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posted by mrpg on Friday March 17 2017, @03:29PM   Printer-friendly
from the import-weathermodel dept.

new model developed at EPFL can help engineers and meteorologists quickly calculate the effect that city buildings have on local weather patterns. A blinds manufacturer is already interested in it, and climate scientists could be next.

The shape of city buildings, how they are arranged, and the heat they generate all affect the local weather. Being able to model the complicated processes involved doesn't only help meteorologists improve their city-weather forecasts, but also enables engineers improve the energy efficiency of the buildings they design.

The programs typically used to model such phenomena are onerous, time-consuming, and expensive to run. However, a study carried out in 2016 by EPFL's CRYOS laboratory showed the importance, as well as the complexity, of these calculations. At EPFL's Solar Energy and Building Physics Laboratory (LESO-PB), postdoc Dasaraden Mauree successfully simplified the equations to make them easier for engineers to use. He ran data from the city of Basel through his streamlined model, obtaining results and trends similar to those generated by a theoretical model as well as a more sophisticated model called LES. This study, with Mauree as the lead author, was published in Frontiers in Earth Science.

"Buildings are often built without taking into account the specific features of a city's weather patterns or the influence that city buildings can have on the weather. Our goal was to develop a program that combines modern weather forecasting models with models that measure the effect of heat released by buildings," Mauree said.

Some have proposed axial wind turbines on skyscrapers to tap into a city's ability to channel wind. Better modeling software like this might make that more practical.


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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by GreatOutdoors on Friday March 17 2017, @05:12PM

    by GreatOutdoors (6408) on Friday March 17 2017, @05:12PM (#480499)

    We have massive tornadoes here in Oklahoma, and they have been getting bigger every few years. Maybe this is part of that influence. I have noticed in the past that storms seem to form a line along I35 and I44.

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    Yes, I did make a logical argument there. You should post a logical response.
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