[{"keyword":["Benchmark","Energy balance","Intercomparison","Model evaluation","Urban climate","Urban meteorology"],"publication_status":"published","day":"01","fulldoi":"https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4589","OA_place":"publisher","abstract":[{"text":"Accurately predicting weather and climate in cities is critical for safeguarding human health and strengthening urban resilience. Multimodel evaluations can lead to model improvements; however, there have been no major intercomparisons of urban-focussed land surface models in over a decade. Here, in Phase 1 of the Urban-PLUMBER project, we evaluate the ability of 30 land surface models to simulate surface energy fluxes critical to atmospheric meteorological and air quality simulations. We establish minimum and upper performance expectations for participating models using simple information-limited models as benchmarks. Compared with the last major model intercomparison at the same site, we find broad improvement in the current cohort's predictions of short-wave radiation, sensible and latent heat fluxes, but little or no improvement in long-wave radiation and momentum fluxes. Models with a simple urban representation (e.g., ‘slab’ schemes) generally perform well, particularly when combined with sophisticated hydrological/vegetation models. Some mid-complexity models (e.g., ‘canyon’ schemes) also perform well, indicating efforts to integrate vegetation and hydrology processes have paid dividends. The most complex models that resolve three-dimensional interactions between buildings in general did not perform as well as other categories. However, these models also tended to have the simplest representations of hydrology and vegetation. Models without any urban representation (i.e., vegetation-only land surface models) performed poorly for latent heat fluxes, and reasonably for other energy fluxes at this suburban site. Our analysis identified widespread human errors in initial submissions that substantially affected model performances. Although significant efforts are applied to correct these errors, we conclude that human factors are likely to influence results in this (or any) model intercomparison, particularly where participating scientists have varying experience and first languages. These initial results are for one suburban site, and future phases of Urban-PLUMBER will evaluate models across 20 sites in different urban and regional climate zones.","lang":"eng"}],"article_type":"original","OA_type":"hybrid","author":[{"full_name":"Lipson, Mathew J.","first_name":"Mathew J.","last_name":"Lipson"},{"full_name":"Grimmond, Sue","first_name":"Sue","last_name":"Grimmond"},{"last_name":"Best","first_name":"Martin","full_name":"Best, Martin"},{"last_name":"Abramowitz","first_name":"Gab","full_name":"Abramowitz, Gab"},{"last_name":"Coutts","first_name":"Andrew","full_name":"Coutts, Andrew"},{"first_name":"Nigel","full_name":"Tapper, Nigel","last_name":"Tapper"},{"last_name":"Baik","first_name":"Jong‐Jin","full_name":"Baik, Jong‐Jin"},{"first_name":"Meiring","full_name":"Beyers, Meiring","last_name":"Beyers"},{"last_name":"Blunn","first_name":"Lewis","full_name":"Blunn, Lewis"},{"full_name":"Boussetta, Souhail","first_name":"Souhail","last_name":"Boussetta"},{"last_name":"Bou‐Zeid","first_name":"Elie","full_name":"Bou‐Zeid, Elie"},{"first_name":"Martin G.","full_name":"De Kauwe, Martin G.","last_name":"De Kauwe"},{"last_name":"de Munck","first_name":"Cécile","full_name":"de Munck, Cécile"},{"last_name":"Demuzere","first_name":"Matthias","full_name":"Demuzere, Matthias"},{"full_name":"Fatichi, Simone","first_name":"Simone","id":"cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6","last_name":"Fatichi"},{"first_name":"Krzysztof","full_name":"Fortuniak, Krzysztof","last_name":"Fortuniak"},{"first_name":"Beom‐Soon","full_name":"Han, Beom‐Soon","last_name":"Han"},{"last_name":"Hendry","full_name":"Hendry, Margaret A.","first_name":"Margaret A."},{"last_name":"Kikegawa","full_name":"Kikegawa, Yukihiro","first_name":"Yukihiro"},{"last_name":"Kondo","first_name":"Hiroaki","full_name":"Kondo, Hiroaki"},{"last_name":"Lee","first_name":"Doo‐Il","full_name":"Lee, Doo‐Il"},{"last_name":"Lee","full_name":"Lee, Sang‐Hyun","first_name":"Sang‐Hyun"},{"first_name":"Aude","full_name":"Lemonsu, Aude","last_name":"Lemonsu"},{"first_name":"Tiago","full_name":"Machado, Tiago","last_name":"Machado"},{"first_name":"Gabriele","full_name":"Manoli, Gabriele","last_name":"Manoli"},{"first_name":"Alberto","full_name":"Martilli, Alberto","last_name":"Martilli"},{"last_name":"Masson","first_name":"Valéry","full_name":"Masson, Valéry"},{"last_name":"McNorton","full_name":"McNorton, Joe","first_name":"Joe"},{"full_name":"Meili, Naika","first_name":"Naika","last_name":"Meili"},{"last_name":"Meyer","first_name":"David","full_name":"Meyer, David"},{"full_name":"Nice, Kerry A.","first_name":"Kerry A.","last_name":"Nice"},{"last_name":"Oleson","first_name":"Keith W.","full_name":"Oleson, Keith W."