Computational study of Klang Valley's urban climatology, and urbanisation of Putrajaya city, Malaysia

Urbanisation is associated with physical modifications of land surfaces and climate of a given area. Studies of urbanisation effect on urban climate of Klang Valley region is below par. This research aims to bridge the gap by using a coupled Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with the NOAH...

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Main Author: Morris, Kenobi Isima
Format: Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32890/
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author Morris, Kenobi Isima
author_facet Morris, Kenobi Isima
author_sort Morris, Kenobi Isima
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Urbanisation is associated with physical modifications of land surfaces and climate of a given area. Studies of urbanisation effect on urban climate of Klang Valley region is below par. This research aims to bridge the gap by using a coupled Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with the NOAH Land Surface Model (NOAH) and Urban Canopy Model (UCM) – WRF/NOAH/UCM to investigate the urban climatology of Klang Valley and the urbanisation of Putrajaya over a decade. In addition, evaluation of the garden city concept adopted in the development of Putrajaya city is also conducted. The model is first validated against a network of meteorological observations in the region to determine its suitability for urban climate investigations. Climatological variables (near-surface temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed) along with land use and land cover (LULC) changes; planetary boundary layer height (PBLH), and urban heat/cool islands (UHI/UCI) of the area are also investigated. The model evaluation shows good performance over the region. LULC changes demonstrates strong influence in thermal climatology variations. A mean maximum UHI intensity of ~4.2 ºC was observed in the urban canopy-layer of the Klang Valley. Results reveal that urbanisation of Putrajaya leads to 2-m temperature increase at the rate of ~1.66 ºC per decade, with the area experiencing a mean UHI intensity of ~2.1 ºC per day. Other climatological variables vary accordingly with the urbanisation processes. Evaluation of the garden city concept indicates that the adopted concept causes a reduction in 2-m air temperature of the Putrajaya area, amounting to ~0.53 ºC per day; with vegetation contributing more (~0.39 ºC) to the daily reduction relative to water bodies (~0.14 ºC). Location of the city in the tropics accustomed with high intensity of daily solar radiation masked the cooling potentials of the concept to some extent.
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spelling nottingham-328902025-02-28T11:47:32Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32890/ Computational study of Klang Valley's urban climatology, and urbanisation of Putrajaya city, Malaysia Morris, Kenobi Isima Urbanisation is associated with physical modifications of land surfaces and climate of a given area. Studies of urbanisation effect on urban climate of Klang Valley region is below par. This research aims to bridge the gap by using a coupled Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with the NOAH Land Surface Model (NOAH) and Urban Canopy Model (UCM) – WRF/NOAH/UCM to investigate the urban climatology of Klang Valley and the urbanisation of Putrajaya over a decade. In addition, evaluation of the garden city concept adopted in the development of Putrajaya city is also conducted. The model is first validated against a network of meteorological observations in the region to determine its suitability for urban climate investigations. Climatological variables (near-surface temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed) along with land use and land cover (LULC) changes; planetary boundary layer height (PBLH), and urban heat/cool islands (UHI/UCI) of the area are also investigated. The model evaluation shows good performance over the region. LULC changes demonstrates strong influence in thermal climatology variations. A mean maximum UHI intensity of ~4.2 ºC was observed in the urban canopy-layer of the Klang Valley. Results reveal that urbanisation of Putrajaya leads to 2-m temperature increase at the rate of ~1.66 ºC per decade, with the area experiencing a mean UHI intensity of ~2.1 ºC per day. Other climatological variables vary accordingly with the urbanisation processes. Evaluation of the garden city concept indicates that the adopted concept causes a reduction in 2-m air temperature of the Putrajaya area, amounting to ~0.53 ºC per day; with vegetation contributing more (~0.39 ºC) to the daily reduction relative to water bodies (~0.14 ºC). Location of the city in the tropics accustomed with high intensity of daily solar radiation masked the cooling potentials of the concept to some extent. 2016-07-23 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en arr https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32890/1/Kenobi%20I%20Morris%20-%20Final%20Thesis%20Submitted%20to%20UoN%20Ethesis%20Portal.pdf Morris, Kenobi Isima (2016) Computational study of Klang Valley's urban climatology, and urbanisation of Putrajaya city, Malaysia. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. urban climate urban climatology tropical climate tropical climatology WRF/Noah/UCM urban heat island urban cool island planetary boundary layer sea breezes urbanisation effect garden city concept garden city concept evaluation water and vegetation green city urban surface energy balance Klang Valley Malaysia planned cities
spellingShingle urban climate
urban climatology
tropical climate
tropical climatology
WRF/Noah/UCM
urban heat island
urban cool island
planetary boundary layer
sea breezes
urbanisation effect
garden city concept
garden city concept evaluation
water and vegetation
green city
urban surface energy balance
Klang Valley
Malaysia
planned cities
Morris, Kenobi Isima
Computational study of Klang Valley's urban climatology, and urbanisation of Putrajaya city, Malaysia
title Computational study of Klang Valley's urban climatology, and urbanisation of Putrajaya city, Malaysia
title_full Computational study of Klang Valley's urban climatology, and urbanisation of Putrajaya city, Malaysia
title_fullStr Computational study of Klang Valley's urban climatology, and urbanisation of Putrajaya city, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Computational study of Klang Valley's urban climatology, and urbanisation of Putrajaya city, Malaysia
title_short Computational study of Klang Valley's urban climatology, and urbanisation of Putrajaya city, Malaysia
title_sort computational study of klang valley's urban climatology, and urbanisation of putrajaya city, malaysia
topic urban climate
urban climatology
tropical climate
tropical climatology
WRF/Noah/UCM
urban heat island
urban cool island
planetary boundary layer
sea breezes
urbanisation effect
garden city concept
garden city concept evaluation
water and vegetation
green city
urban surface energy balance
Klang Valley
Malaysia
planned cities
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32890/