Can Green Roofs Help Mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect? Jessica Gold Camille Tucker Brittany Edghill Jessica Gold Camille Tucker Brittany Edghill

Every year inner city residents suffer from the harmful effects of the

The Urban Heat Island Effect The Urban Heat Island Effect

The Urban Heat Island Effect Urban regions to become warmer than the rural surroundings Forms an “island” of higher temperature in the urban landscape

On a sunny day surfaces which are exposed, such as the pavement, and rooftops can have increased temperatures of 50° to 90°F higher than the air temperature Atmospheric Heat Island effect starts out weak during the early morning and throughout the day but become stronger after sunset because of the slow release of heat from the urban infrastructure.

Effects It has been estimated that the heat island effect is responsible for 5 to 10 percent of peak electricity demand for cooling buildings. Increasing energy demands leads to greater emissions of pollutants, greenhouse gases and gas emissions. This increase of pollution leads to health problems such as asthma and other respiratory problems. Runoff into streams and river which leads to increased temperatures in the aquatic system

In the daytime, the heat from the sun is absorbed into city buildings/dark surfaces & at night an “island” of heat forms over the city causing a increase in temperature.

Solutions Solutions Cool Roofs Cool Pavements Green Roofs

By adding vegetation, trees, flowers and other natural CO2 sinks, the urban heat island effect can be dramatically decreased.

Our Hypothesis Our Hypothesis We believe that green roofs would be the best solution for mitigating the urban heat island effect.

What is a Green Roof? A green roof is a vegetated roof cover, with growing media and plants taking the place of bare membrane, gravel ballast, shingles or tiles.

Many places have already installed Green Roofs, such as:

The Bank of America Tower The Bank of America Tower

Chicago’s City Hall Chicago’s City Hall

USPS Postal Building USPS Postal Building

Wal-mart Wal-mart

Our Experiment Our Experiment Collect Controlled data. Surface Temperature Air Temperature Emissivity Weather Conditions Light Reflection (LUX)

Control Data Control Data

Surface Temperature Point 1 (P1) Surface Temperature Point 2 (P2) Date Time Surface Temperature Point 1 (P1) Surface Temperature Point 2 (P2) Emissivity Air Temperature (F) Wind Speed Light (Lux) Weather Conditions 4/15/2010 10:49 86 101 84 1477 Sunny 4/16/2010 11:05 63.5 62 57.5 231 Cloudy 4/19/2010 11:00 128 125 77 1500 4/20/2010 11:15 119 114 82 1555 4/28/2010 65.5 68.5 61.1 220 5/3/2010 11:03 70.5 73.3 230 5/4/2010 11:40 114.5 115 87.5 1570 5/5/2010 149 151.5 91 SW at 5 mph 1639 5/14/2010 11:25 104.5 153.3 85 5/17/2010 74.5 5/18/2010 10:35 51 51.8 15 5/19/2010 64.9 5/20/2010 10:45 165 164.2 181.5 79 164 5/21/2010 11:33 162 161.5 163.4 95.1 E at 6mph 333 5/24/2010 10:54 85.5 97.5 91.1 76.6 83 5/25/2010 136 136.5 143.7 83.8 SSE at 7mph 302

What are we trying to prove? Collect Control Data Collect green roof data Compare the two. Did temperatures, emissivity, and light reflection increase or decrease?

Conclusion Conclusion In conclusion, although we won’t be able to see the final construction of a green roof on Brooklyn Technical high school, we believe our control data will be significant for future students. It will help them to prove our hypothesis that green roofs can in fact mitigate the urban heat island effect and lower various temperatures.