},{"first_name":"Seung‐Bu","full_name":"Park, Seung‐Bu","last_name":"Park"},{"last_name":"Roth","full_name":"Roth, Michael","first_name":"Michael"},{"full_name":"Schoetter, Robert","first_name":"Robert","last_name":"Schoetter"},{"first_name":"Andrés","full_name":"Simón‐Moral, Andrés","last_name":"Simón‐Moral"},{"first_name":"Gert‐Jan","full_name":"Steeneveld, Gert‐Jan","last_name":"Steeneveld"},{"full_name":"Sun, Ting","first_name":"Ting","last_name":"Sun"},{"full_name":"Takane, Yuya","first_name":"Yuya","last_name":"Takane"},{"first_name":"Marcus","full_name":"Thatcher, Marcus","last_name":"Thatcher"},{"first_name":"Aristofanis","full_name":"Tsiringakis, Aristofanis","last_name":"Tsiringakis"},{"first_name":"Mikhail","full_name":"Varentsov, Mikhail","last_name":"Varentsov"},{"first_name":"Chenghao","full_name":"Wang, Chenghao","last_name":"Wang"},{"last_name":"Wang","first_name":"Zhi‐Hua","full_name":"Wang, Zhi‐Hua"},{"last_name":"Pitman","first_name":"Andy J.","full_name":"Pitman, Andy J."}],"scopus_import":"1","publisher":"Wiley","oa":1,"intvolume":"       150","date_updated":"2026-08-12T08:53:18Z","doi":"10.1002/qj.4589","tmp":{"name":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)","legal_code_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","image":"/images/cc_by.png","short":"CC BY (4.0)"},"citation":{"ieee":"M. J. Lipson <i>et al.</i>, “Evaluation of 30 urban land surface models in the Urban-PLUMBER project: Phase 1 results,” <i>Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society</i>, vol. 150, no. 758. Wiley, pp. 126–169, 2024.","apa":"Lipson, M. J., Grimmond, S., Best, M., Abramowitz, G., Coutts, A., Tapper, N., … Pitman, A. J. (2024). Evaluation of 30 urban land surface models in the Urban-PLUMBER project: Phase 1 results. <i>Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society</i>. Wiley. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4589\">https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4589</a>","chicago":"Lipson, Mathew J., Sue Grimmond, Martin Best, Gab Abramowitz, Andrew Coutts, Nigel Tapper, Jong‐Jin Baik, et al. “Evaluation of 30 Urban Land Surface Models in the Urban-PLUMBER Project: Phase 1 Results.” <i>Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society</i>. Wiley, 2024. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4589\">https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4589</a>.","short":"M.J. Lipson, S. Grimmond, M. Best, G. Abramowitz, A. Coutts, N. Tapper, J. Baik, M. Beyers, L. Blunn, S. Boussetta, E. Bou‐Zeid, M.G. De Kauwe, C. de Munck, M. Demuzere, S. Fatichi, K. Fortuniak, B. Han, M.A. Hendry, Y. Kikegawa, H. Kondo, D. Lee, S. Lee, A. Lemonsu, T. Machado, G. Manoli, A. Martilli, V. Masson, J. McNorton, N. Meili, D. Meyer, K.A. Nice, K.W. Oleson, S. Park, M. Roth, R. Schoetter, A. Simón‐Moral, G. Steeneveld, T. Sun, Y. Takane, M. Thatcher, A. Tsiringakis, M. Varentsov, C. Wang, Z. Wang, A.J. Pitman, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 150 (2024) 126–169.","ista":"Lipson MJ, Grimmond S, Best M, Abramowitz G, Coutts A, Tapper N, Baik J, Beyers M, Blunn L, Boussetta S, Bou‐Zeid E, De Kauwe MG, de Munck C, Demuzere M, Fatichi S, Fortuniak K, Han B, Hendry MA, Kikegawa Y, Kondo H, Lee D, Lee S, Lemonsu A, Machado T, Manoli G, Martilli A, Masson V, McNorton J, Meili N, Meyer D, Nice KA, Oleson KW, Park S, Roth M, Schoetter R, Simón‐Moral A, Steeneveld G, Sun T, Takane Y, Thatcher M, Tsiringakis A, Varentsov M, Wang C, Wang Z, Pitman AJ. 2024. Evaluation of 30 urban land surface models in the Urban-PLUMBER project: Phase 1 results. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. 150(758), 126–169.","mla":"Lipson, Mathew J., et al. “Evaluation of 30 Urban Land Surface Models in the Urban-PLUMBER Project: Phase 1 Results.” <i>Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society</i>, vol. 150, no. 758, Wiley, 2024, pp. 126–69, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4589\">10.1002/qj.4589</a>.","ama":"Lipson MJ, Grimmond S, Best M, et al. Evaluation of 30 urban land surface models in the Urban-PLUMBER project: Phase 1 results. <i>Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society</i>. 2024;150(758):126-169. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4589\">10.1002/qj.4589</a>"},"publication":"Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society","volume":150,"type":"journal_article","issue":"758","das_tickbox":"1","oa_version":"Published Version","title":"Evaluation of 30 urban land surface models in the Urban-PLUMBER project: Phase 1 results","user_id":"ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd","article_processing_charge":"No","date_created":"2026-07-27T12:30:25Z","date_published":"2024-01-01T00:00:00Z","language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"publication_identifier":{"issn":["0035-9009"],"eissn":["1477-870X"]},"month":"01","extern":"1","_id":"22583","status":"public","quality_controlled":"1","year":"2024","page":"126-169","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","main_file_link":[{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4589","open_access":"1"}]},{"article_type":"letter_note","author":[{"last_name":"Meili","full_name":"Meili, Naika","first_name":"Naika"},{"last_name":"Paschalis","full_name":"Paschalis, Athanasios","first_name":"Athanasios"},{"last_name":"Manoli","full_name":"Manoli, Gabriele","first_name":"Gabriele"},{"last_name":"Fatichi","id":"cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6","full_name":"Fatichi, Simone","first_name":"Simone"}],"OA_type":"gold","publication_status":"published","day":"09","keyword":["Urban