Evidence of the effect of an urban heat island on air quality near a landfill

• Published in: Urban climate 2014-12, Vol.10, p.745-757
• Main Authors: Plocoste, T., Jacoby-Koaly, S., Molinié, J., Petit, R.H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Municipal solid waste; Ocean, Atmosphere; Sciences of the Universe; Urban breeze; Urban heat island
• ISSN: 2212-0955; 2212-0955
• DOI: 10.1016/j.uclim.2014.03.007

•The municipal solid waste (MSW) is sandwiched between the mangrove and inhabited areas.•There is an urban heat island in the area where the MSW is.•Urban breeze is responsible for the transport of VOCs from the MSW. In Guadeloupe (French West Indies), the main municipal solid waste is surrounded by highly urbanized areas. An urban heat island (UHI) behavior has been identified in the landfill environment. It has been measured and its intensity (up to more than 4°C) has been shown to be negatively correlated with nebulosity and Tradewinds strength. Conditions for urban breeze detection have been examined. The breeze westerly direction brought some cool air over the urban area. The urban breeze generated by this UHI should also be responsible for a nocturnal pollution from the VOCs emitted by the landfill. Two different methods have been proposed for the breeze intensity estimation. The calculated breeze intensity values, about 1ms−1, was of the same order of magnitude as measured wind data. Temperature measurements performed during 2weeks have shown no occurrence of temperature gradients between sea and land air masses, able to generate other breeze processes in the studied area.