Biometeorology parameters

With r3XXX a Biometeorology Module (Biometeorology_Mod) was implemented in PALM. It contains the two Models Human Thermal Comfort Model (HTCM) and UV Exposure Model (UVEM). For both models exist only one Namelist. However, for a better overview the input parameters of the two Models are described seperatly.

The module is enabled as soon as the NAMELIST biometeorology_parameters exists.

Human Thermal Comfort Model

Overview

The human thermal comfort model can provide spatially distributed values of the three thermal indices

• Perceived Temperature (PERCT, see Staiger et al. (2012))
• Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI, see Jendritzky et al. (2012))
• Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET, see Höppe (1993))

that describe thermal perception / thermal stress of a sample human being under the local meteorological conditions.

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The calculation of thermal indices can be switched on by setting the flag thermal_comfort in the namelist "biometeorology_parameters" (the default is .FALSE.! If you want palm to calculate thermal comfort indices, add

&biometeorology_parameters

thermal_comfort = .TRUE.,

/

in your <projectname>p3d file!).

The calculation of the individual indices is automatically enabled or disabled by the output settings. This of course requires the Biomet_Mod to be enabled (see above).

Calculating thermal indices does require input data from both, the humidity and the ​''radiation module''.

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Parameter list

NAMELIST group name: biometeorology_parameters

Parameter Name	FORTRAN Type	Default Value	Explanation
thermal_comfort	L	.F.	Switch the calculation of thermal comfort indices off (.F.) or on (.T.).

Output

Output by the Biomet_Mod is always two dimensional and is provided for the cell level closest to 1.1 m above ground level. All parameters are available for instantaneous and time-averaged input. A list of output quantities can be found below. Output is written to a 2d xy file, where only the layer z=0 will be used. To enable the output of the given quantity, please add

Quantity name	Meaning	Unit	input type (instantaneous or averaged)	output file (2d or 3d)
'bio_perct*_xy'	Perceived Temperature	°C	instantanious input	2d (xy) file
'bio_pet*_xy'	Physiologically Equivalent Temperature	°C	instantanious input	2d (xy) file
'bio_utci*_xy'	Universal Thermal Climate Index	°C	instantanious input	2d (xy) file
'bio_perct*_xy_av'	Perceived Temperature	°C	averaged input	2d (xy) file
'bio_pet*_xy_av'	Physiologically Equivalent Temperature	°C	averaged input	2d (xy) file
'bio_utci*_xy_av'	Universal Thermal Climate Index	°C	averaged input	2d (xy) file

to the data_output section.

References

Höppe, P. R. (1999): The physiological equivalent temperature – a universal index for the biometeorological assessment of the thermal environment. International Journal of Biometeorology, 43, 71–75, ​​https://doi.org/10.1007/s004840050118.

Jendritzky, G., de Dear, R. and Havenith, G. (2012): UTCI-Why another thermal index? International Journal of Biometeorology, 56, 421–428, ​​https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-011-0513-7.

Bröde, P., Fiala, D., Blazejczyk, K., Holmér, I., Jendritzky, G., Kampmann, B., Tinz, B. and Havenith, G. (2012): Deriving the operational procedure for the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). International Journal of Biometeorology 56(3), 481-494, ​​https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-011-0454-1.

Staiger, H., Laschewski, G. and Graetz, A. (2012): The perceived temperature - a versatile index for the assessment of the human thermal environment. Part A: scientific basics. International Journal of Biometeorology 56(1), 165–176, ​​https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-011-0409-6.

UV Exposure Model

Overview

This page is part of the UV Exposure Model (UVEM) documentation.
It contains a documentation about the input parameters of the exposure model.
For an overview of all UVEM-related pages, see the UV Exposure Model main page?.

The uv exposure model calculates 2-dimensional maps of the vitamin D₃-weighted UV exposure of a human for unobstructed environments (Seckmeyer et al., 2013) and obstructed environments (e.g. within a city) (Schrempf et al., 2017a, Schrempf et al., 2017b).

To activate the model the parameter uv_exposure has to be set in the NAMELIST biometeorology_parameters.

Parameter list

NAMELIST group name: biometeorology_parameters

Parameter Name	FORTRAN Type	Default Value	Explanation
clothing	I	1	Choose clothing outfit for human model. Value 0: no clothing (also no hair). Value 1: Spring /Summer outfit (arms, hands & face exposed). Value 2: Winter outfit (only, hands & face exposed).
consider_obstructions	L	.T.	Considers obstruction (e.g. from buildings and trees). .T.: Switch consider obstructions ON .F.: Switch consider obstructions OFF Obstructions file must be calculated manually before the simulation and provided as NetCDF in the INPUT folder.
orientation_angle	F	180.0	Orientation angle of front/face of the human model. Only active if also parameter turn_to_sun is set to .False.
sun_in_south	L	.F.	Azimuthal position of the sun. If sun_in_south = .True., the azimuthal position of the sun is always in south direction (180°). If sun_in_south = .False., the actual azimuthal position of the sun is calculated based of the respective parameter values within the simulation. The fixed solar azimuth angle only applies to the exposure model and does not affect other modules of PALM. The following parameters are used as input for the solar position calculation: time_utc_init, day_of_year_init, latitude & longitude. Independent of the setting of this parameter, the solar zenith angle (SZA) is not fixed and will always change dependent on date and time.
turn_to_sun	L	.T.	Orientation of the front/face of the human model. IF turn_to_sun = .True., the front/face of the human model is always orientated in direction of the sun. IF turn_to_sun = .False., the front/face of the human model is orientated towards a specific direction (set by the parameter orientation_angle).
uv_exposure	L	.F.	Activation of the UV Exposure Model. This option has to be set to .T. in order to run the model.

References

Seckmeyer, G., Schrempf, M.Wieczorek, A., Riechelmann, S., Graw, K., Seckmeyer, S., and Zankl, M. (2013): A Novel Method to Calculate Solar UV Exposure Relevant to Vitamin D Production in Humans, Photochem. Photobiol., 89(4), 974-983, ​https://doi.org/10.1111/php.12074.

Schrempf, M., Thuns, N., Lange, K., and Seckmeyer, G. (2017a): Einfluss der Verschattung auf die Vitamin-D-gewichtete UV-Exposition eines Menschen, Aktuelle Derm, ​https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-105258.

Schrempf, M., Thuns, N., Lange, K., and Seckmeyer, G. (2017b): Impact of Orientation on the Vitamin D Weighted Exposure of a Human in an Urban Environment, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 14(8), 920, ​https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14080920.