dry island","Urban moisture island","Urban heat island","Urban climate","Urbanization effects","Humidity"],"abstract":[{"text":"Urban heat islands (UHIs) are a widely studied phenomenon, while research on urban-rural differences in humidity, the so called urban dry or moisture islands (UDIs, UMIs), is less common and a large-scale quantification of the seasonal and diurnal patterns of the UDI is still lacking. However, quantification of the UDI/UMI effect is essential to understand the impacts of humidity on outdoor thermal comfort, building energy consumption, and urban ecology in cities worldwide. Here, we use a set of globally distributed air temperature and humidity measurements (1089 stations) to quantify diurnal and seasonal patterns of UHI and UDI resulting from rapid urbanization over many regions of the world. The terms ‘absolute UDI’ and ‘relative UDI’ are defined, which quantify urban–rural differences in actual and relative humidity metrics, respectively.\r\n\r\nResults show that absolute UDI is largest during daytime with the peak humidity decrease in urban areas occurring during late afternoon hours. In contrast, relative UDI is largest during night and the peak urban relative humidity (RH) decrease and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) increase occurs in the late evening hours with values of around −10% to −11% for RH and 2.9–3.6 hPa for VPD between 20–00 local time during summer. Relative and absolute UDIs are largest during the warm season, except for daytime RH UDI, which does not show any seasonal pattern. In agreement with literature, canopy air UHI is shown to be a nighttime phenomenon, which is larger during summer than winter. Relative UDI is predominantly caused by changes in actual humidity during day and UHI during nighttime.","lang":"eng"}],"OA_place":"publisher","fulldoi":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f8","citation":{"ista":"Meili N, Paschalis A, Manoli G, Fatichi S. 2022. Diurnal and seasonal patterns of global urban dry islands. Environmental Research Letters. 17(5), 054044.","short":"N. Meili, A. Paschalis, G. Manoli, S. Fatichi, Environmental Research Letters 17 (2022).","ama":"Meili N, Paschalis A, Manoli G, Fatichi S. Diurnal and seasonal patterns of global urban dry islands. <i>Environmental Research Letters</i>. 2022;17(5). doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f8\">10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f8</a>","mla":"Meili, Naika, et al. “Diurnal and Seasonal Patterns of Global Urban Dry Islands.” <i>Environmental Research Letters</i>, vol. 17, no. 5, 054044, IOP Publishing, 2022, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f8\">10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f8</a>.","chicago":"Meili, Naika, Athanasios Paschalis, Gabriele Manoli, and Simone Fatichi. “Diurnal and Seasonal Patterns of Global Urban Dry Islands.” <i>Environmental Research Letters</i>. IOP Publishing, 2022. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f8\">https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f8</a>.","apa":"Meili, N., Paschalis, A., Manoli, G., &#38; Fatichi, S. (2022). Diurnal and seasonal patterns of global urban dry islands. <i>Environmental Research Letters</i>. IOP Publishing. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f8\">https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f8</a>","ieee":"N. Meili, A. Paschalis, G. Manoli, and S. Fatichi, “Diurnal and seasonal patterns of global urban dry islands,” <i>Environmental Research Letters</i>, vol. 17, no. 5. IOP Publishing, 2022."},"article_number":"054044","das_tickbox":"1","issue":"5","type":"journal_article","DOAJ_listed":"1","publication":"Environmental Research Letters","volume":17,"oa":1,"scopus_import":"1","publisher":"IOP Publishing","tmp":{"name":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)","legal_code_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","image":"/images/cc_by.png","short":"CC BY (4.0)"},"doi":"10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f8","intvolume":"        17","date_updated":"2026-08-06T11:57:54Z","date_published":"2022-05-09T00:00:00Z","date_created":"2026-07-27T12:30:24Z","title":"Diurnal and seasonal patterns of global urban dry islands","oa_version":"Published Version","article_processing_charge":"No","user_id":"ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd","status":"public","year":"2022","quality_controlled":"1","main_file_link":[{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f8","open_access":"1"}],"month":"05","publication_identifier":{"eissn":["1748-9326"]},"language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"_id":"22537","extern":"1"}]