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A. Solcerova
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One of the processes by which open water cools the air during hot summer days is by storing the heat and increasing its own temperature. This heat is then released at night. The aim of this paper is to analyze this cooling process by quantifying the magnitude of turbulent, latent and sensible, heat fluxes in comparison to radiative and ground fluxes. A detailed vertical temperature profile was measured in an urban pond (~70 cm deep with surface area of 3,627 m2) in Delft (NL) using Distributed Temperature Sensing for a period of one month. The results show that, from the total of 2.7 MJm−2 of heat released by the pond on an average summer night, 43% of the thermal energy is emitted as longwave radiation, 39% as latent energy, and only 11% as sensible heat. An additional 0.10–0.32 MJm−2 is transferred into the bottom of the lake. Temperature distribution and cooling of the water profile is influenced by weather conditions during the preceding day. This paper provides an insight into a behavioral pattern of an urban pond at night. The results can shed some light into the potential of urban bodies to increase the air temperature of their surroundings at night.
...
One of the processes by which open water cools the air during hot summer days is by storing the heat and increasing its own temperature. This heat is then released at night. The aim of this paper is to analyze this cooling process by quantifying the magnitude of turbulent, latent and sensible, heat fluxes in comparison to radiative and ground fluxes. A detailed vertical temperature profile was measured in an urban pond (~70 cm deep with surface area of 3,627 m2) in Delft (NL) using Distributed Temperature Sensing for a period of one month. The results show that, from the total of 2.7 MJm−2 of heat released by the pond on an average summer night, 43% of the thermal energy is emitted as longwave radiation, 39% as latent energy, and only 11% as sensible heat. An additional 0.10–0.32 MJm−2 is transferred into the bottom of the lake. Temperature distribution and cooling of the water profile is influenced by weather conditions during the preceding day. This paper provides an insight into a behavioral pattern of an urban pond at night. The results can shed some light into the potential of urban bodies to increase the air temperature of their surroundings at night.
HESS Opinions
Science in today's media landscape - Challenges and lessons from hydrologists and journalists
Journal article
(2018)
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Stefanie R. Lutz, Andrea Popp, Louise J. Slater, Anna Solcerova, Cathelijne R. Stoof, Matthias Zink, Tim Van Emmerik, Tom Gleeson, Liz Kalaugher, Karsten Möbius, Tonie Mudde, Brett Walton, Rolf Hut, Hubert Savenije
Media such as television, newspapers and social media play a key role in the communication between scientists and the general public. Communicating your science via the media can be positive and rewarding by providing the inherent joy of sharing your knowledge with a broader audience, promoting science as a fundamental part of culture and society, impacting decision- and policy-makers, and giving you a greater recognition by institutions, colleagues and funders. However, the interaction between scientists and journalists is not always straightforward. For instance, scientists may not always be able to translate their work into a compelling story, and journalists may sometimes misinterpret scientific output. In this paper, we present insights from hydrologists and journalists discussing the advantages and benefits as well as the potential pitfalls and aftermath of science-media interaction. As we perceive interacting with the media as a rewarding and essential part of our work, we aim to encourage scientists to participate in the diverse and evolving media landscape. With this paper, we call on the scientific community to support scientists who actively contribute to a fruitful science-media relationship..
...
Media such as television, newspapers and social media play a key role in the communication between scientists and the general public. Communicating your science via the media can be positive and rewarding by providing the inherent joy of sharing your knowledge with a broader audience, promoting science as a fundamental part of culture and society, impacting decision- and policy-makers, and giving you a greater recognition by institutions, colleagues and funders. However, the interaction between scientists and journalists is not always straightforward. For instance, scientists may not always be able to translate their work into a compelling story, and journalists may sometimes misinterpret scientific output. In this paper, we present insights from hydrologists and journalists discussing the advantages and benefits as well as the potential pitfalls and aftermath of science-media interaction. As we perceive interacting with the media as a rewarding and essential part of our work, we aim to encourage scientists to participate in the diverse and evolving media landscape. With this paper, we call on the scientific community to support scientists who actively contribute to a fruitful science-media relationship..
