Tim Oke
Department of Geography
University of British Columbia
Starting from some early work in Montreal, the lecture traces some
developments in urban meteorology as it has progressed to become a
quantitative and predictive field. This path necessitated the development
and testing of conceptualizations of the city system. An original
hypothesis, that the apparent inhomogeneity and complexity of the city
could be handled if the scale of enquiry was adjusted appropriately, is
shown to be largely correct. As a result the use of modified versions of
micrometeorological techniques have allowed repeatable measurements of
urban surface-atmosphere exchanges to be gathered. This is now at the
stage where a good picture of heat exchanges and energy balances is
emerging from many cities around the world. These are being used to
develop parameterizations and to test urban climate models. Difficulties
remain but the field is poised to launch into fruitful collaborations with
the meso- and synoptic scale forecast and air quality modeling
communities, and work towards intelligent use of satellite remote sensing,
and contribute to a range of real world applications.