#climateequity — Public Fediverse posts

It is a common belief that higher elevations are naturally cooler. In pristine landscapes, this rule holds firm. But what about urban environments? Humanity moves vast amounts of matter and energy, sometimes fundamentally altering the thermodynamic parameters of our habitat.

🛰️ I correlated summer Land Surface Temperature (LST) data across Calgary’s neighborhoods with the Canadian Medium-Resolution Digital Elevation Model (MRDEM). The chart below illustrates the relationship between "Average Elevation" and "Average Surface Temperature" specifically for established residential communities. As observed, this relationship is notably weak, even though a slight cooling trend persists. Based on my data analysis, elevation above sea level is not a key factor in cooling the city.

#Calgary #OpenData #UrbanHeat #DataScience #ClimateAction #YYC #GreennesOfCalgary #ClimateEquity #EnvironmentalEquity #CityPlanning #RemoteSensing #RStats #Landsat #fossgis #DigitalElevationModel

💻 I took several completely independent datasets and "pitted" them against each other. One of the results is shown in this chart: the more "concrete" (roads, buildings, parking lots) my machine learning model identified in a community, the higher the surface temperature recorded by the thermal sensor.

🔥 The result: Data from different sources confirm one another. The difference in surface temperature between "green" and "concrete" residential areas averages 8–10°C throughout the summer. On certain days, this gap is likely even wider.

📉 This chart shows only established residential communities. If industrial zones were included, the trend would be even more dramatic. While modeling errors certainly exist, the overall physical pattern is undeniable.

#Calgary #OpenData #UrbanHeat #LULC #DataScience #ClimateAction #YYC #GreennesOfCalgary #ClimateEquity #EnvironmentalEquity #CityPlanning #MachineLearning #RemoteSensing #RStats #Sentinel1 #Sentinel2 #Landsat #fossgis