Publications

Lachir, A; Bounoua, L; Zhang, P; Thome, K; Messouli, M (2016). Modeling the Urban Impact on Semiarid Surface Climate: A Case Study in Marrakech, Morocco. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF REMOTE SENSING, 42(4), 379-395.

Abstract
We combine Landsat and MODIS data in the simple biosphere model to assess the impact of urbanization on surface climate in Marrakech, circa 2010.We find the growing season surface temperature differences between urban and other cover types to vary between 1.6 degrees C and 6.0 degrees C at 1:00 p.m., and between 0.7 degrees C and 1.1 degrees C at 5:00 a.m., local time. Annually however, the built-up area warmed the city 0.3 degrees C during daytime and 0.1 degrees C at night compared to a simulated preurban situation in which the area was fully vegetated. A complete urbanization of the area would decrease its carbon uptake by 0.13 tons and increase its daytime surface temperature by 1.3 degrees C, with 5.72% increase in energy consumption. However, in a smart urban growth scenario, we assume the build-up to cover 50% of the area, allowing it to occur first on bare lands, and then we convert all remaining bare lands to orchards; this would counterbalance 60% of daytime warming and sequester 31% more carbon, compared to the actual situation.We find irrigated golf courses to be the most water-consuming covers types, requiring 15times the region's summer rainfall, and urban areas to distribute 43.8% of incoming precipitation as surface runoff versus only 16.74% for all other cover types combined. This can be a predictor for flash floods.

DOI:
10.1080/07038992.2016.1194746

ISSN:
0703-8992