The topic of how best to make weather observations in urban areas is a
topical one. A RMetS meeting on Monday week should be of interest to
many readers of this ng:

MONDAY 19th MARCH 2007: STANDARD URBAN MEASUREMENTS

at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham from
1100.

A meeting to discuss experiences with siting sensors to make urban
measurements for a range of applications

Programme
1100- Introduction and Welcome

1105- "Scale and criteria for siting of equipment and the new WMO
guidelines for urban areas" Sue Grimmond (King's College, London)
Urban areas present a challenging environment under which to take
measurements that may be 'routine' in many other environments. This
talk will consider issues of scale relative to the processes and
applications of interest and the implications for siting
instrumentation in urban areas. The new World Meteorological
Organization guidelines for siting instruments in urban areas will be
introduced.

1135- "Factors in siting instruments in the urban environment" Chris
Hall (Met Office, Observation Networks)
The presentation describes the observing systems deployed by the Met
Office in the urban environment to meet requirements for operational
forecasting. Some of the problems experienced are outlined and
examples are given that demonstrate the impact of the environment on
the measurement of temperature and wind. The presentation ends with a
brief overview of plans for improving the UK observing network in the
future, including the use of more remote sensing instruments and how
this may impact on monitoring urban areas.

1205- "UK urban air pollution monitoring" Paul Willis (AEA
Technology)
The siting of air quality monitors in the urban environment is key to
assessing public exposure to pollution. The number of monitors,
sampling height and distance from kerbside have to be balanced against
the difficulties with planning permission and vandalism. Turbulence in
the street canyon may also mean that highest concentrations are not
always measured where you would initially expect.

1235-1330 Lunch

1330- "Urban Measurements - Lessons from field trials and the COST 715
Action on Urban Meteorology" Doug Middleton (Met Office)
COST 715 was a European Action which studied current knowledge and
future research needs for 'Meteorology Applied to Urban Air Pollution
Problems'. It brought together scientists from over 20 countries to
pool their experience and to work together. This talk summarises the
work of COST 715, and lessons that can be drawn for urban
measurements.

1400- "Combining laboratory and theoretical modelling to aid siting
and understand results" Alan Robins (Surrey University)
The EPSRC funded DAPPLE project included field and wind tunnel
measurements and computational predictions of wind fields in and above
a central London street network (Marylebone Road - Gloucester Place).
Some features of these measurements will be discussed to illustrate
important aspects of local scale urban canopy winds and the relation
between local and "ideal" reference conditions will be discussed. The
essential combined role of wind tunnel and numerical simulations in
planning and supporting complex field work will be emphasised using
DAPPLE and previous power industry studies.

1430- "Measurements to support dispersion experiments" Janet Barlow
(Reading University)
Dispersion experiments in urban environments are a logistical and
scientific challenge. During the DAPPLE campaigns of 2003 and 2004
(www.dapple.org.uk), several controlled releases of gas were
conducted. This talk will cover the design behind and results from the
experiments, particularly with regard to the limited number of point
measurements which could be realised in the complex flow through the
streets of London.

1500-1530 Tea

1530- "Wind measurement requirements in relation to building design"
Andrew Quinn (Birmingham University)
Present design criteria for structures are based, by necessity, on a
wind map approach supported in some cases by model scale studies.
This, combined with the traditionally conservative approach of
structural engineers, produces safe buildings but hides a lack of
understanding about the wind environment in urban areas. This has been
highlighted by studies looking at the design and performance of
ventilation systems for buildings as well as the events during
particular storms. The challenge therefore is to develop a systematic
understanding of
the real wind environment, particularly turbulent high wind gusts and,
paradoxically, low wind conditions.

1600- "Measuring rainfall, soil moisture and drain flow in urban areas
to improve urban runoff prediction." John Packman (CEH Wallingford)
Design discharge rates for urban storm drainage are determined using
regional rainfall statistics and a model of the urban rainfall-runoff
process - covering surface detention, paved and pervious area runoff,
pipeflow, and to some extent interactions with groundwater. In
general, the impacts of urban development (heat islands, wind
turbulence, street canyons, etc) on regional rainfall statistics are
not considered, and there is no strong demand for urban climatological
stations. However, hydrometeorological measurements are required to
develop models of the urban runoff processes. CEH has long experience
of measuring rainfall and storm sewer flow rates, and this talk will
describe some of the instruments used and the issues involved (e.g.
representative sites, accuracy, risks of vandalism). Besides rainfall
and flow gauges, the new focus on reducing urban runoff by increasing
soakaway drainage has raised the need for soil moisture monitoring,
and the use of TDR probes will be described. It must be recognised
that the aim of these studies is not so much a detailed definition of
the processes themselves, but a sufficient understanding to provide an
acceptable model of runoff rate.

1630- Meeting Ends

The Civil Engineering Dept. is a 5 minutes walk from University
Railway station and there is pay and display car parking 10 minutes
walk away (90p all day). Registration is £10 for members of the
Observing Systems Group and students of the University of Birmingham,
£15 for others and includes drinks and a buffet lunch.

Booking forms can be obtained from The Royal Meteorological Society at
104, Oxford Road, Reading, Berks. RG1 7LL, Tel: 0118 956 8500, Email
, you can download a registration form from http://
www.rmets.org/pdf/mosapp.pdf or you can book securely online at
http://www.shop.rmets.org/product_info.php?
products_id=91&osCsid=dc80182ca117a9770cce7406af28 c1d1

Further information about the meeting can be obtained from the
Meeting
Organiser, Andrew Overton, Email: