The Presence of an Urban Heat Island in Indianapolis
The Presence of an Urban Heat Island in Indianapolis
Abstract: It is thought that urban areas in almost any area affect the environmental conditions in a manner that when compared to the surrounding areas the “urban” area is noticeable warmer. Indianapolis, Indiana is not exception and is also thought to produce an “urban heat island”.
Introduction: The city of Indianapolis is located within Marion County. Marion County is an almost perfect square in central Indiana. The streets that dissect Indianapolis form a rough grid through the county square. Two major streets can be identified as the horizontal and vertical “main veins” which cross in downtown Indianapolis. These streets are Meridian St., which runs directly north and south and Washington St., which runs east and west through the city. Recording the temperatures on the streets relative to their surrounding areas will result in measurements revealing an “urban heat island”. I hypothesized that running a measurement of temperatures along these streets will show the occurrence of the downtown area being an “urban heat island” as compared to the surrounding residential areas.
Measurements of Temperature: These temperatures should be taken either late fall (September & November) or in the early spring (March & April). Hopefully, the selection of these months will reduce the amount of humidity in the air and produce an equal climate throughout the entire city. It is ideal to record the different temps. on days where the wind is no greater than five to ten miles per hour and the amount of cloud cover in the sky is considered as minimal. Taking these measurements of temperatures can be archived by attaching an YSI Model 43 SC tele-thermometer with thermistor probe to the front of an automobile. Measurements along the two streets should only be taken when the automobile is in motion. The more temperatures recorded add to the scientific confidence in the experiment and should help to eliminate error.
Discussion: From the sampled temperatures taken from both cross section running across and through the city of Indianapolis and its surrounding areas it should be apparent that a heat island is formed in the downtown area. This heat island may be the resulting environmental state due to the concentration of buildings, increased infrastructure, or a combination of downtown elements. The exact cause would call for...