Spatial Distribution of Urban Heat Island based on Local Climate Zone of Automatic Weather Station in Seoul Metropolitan Area

Urban Heat Island (UHI) intensity is one of vital parameters in studying urban boundary layer meteorology as well as urban planning. Because the UHI intensity is defined as air temperature difference between urban and rural sites, an objective sites selection criterion is necessary for proper quantification of the spatial variations of the UHI intensity. This study quantified the UHI intensity and its spatial pattern, and then analyzed their connections with urban structure and metabolism in Seoul metropolitan area where many kinds of land use and land cover types coexist. In this study, screen-level temperature data in non-precipitation day conditions observed from 29 automatic weather stations (AWS) in Seoul were analyzed to delineate the characteristics of UHI. For quality control of the data, gap test, limit test, and step test based on guideline of World Meteorological Organization were conducted. After classifying all stations by their own local climatological properties, UHI intensity and diurnal temperature range (DTR) are calculated, and then their seasonal patterns are discussed. Maximum UHI intensity was in autumn and minimum was in spring. Maximum DTR appeared in autumn as , but minimum was in summer. UHI intensity and DTR showed large variations with different local climate zones. Despite limited information on accuracy and exposure errors of the automatic weather stations, the observed data from AWS network represented theoretical UHI intensities with difference local climate zone in Seoul.