emissions serve as one of the inputs for the PALM model simulations of this area (Result D17). The emissions were generated based on the compilation of highly detailed data, which were subsequently processed by the FUME emission model. For instance, traffic emissions are derived from data collected by traffic counters and other detailed transportation data. The file represents currently the most accurate estimate of emissions for the given area and time period.
Result D18 is available at this link and in repository.
Result D19: Software for processing static data into PALM model inputs
PALM-GeM (Geospatial Data Merging and Preprocessing into PALM) is an advanced tool for PALM's static driver preparation. PALM-GeM is developed to work effectively with publicly available dataset in standard GIS format. This enables to prepare a static driver for most larger european cities in spatial resolution 5–10m. Current data sources are Urban Atlas, OpenStreepMap, EU-DEM. It is distributed under the GNU GPL v3+ license.
Result D19 is available from Bureš M., Resler J.: PALM-GeM: Geospatial Data Merging and Preprocessing into PALM. Software, 2024. Available here and in repository.
Result D20: Software for processing of the meteorological and air quality data into PALM model inputs
PALM-METEO is an advanced and modular tool to create PALM's dynamic driver with initial and boundary conditions (IBC) and other time-varying data, typically using (but not limited to) outputs from mesoscale models. It is distributed under the GNU GPL v3+ license.
This tool is currently able to process meteorological data from models WRF, ICON, Aladin and also create the synthetic inputs. The chemical data can be processed from the models CAMx and CAMS. It has a modular design and other sources of inputs can be easily added.
Result D20 is available from Krč et al.: PALM-METEO: Advanced modular tool for preparing meteorological inputs to the PALM model. Software, 2024. Available here and in repository. This software was also incorporated into the main branch of the model PALM and has already been published in the official PALM release version v.24.04 available here.
Result D21: The Web-GIS story including the results of the TURBAN project
The results of scientific work are often difficult for both expert and lay audiences interested in urban-related issues to understand. To facilitate the transfer of scientific results into practice, a new system of "stories" based on WebGIS technology has been created. These stories aim to highlight selected urban environment-related issues and research results that can help address them. The goal of this website is not to provide scientifically precise data, but rather to provide users with a basic orientation in an engaging manner through stories and direct them to relevant sources of information. Stories for Prague and Bergen are available here in English and here in Czech.
Result D21 is available in repository.
Result D22: Sensitivity assessment of scenario simulations for Bergen
The newly published data include a map infographic examining the sensitivities and uncertainties in scenario simulations for Bergen using the PALM model (Result D06). The maps present the model's responses to changes in critical simulation parameters, such as sensitivity to grid refinement. This sensitivity assessment provides important information for future design of simulation experiments and interpretation of their results. Additionally, this file briefly addresses questions posed by Norwegian stakeholders during a joint workshop of the TURBAN and URSAMajor projects in Bergen-Ålesund-Trondheim on April 3rd-5th, 2024.
Result D22 is available from: Esau, I. (2024). Sensitivity assessment of the scenario simulations (Bergen) (TURBAN - D22) (v1.0). Zenodo. Available here and in repository.