The past few months have been productive for the CityCLIM project, filled with crucial background work on the UltraHD services, the General City Climate Platform (GCCP), and the reporting of project results. Here's a closer look at what we've been working on:
Deliverables
The CityCLIM team has been diligently preparing the periodic report for M18. This includes comprehensive financial statements from all project partners and a detailed technical report outlining all developments and key achievements towards the project's goals so far.
CityCLIM Progress and Activities
In recent months, significant progress has been made in several areas:
Pilot Cities' Weather Stations: The pilot cities, particularly Thessaloniki and Luxembourg, have been actively involved in setting up weather stations or determining suitable locations for them. This has involved discussions with local stakeholders and obtaining the necessary permissions for installation.
Citizen Climate Knowledge Services: The consortium has been engaging with city stakeholders to understand how the planned Citizen Climate Knowledge Services can be effectively integrated into the pilot cities' systems. These services are intended to be disseminated directly through the cities' channels.
UltraHD Nests and API Endpoints: New UltraHD nests and API endpoints have been developed and connected to the GCCP. The UltraHD now includes operational runs for Karlsruhe and Luxembourg, marking an important step in the project's progress.
Citizen Science Equipment: The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) has been assembling and conducting quality tests on 40 Citizen Science equipment Sense Boxes. These will be used for upcoming Citizen Science campaigns, enabling local communities to actively participate in climate data collection and monitoring.
These activities represent a significant advancement towards CityCLIM's goals of developing robust urban climate services and tools that can be utilized by both city administrators and citizens. As we move forward, the team remains focused on continuing this momentum and further integrating these solutions into the pilot cities.
Key Features of the UltraHD Model
Compressible LES Model: Unlike traditional non-hydrostatic models, the UltraHD model is compressible, meaning it can resolve low-frequency pressure waves in the atmosphere. This allows for more accurate and detailed simulations of atmospheric dynamics.
High-Resolution Grid: The model domain consists of 5 million grid cells at 100-meter resolution, which provides a very detailed view of weather patterns. The model operates with an explicit time step of 1/6th of a second, making it highly responsive to rapid atmospheric changes.
Energy-Efficient Computation: Despite its complexity, the UltraHD model is remarkably energy-efficient. It uses a single GPU with a power consumption of about 330 watts. This is highly efficient for such a high-performance computational application, which currently takes around 18 hours to complete a 48-hour forecast.
Output and Analysis
The model's output is distributed to the General City Climate Platform (GCCP)Â for further analysis. This output is available in the form of visual map overlays and numerical values for time series analysis. One of the standout features of this model is its high temporal resolution, with data output every 5 minutes. This frequency allows for the explicit representation of boundary layer turbulence, providing a much finer temporal granularity than standard weather models, which typically provide hourly outputs.
Detailed Weather Studies Enabled by UltraHD
The UltraHD model's high-resolution capabilities allow for detailed studies of specific weather events. For example:
Afternoon Convection During Hot Summer Days: The model can capture the formation and development of convective cells that often occur in the afternoon due to daytime heating.
Passage of a Small Cold Front: The model's resolution and temporal output allow for the detailed examination of the dynamics of a cold front as it moves through the area, providing valuable insights for weather prediction and climate analysis.
These advancements make the UltraHD model a powerful tool for understanding and forecasting complex weather phenomena at an urban scale. The ongoing work to enhance its capabilities and integrate it with other components of the CityCLIM project continues to push the boundaries of urban climate modeling.
Citizen Science Actions: Preparing Climate Sensors for Pilot Cities
The CityCLIM team has been hard at work conducting quality control tests on the citizen science climate sensors before they are dispatched to the pilot cities. These sensors are a key component of our Citizen Climate Knowledge Services, enabling local communities to actively participate in climate monitoring and data collection.
Quality Control and Testing at UFZ
Currently, 40 assembled at-home weather stations are set up in the technical hall at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ). These weather stations will soon be moved to the green roof of UFZ, where data will be collected and monitored to ensure all systems are working properly and delivering accurate readings.
This step is crucial as it allows us to perform rigorous quality control checks. We want to ensure that once these stations are deployed in the pilot cities, they provide reliable and high-quality data. After the testing phase, the stations will be disassembled, packed, and shipped off to their respective pilot cities.
Next Steps for Citizen Science Initiatives
These climate sensors will play an essential role in engaging citizens in climate science, allowing them to contribute valuable data for local climate analysis. The data collected from these weather stations will be integrated into the CityCLIM framework, providing crucial insights into urban climate dynamics and helping to develop localized climate adaptation strategies.
Amateur weather stations to be used for Citizen Science activities.
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