Urban Surface Temperature Reduction via the Urban Aerosol Direct Effect: A Remote Sensing and WRF Model Sensitivity Study

Figure 2

Land-cover averaged skin temperature for Beijing and New York City. (a) and (b) are land cover percentages for 0.6×0.6 box for Beijing (39.7°–40.3°N, 116.1°–116.7°E) and New York City (40.5°–41.1°N, 78.3°–74.4°W). Land cover type is defined in MODIS as (1) evergreen needleleaf forest, (2) evergreen broadleaf forest, (3) deciduous needleleaf forest, (4) deciduous broadleaf forest, (5) mixed forest, (6) closed shrubland, (7) open shrubland, (8) woody savannas, (9) savannas, (10) grassland, (11) permanent wetland, (12) croplands, (13) urban and built-up, (14) cropland/natural vegetation mosaic, (15) snow and ice, (16) barren or sparsely vegetated. (c) and (d) are skin temperature versus land cover in the 0.6^∘×0.6^∘ boxes for beijing and new york city, respectively.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)