The Vertical Structure of Tropical Urban Heat Island with LES

The Large-eddy simulation (LES) model is used to investigate the influence of the Tropical Urban Heat Island (UHI) in the vertical structure of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) under adiabatic and non-saturated conditions. An idealized UHI is represented by two-dimensional patches of heat fluxes at the surface defining variable Bowen ratio along the horizontal domain. The results indicated that the heterogeneities are able to induce the formation of intense updraft over the center of warm patch. This buoyant thermal transports the moisture from the lower to the upper part of the PBL and penetrate the entrainment zone. Consequently, the urban-breeze circulation can contribute to the clouds development at the top of the PBL over the UHI.