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Timothy R. Oke

Bio: Timothy R. Oke is an academic researcher from University of British Columbia. The author has contributed to research in topics: Urban heat island & Sensible heat. The author has an hindex of 67, co-authored 128 publications receiving 34630 citations. Previous affiliations of Timothy R. Oke include McMaster University & McGill University.


Papers
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Book
01 Jan 1978
TL;DR: This modern climatology textbook explains those climates formed near the ground in terms of the cycling of energy and mass through systems.
Abstract: This modern climatology textbook explains those climates formed near the ground in terms of the cycling of energy and mass through systems.

4,767 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Local Climate Zone (LCZ) classification system as discussed by the authors was developed to address the inadequacies of urban-rural description, and consists of 17 zone types at the local scale (102 to 104 m).
Abstract: The effect of urban development on local thermal climate is widely documented in scientific literature. Observations of urban–rural air temperature differences—or urban heat islands (UHIs)—have been reported for cities and regions worldwide, often with local field sites that are extremely diverse in their physical and climatological characteristics. These sites are usually described only as “urban” or “rural,” leaving much uncertainty about the actual exposure and land cover of the sites. To address the inadequacies of urban–rural description, the “local climate zone” (LCZ) classification system has been developed. The LCZ system comprises 17 zone types at the local scale (102 to 104 m). Each type is unique in its combination of surface structure, cover, and human activity. Classification of sites into appropriate LCZs requires basic metadata and surface characterization. The zone definitions provide a standard framework for reporting and comparing field sites and their temperature observations. The LCZ s...

2,340 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review the use of thermal remote sensing in the study of urban climates, focusing primarily on the urban heat island effect and progress made towards answering the methodological questions posed by Roth et al.

2,013 citations


Cited by
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Book
01 Sep 2011
TL;DR: In this paper, the Ecosystem Concept is used to describe the Earth's Climate System and Geology and Soils, and the ecosystem concept is used for managing and sustaining ecosystems.
Abstract: I. CONTEXT * The Ecosystem Concept * Earth's Climate System * Geology and Soils * II. MECHANISMS * Terrestrial Water and Energy Balance * Carbon Input to Terrestrial Ecosystems * Terrestrial Production Processes * Terrestrial Decomposition * Terrestrial Plant Nutrient Use * Terrestrial Nutrient Cycling * Aquatic Carbon and Nutrient Cycling * Trophic Dynamics * Community Effects on Ecosystem Processes * III. PATTERNS * Temporal Dynamics * Landscape Heterogeneity and Ecosystem Dynamics * IV. INTEGRATION * Global Biogeochemical Cycles * Managing and Sustaining Ecosystem * Abbreviations * Glossary * References

3,086 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed progress in urban climatology over the two decades since the first publication of the International Journal of Climatology (IJC) and highlighted the role of scale, heterogeneity, dynamic source areas for turbulent fluxes and the complexity introduced by the roughness sublayer over the tall, rigid roughness elements of cities.
Abstract: Progress in urban climatology over the two decades since the first publication of the International Journal of Climatology is reviewed. It is emphasized that urban climatology during this period has benefited from conceptual advances made in microclimatology and boundary-layer climatology in general. The role of scale, heterogeneity, dynamic source areas for turbulent fluxes and the complexity introduced by the roughness sublayer over the tall, rigid roughness elements of cities is described. The diversity of urban heat islands, depending on the medium sensed and the sensing technique, is explained. The review focuses on two areas within urban climatology. First, it assesses advances in the study of selected urban climatic processes relating to urban atmospheric turbulence (including surface roughness) and exchange processes for energy and water, at scales of consideration ranging from individual facets of the urban environment, through streets and city blocks to neighbourhoods. Second, it explores the literature on the urban temperature field. The state of knowledge about urban heat islands around 1980 is described and work since then is assessed in terms of similarities to and contrasts with that situation. Finally, the main advances are summarized and recommendations for urban climate work in the future are made. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society.

2,723 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors used satellite-observed night lights to identify measurement stations located in extreme darkness and adjust temperature trends of urban and periurban stations for nonclimatic factors, verifying that urban effects on analyzed global change are small.
Abstract: [1] We update the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) analysis of global surface temperature change, compare alternative analyses, and address questions about perception and reality of global warming. Satellite-observed night lights are used to identify measurement stations located in extreme darkness and adjust temperature trends of urban and periurban stations for nonclimatic factors, verifying that urban effects on analyzed global change are small. Because the GISS analysis combines available sea surface temperature records with meteorological station measurements, we test alternative choices for the ocean data, showing that global temperature change is sensitive to estimated temperature change in polar regions where observations are limited. We use simple 12 month (and n × 12) running means to improve the information content in our temperature graphs. Contrary to a popular misconception, the rate of warming has not declined. Global temperature is rising as fast in the past decade as in the prior 2 decades, despite year-to-year fluctuations associated with the El Nino-La Nina cycle of tropical ocean temperature. Record high global 12 month running mean temperature for the period with instrumental data was reached in 2010.

2,619 citations