Journal article
(2018)
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Anna Solcerova, Tim van Emmerik, Koen Hilgersom, Frans van de Ven, Nick van de Giesen
The urban heat island effect was first described 200 years ago, but the development of ways to mitigate heat in urban areas reaches much further into the past. Uchimizu is a 17th century Japanese tradition, in which water is sprinkled around houses to cool the ground surface and air by evaporation. Unfortunately, the number of published studies that have quantified the cooling effects of uchimizu are limited and only use surface temperature or air temperature at a single height as a measure of the cooling effect. In this research, a dense three-dimensional Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) setup was used to measure air temperature with high spatial and temporal resolution within one cubic meter of air above an urban surface. Six experiments were performed to systematically study the effects of (1) the amount of applied water; (2) the initial surface temperature; and (3) shading on the cooling effect of uchimizu. The measurements showed a decrease in air temperature of up to 1.5 ◦C at a height of 2 m, and up to 6 ◦C for near-ground temperature. The strongest cooling was measured in the shade experiment. For water applied in quantities of 1 mm and 2 mm, there was no clear difference in cooling effect, but after application of a large amount of water (>5 mm), the strong near-ground cooling effect was approximately twice as high as when only 1 mm of water was applied. The dense measurement grid used in this research also enabled us to detect the rising turbulent eddies created by the heated surface.
...
The urban heat island effect was first described 200 years ago, but the development of ways to mitigate heat in urban areas reaches much further into the past. Uchimizu is a 17th century Japanese tradition, in which water is sprinkled around houses to cool the ground surface and air by evaporation. Unfortunately, the number of published studies that have quantified the cooling effects of uchimizu are limited and only use surface temperature or air temperature at a single height as a measure of the cooling effect. In this research, a dense three-dimensional Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) setup was used to measure air temperature with high spatial and temporal resolution within one cubic meter of air above an urban surface. Six experiments were performed to systematically study the effects of (1) the amount of applied water; (2) the initial surface temperature; and (3) shading on the cooling effect of uchimizu. The measurements showed a decrease in air temperature of up to 1.5 ◦C at a height of 2 m, and up to 6 ◦C for near-ground temperature. The strongest cooling was measured in the shade experiment. For water applied in quantities of 1 mm and 2 mm, there was no clear difference in cooling effect, but after application of a large amount of water (>5 mm), the strong near-ground cooling effect was approximately twice as high as when only 1 mm of water was applied. The dense measurement grid used in this research also enabled us to detect the rising turbulent eddies created by the heated surface.
Since more than half of the world population already lives in cities, it is important to understand the urban climate and its particularities. One of the typical aspects of urban areas is that cities are generally warmer than their rural surrounding. This phenomenon was first time described 200 years ago in the case of London and is commonly referred to as the Urban Heat Island (UHI). Urban heat island roots from a wide scale of factors typical for cities. Increased heat storage caused by higher specific heat capacities of construction materials together with darker color of urban surfaces, lack of vegetation and open water bodies, anthropogenic heat added by industry, traffic or air-conditioning, or the specific geometry of the street canyons are just few examples of how cities become warmer than rural areas. One of the often suggested ways to mitigate UHI is increasing evaporation by reintroducing vegetation and open water back to urban areas...
...
Since more than half of the world population already lives in cities, it is important to understand the urban climate and its particularities. One of the typical aspects of urban areas is that cities are generally warmer than their rural surrounding. This phenomenon was first time described 200 years ago in the case of London and is commonly referred to as the Urban Heat Island (UHI). Urban heat island roots from a wide scale of factors typical for cities. Increased heat storage caused by higher specific heat capacities of construction materials together with darker color of urban surfaces, lack of vegetation and open water bodies, anthropogenic heat added by industry, traffic or air-conditioning, or the specific geometry of the street canyons are just few examples of how cities become warmer than rural areas. One of the often suggested ways to mitigate UHI is increasing evaporation by reintroducing vegetation and open water back to urban areas...
Reporting negative results to stimulate experimental hydrology
Discussion of “The role of experimental work in hydrological sciences–insights from a community survey”*
Experimental work in hydrology is in decline. Based on a community survey, Blume et al. showed that the hydrological community associates experimental work with greater risks. One of the main issues with experimental work is the higher chance of negative results (defined here as when the expected or wanted result was not observed despite careful experimental design, planning and execution), resulting in a longer and more difficult publishing process. Reporting on negative results would avoid putting time and resources into repeating experiments that lead to negative results, and give experimental hydrologists the scientific recognition they deserve. With this commentary, we propose four potential solutions to encourage reporting on negative results, which might contribute to a stimulation of experimental hydrology.
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Experimental work in hydrology is in decline. Based on a community survey, Blume et al. showed that the hydrological community associates experimental work with greater risks. One of the main issues with experimental work is the higher chance of negative results (defined here as when the expected or wanted result was not observed despite careful experimental design, planning and execution), resulting in a longer and more difficult publishing process. Reporting on negative results would avoid putting time and resources into repeating experiments that lead to negative results, and give experimental hydrologists the scientific recognition they deserve. With this commentary, we propose four potential solutions to encourage reporting on negative results, which might contribute to a stimulation of experimental hydrology.
