An investigation of the urban heat island of Rome through a canyon-based subgrid scheme

This paper describes some modifications to a mesoscale model surface scheme to better account for urban heat-storage. The approach involves integrating the Subgrid Town Energy Budget (STEB) with the Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (RAMS). The integrated system has been applied to the investigation of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) of Rome, Italy, and the surrounding area (Lazio Region), including the coastal area abutting the Tyrrhenian Sea. The numerical results show an improvement in the simulation of the UHI of Rome compared with that obtained using the original LEAF3 scheme incorporated in RAMS.