Mitigating urban heat islands in Augusta

UGA atmospheric sciences alumnus and the Georgia Climate Project have teamed with stakeholders to find solutions to mitigate urban heat islands in Georgia's Garden City:

“I was actually really surprised at the urban heat island effect that we found in Augusta,” said Max Appelbaum, UGA masters alum and Wyoming doctoral student.

Appelbaum wrote his masters thesis on the urban heat island effect in Augusta while attending the University of Georgia.

Buildings, roads and other types of infrastructure absorb heat throughout the day. Once the sun goes down that heat gets radiated back to the environment and keeps temperatures warmer than other surrounding areas.

For his thesis, Appelbaum chose eight different points around Augusta with differing land cover.

He then gathered data for those points using satellites, cars and even drones to see how temperatures changed.

“The size of Augusta definitely does show urban heat island effects, especially around the downtown area,” said Appelbaum. “Having that information will tell us a lot or can tell us a lot about vertical motion, which then initiates rainfall.”

Appelbaum’s former work on a study of the urban rain effect in Augusta showed a clear rain difference across the city. Higher totals were observed downwind of the city environment.

Great work by Applebaum, a former graduate student of Franklin College Associate Dean Marshall Shepherd and now PhD student at the University of Wyoming. Building connections between research and localities to positively impact vulnerable populations helps leverage science for the public good. 

Image courtesy of the Georgia Climate Project