Journal article
(2018)
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Anna Solcerova, Tim van Emmerik, Frans van de Ven, John Selker, Nick van de Giesen
A phenomenon known as the skin effect-a layer of surface water that is colder than the water beneath it-was previously described in oceanography and verified in lab measurements. Only a few measurements have been done on the skin effect in field conditions, and therefore this phenomenon is relatively unknown. This paper presents measurements of the skin effect for three fresh water bodies in the Netherlands, Israel and Ghana. Using Distributed Temperature Sensing, high temporal and spatial resolution measurements were made below, at and above the air-water surface. Measurements presented in this study suggest that the skin effect of fresh water bodies is predominantly a daytime phenomenon and only occurs during low to zero wind speeds. The thickness of the skin effect was measured to be an order of magnitude larger than the previously assumed less than 1 mm.
...
A phenomenon known as the skin effect-a layer of surface water that is colder than the water beneath it-was previously described in oceanography and verified in lab measurements. Only a few measurements have been done on the skin effect in field conditions, and therefore this phenomenon is relatively unknown. This paper presents measurements of the skin effect for three fresh water bodies in the Netherlands, Israel and Ghana. Using Distributed Temperature Sensing, high temporal and spatial resolution measurements were made below, at and above the air-water surface. Measurements presented in this study suggest that the skin effect of fresh water bodies is predominantly a daytime phenomenon and only occurs during low to zero wind speeds. The thickness of the skin effect was measured to be an order of magnitude larger than the previously assumed less than 1 mm.
Journal article
(2017)
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Anna Solcerova, Frans van de Ven, Mengyu Wang, Michiel Rijsdijk, Nick van de Giesen
Rapid urbanization and an increasing number and duration of heat waves poses a need to mitigate extremely high temperatures. One of the repeatedly suggested measures to moderate the so called urban heat island are green roofs. This study investigates several extensive sedum-covered green roofs in Utrecht (NL) and their effect on air temperature right above the roof surface. The air temperature was measured 15 and 30 cm above the roof surface and also in the substrate. We showed that under well-watered conditions, the air above the green roof, compared to the white gravel roof, was colder at night and warmer during the day. This suggests that extensive sedum-covered green roofs might help decrease air temperatures at night, when the urban heat island is strongest, but possibly contribute to high daytime temperatures. The average 24 h effect of sedum-covered green roof was a 0.2 °C increase of air temperature 15 cm above the ground. During a dry year the examined green roof exhibited behavior similar to conventional white gravel roof even exhibited slight cooling effect in late afternoon. Interestingly, the pattern of soil temperature remained almost the same for both dry and well-prospering green roofs, colder during the day and warmer at night.
...
Rapid urbanization and an increasing number and duration of heat waves poses a need to mitigate extremely high temperatures. One of the repeatedly suggested measures to moderate the so called urban heat island are green roofs. This study investigates several extensive sedum-covered green roofs in Utrecht (NL) and their effect on air temperature right above the roof surface. The air temperature was measured 15 and 30 cm above the roof surface and also in the substrate. We showed that under well-watered conditions, the air above the green roof, compared to the white gravel roof, was colder at night and warmer during the day. This suggests that extensive sedum-covered green roofs might help decrease air temperatures at night, when the urban heat island is strongest, but possibly contribute to high daytime temperatures. The average 24 h effect of sedum-covered green roof was a 0.2 °C increase of air temperature 15 cm above the ground. During a dry year the examined green roof exhibited behavior similar to conventional white gravel roof even exhibited slight cooling effect in late afternoon. Interestingly, the pattern of soil temperature remained almost the same for both dry and well-prospering green roofs, colder during the day and warmer at night.
