Near-ground cooling efficacies of trees and high-albedo surfaces Page: 2 of 164
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Abstract
Near-Ground Cooling Efficacies of Trees and High-Albedo Surfaces
by
Ronnen Michael Levinson
Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering-Mechanical Engineering
University of California, Berkeley
Professor Van P. Carey, Chair
Daytime summer urban heat islands arise when the prevalence of dark-colored surfaces
and lack of vegetation make a city warmer than neighboring countryside. Two frequently-
proposed summer heat island mitigation measures are to plant trees and to increase the
albedo (solar reflectivity) of ground surfaces. This dissertation examines the effects of
these measures on the surface temperature of an object near the ground, and on solar heat-
ing of air near the ground. Near-ground objects include people, vehicles, and buildings.
The variation of the surface temperature of a near-ground object with ground albedo indi-
cates that a rise in ground albedo will cool a near-ground object only if the object's albedo
exceeds a critical value. This critical value of object albedo depends on wind speed, object
geometry, and the height of the atmospheric thermal boundary layer. It ranges from 0.15 to
0.37 for a person. If an object has typical albedo of 0.3, increasing the ground albedo by1
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Levinson, R.M. Near-ground cooling efficacies of trees and high-albedo surfaces, thesis or dissertation, May 1, 1997; California. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc716113/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.