Abstract
(2017)
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Anna Solcerova, Tim van Emmerik, Koen Hilgersom, Frans van de Ven, Nick van de Giesen
The Urban Heat Island (UHI) was first described 200 years ago, but ways to mitigate heat in urban areas reach much further into the past. Uchimizu is a 17th century Japanese tradition, in which water is sprinkled around houses, temples, and in gardens to cool the ground surface and the air, and to settle the dust. Nowadays, megacities such as Tokyo are aiming to revive the - by modern technology suppressed - method, and uchimizu is promoted by local authorities as a "clever way to feel cool". Unfortunately, the number of published studies that have quantified the cooling effects of uchimizu is limited, and only uses measurements of the surface temperature, or air temperature at a single height, as a measure of the cooling effect. In this research a dense 3D Distributed Temperature Sensing
(DTS) setup was used to measure air temperature within once cubic meter of air above an urban surface with high spatial and temporal resolution. Six experiments were performed to systematically study the effect of (1) applied water amount, (2) initial surface temperature, and (3) shading on the cooling effect of uchimizu. We present the results and the subsequent analyses of these experiments, done during summer in Delft, The Netherlands. We show that this simple water sprinkling method has the potential to decrease extreme temperatures in impervious and paved parts of urban areas considerably. Besides mitigating the UHI, uchimizu practice is also an opportunity to increase awareness among citizens, and stimulate citizen participation in solving heat stress problems and energy saving. By providing refreshing insights on the cooling effect of uchimizu, we aim to contribute to the modern revival of this old tradition.
...
The Urban Heat Island (UHI) was first described 200 years ago, but ways to mitigate heat in urban areas reach much further into the past. Uchimizu is a 17th century Japanese tradition, in which water is sprinkled around houses, temples, and in gardens to cool the ground surface and the air, and to settle the dust. Nowadays, megacities such as Tokyo are aiming to revive the - by modern technology suppressed - method, and uchimizu is promoted by local authorities as a "clever way to feel cool". Unfortunately, the number of published studies that have quantified the cooling effects of uchimizu is limited, and only uses measurements of the surface temperature, or air temperature at a single height, as a measure of the cooling effect. In this research a dense 3D Distributed Temperature Sensing
(DTS) setup was used to measure air temperature within once cubic meter of air above an urban surface with high spatial and temporal resolution. Six experiments were performed to systematically study the effect of (1) applied water amount, (2) initial surface temperature, and (3) shading on the cooling effect of uchimizu. We present the results and the subsequent analyses of these experiments, done during summer in Delft, The Netherlands. We show that this simple water sprinkling method has the potential to decrease extreme temperatures in impervious and paved parts of urban areas considerably. Besides mitigating the UHI, uchimizu practice is also an opportunity to increase awareness among citizens, and stimulate citizen participation in solving heat stress problems and energy saving. By providing refreshing insights on the cooling effect of uchimizu, we aim to contribute to the modern revival of this old tradition.
Journal article
(2016)
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Koen Hilgersom, Tim van Emmerik, Anna Solcerova, Wouter Berghuijs, John Selker, Nick van de Giesen
Fibre optic distributed temperature sensing (DTS) is widely applied in Earth sciences. Many applications require a spatial resolution higher than that provided by the DTS instrument. Measurements at these higher resolutions can be achieved with a fibre optic cable helically wrapped on a cylinder. The effect of the probe construction, such as its material, shape, and diameter, on the performance has been poorly understood. In this article, we study data sets obtained from a laboratory experiment using different cable and construction diameters, and three field experiments using different construction characteristics. This study shows that the construction material, shape, diameter, and cable attachment method can have a significant influence on DTS temperature measurements. We present a qualitative and quantitative approximation of errors introduced through the choice of auxiliary construction, influence of solar radiation, coil diameter, and cable attachment method. Our results provide insight into factors that influence DTS measurements, and we present a number of solutions to minimize these errors. These practical considerations allow designers of future DTS measurement set-ups to improve their environmental temperature measurements.
...
Fibre optic distributed temperature sensing (DTS) is widely applied in Earth sciences. Many applications require a spatial resolution higher than that provided by the DTS instrument. Measurements at these higher resolutions can be achieved with a fibre optic cable helically wrapped on a cylinder. The effect of the probe construction, such as its material, shape, and diameter, on the performance has been poorly understood. In this article, we study data sets obtained from a laboratory experiment using different cable and construction diameters, and three field experiments using different construction characteristics. This study shows that the construction material, shape, diameter, and cable attachment method can have a significant influence on DTS temperature measurements. We present a qualitative and quantitative approximation of errors introduced through the choice of auxiliary construction, influence of solar radiation, coil diameter, and cable attachment method. Our results provide insight into factors that influence DTS measurements, and we present a number of solutions to minimize these errors. These practical considerations allow designers of future DTS measurement set-ups to improve their environmental temperature measurements.
Abstract
(2016)
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Nick van de Giesen, John Selker, Anna Solcerova, Wouter Berghuijs, C Sayde, CK Thomas, Chad Higgins, Bart Schilperoort, Miriam Coenders, Willem Luxemburg, Koen Hilgersom, Tim van Emmerik, Jothiram Vivekanandan
Over the past ten years, Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) has been applied for monitoring many different environmental processes, from groundwater movement, to seepage into streams and canals, to soil moisture, and internal waves in lakes. DTS uses optical fibres, along which temperatures are determined by measuring Raman shifts in light that scatters back after a laser pulse has been sent into the fiber. Over the past decade, performance of DTS equipment has dramatically improved. It is now possible to determine fiber temperatures with 0.05 K accuracy, for each 25 cm along a fiber optic cable. With typical spatial resolutions of 1 m, cable lengths can run up to 5 km. Accuracy improves with integration over longer sampling intervals, but measurements over 60 s can give 0.1 K accuracy with proper in-field calibration. DTS can also be used for atmospheric properties such as air temperature, vapor pressure, and wind speed. This presentation provides a complete overview of recent advances in atmospheric DTS observations. Air temperature is the simplest, as one simply has to suspend a fiber optic cable along the profile of interest. This can be from a balloon or along poles. Care has to be taken to correct for radiative heating of the cable. Using a thin white cable minimalizes radiative effects and normally brings the measured temperature to within 1 K of actual air temperature, sufficient for studies on effects of shading in natural and urban landscapes. It is also possible to correct for radiative heating by modeling in some detail the cable’s thermal behavior or by using two cables of different diameters. Supporting structures may also have an effect on cable temperatures, which should be minimized or corrected for. Water vapor can be measured by comparing the temperatures of wet and dry cables. These wet and dry bulb temperatures allow derivation of humidity profiles, which, in turn, allows for Bowen-ratio type of calculations of latent and sensible heat fluxes. This has proven especially useful in otherwise difficult to measure profiles such as through forest canopies. Wind speed can be measured by including a conductive element in the fiber optic cable and heating the cable actively by sending a current through that element. In effect, the cable then acts as a hot wire anemometer but then over long lengths of cable and with high spatial resolutions. When carefully executed, experiments with heated cables give very detailed insight into turbulent processes in the lower boundary. It is even possible to resolve bigger individual turbulent and sub-meso-scale eddies for studying fast evolving fluid flows (orders of seconds). A comprehensive overview of atmospheric applications will be presented, together with pitfalls, common errors, and practical tips to avoid those in the field.
...
Over the past ten years, Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) has been applied for monitoring many different environmental processes, from groundwater movement, to seepage into streams and canals, to soil moisture, and internal waves in lakes. DTS uses optical fibres, along which temperatures are determined by measuring Raman shifts in light that scatters back after a laser pulse has been sent into the fiber. Over the past decade, performance of DTS equipment has dramatically improved. It is now possible to determine fiber temperatures with 0.05 K accuracy, for each 25 cm along a fiber optic cable. With typical spatial resolutions of 1 m, cable lengths can run up to 5 km. Accuracy improves with integration over longer sampling intervals, but measurements over 60 s can give 0.1 K accuracy with proper in-field calibration. DTS can also be used for atmospheric properties such as air temperature, vapor pressure, and wind speed. This presentation provides a complete overview of recent advances in atmospheric DTS observations. Air temperature is the simplest, as one simply has to suspend a fiber optic cable along the profile of interest. This can be from a balloon or along poles. Care has to be taken to correct for radiative heating of the cable. Using a thin white cable minimalizes radiative effects and normally brings the measured temperature to within 1 K of actual air temperature, sufficient for studies on effects of shading in natural and urban landscapes. It is also possible to correct for radiative heating by modeling in some detail the cable’s thermal behavior or by using two cables of different diameters. Supporting structures may also have an effect on cable temperatures, which should be minimized or corrected for. Water vapor can be measured by comparing the temperatures of wet and dry cables. These wet and dry bulb temperatures allow derivation of humidity profiles, which, in turn, allows for Bowen-ratio type of calculations of latent and sensible heat fluxes. This has proven especially useful in otherwise difficult to measure profiles such as through forest canopies. Wind speed can be measured by including a conductive element in the fiber optic cable and heating the cable actively by sending a current through that element. In effect, the cable then acts as a hot wire anemometer but then over long lengths of cable and with high spatial resolutions. When carefully executed, experiments with heated cables give very detailed insight into turbulent processes in the lower boundary. It is even possible to resolve bigger individual turbulent and sub-meso-scale eddies for studying fast evolving fluid flows (orders of seconds). A comprehensive overview of atmospheric applications will be presented, together with pitfalls, common errors, and practical tips to avoid those in the field.