Finished projects

Project TURBAN
In the 21st century, Europe and the rest of the world are experiencing unprecedented numbers and severity of weather extremes. Prolonged heat and cold waves significantly deteriorate the urban environmental quality and thermal comfort. Air pollution caused by local transportation, industry, heating, and other activities increases morbidity and mortality of city dwellers.

The changing climate invalidates empirical statistics used to evaluate the impact of weather extremes on urban districts. In such a situation, a novel approach to assess the urban local atmospheric conditions is urgently in demand. The complex structure of the urban canopy calls for applications of fine-scale dynamic turbulence-resolving models. Such models are broadly utilized to solve engineering tasks such as designing wind parks or bridges construction, but their application to the whole-scale urban problems remains limited.

The TURBAN project focuses on solving these problems. It is realized in cooperation of several institutions focused on meteorological and air quality modelling on regional and urban scale as well as on its practical application.
Project title: Turbulent-resolving urban modeling of air quality and thermal comfort (TURBAN)
Funder: Technology Agency of the Czech Republic/Norwegian Funds
Project no.: TO01000219
Duration: 01/2021 – 04/2024
Investigator for the deparment: Mgr. Michal Belda, Ph.D. (co-investigator)

Project GAČR MATELO-FILE
The project focuses on the detection, analysis, and modelling of stratospheric gravity wave (GW) hotspots and their effect on middle atmospheric dynamics. We will identify GW hotspots on the basis of observations, reanalysis data and model output by analysing different GW parameters and background conditions. From these analyses, we will deduce possible GW sources as well as meteorological conditions that favour the generation of GW hotspots. Based on the results from the datasets partly covering several decades, we will also investigate the temporal development of the GW hotspots to investigate in how far the GW hotspot activity has changed during the last decades.
Project title: Middle atmosphere localized gravity wave forcing – formation, impact, and long-term evolution (MATELO-FILE)
Funder: Czech Grant Agency
Project no.: 21–20293J
Duration: 01/2021 – 12/2023
Investigator for the deparment: prof. RNDr. Petr Pišoft, Ph.D. (principal [project investigator)

Project GAČR Trends
The increasing concentration of greenhouse gases affects the troposphere but even more the higher levels of the atmosphere, where it induces cooling. The first scenario of long-term trends in the upper atmosphere (mesosophere-thermosphere-ionosphere) was created by an international team in 2006 (Laštovička et al., 2006, Science). It has been improved but still it is not connected with trends in the stratosphere. Until recently the trends in the stratosphere and upper atmosphere were studied separately. The trends are affected also by other drivers, not only by greenhouse gases (mainly CO2), which change in time. The project is therefore focused on various aspects of trends in the stratosphere to improve possibilities of their comparison and joining with trends in the upper atmosphere, then on removing new problems in studying ionospheric trends, on specification of temporally varying roles of various non-CO2 trend drives, and on the main aim of the project, creation of the first joint scenario of long-term trends in the stratosphere-mesosphere-thermosphere-ionosphere system.
Project title: Long-term trends of anthropogenic and natural origin in the stratosphere and upper atmosphere
Funder: Czech Grant Agency
Project no.: 21–03295S
Duration: 01/2021 – 12/2023
Investigator for the deparment: prof. RNDr. Petr Pišoft, Ph.D. (project co-investigator)

Project GAČR GHG and higher atmosphere
Long-term trends in the stratosphere-mesosphere-thermosphere-ionosphere system are driven not only by changes of CO2 concentration. The role of other trend drivers depends on altitude and type of quantity. Except for influence on selected quantities like mesospheric temperature, impact of these trend drivers is unknown, or its knowledge is insufficient, or it is connected with large uncertainties. Specification of the role of the non-CO2 trend drivers for as much quantities as possible is the main objective of the project. For some quantities, which should be part of global scenario of trends in the investigated system, the information on trends is either missing or various results are mutually inconsistent. To remove these problems for selected quantities in the stratosphere, mesosphere and ionosphere is the second objective of the project. The third objective of the project and a longer-term strategic goal of trend investigations is to make significant progress in joining stratospheric trends into one general scenario with trends in the mesosphere-thermosphere-ionosphere.

Project title: The influence of greenhouse gases and other drivers on long-term trends in the stratosphere-mesosphere-thermosphere-ionosphere system
Funder: Czech Grant Agency
Project no.: 18–01625S
Duration: 01/2018 – 12/2020
Investigator for the department: prof. RNDr. Petr Pišoft, Ph.D. (project co-investigator)

Project OP PPR Urbi Pragensi
One of the main goals of the project was to provide Prague a high-resolution one-kilometer forecast system that includes the effect of urbanization. The need for specific accurate forecast is particularly urgent during periods of extreme heat waves. It is followed by an air quality forecast, also in high resolution. Another goal of the project was the analysis of the influence of climate change on the conditions of the urban environment using regional climate simulations at a higher resolution. The data obtained will provide an overview of the effectiveness of the adaptation or mitigation measures being prepared. The models are then advantageously applied in the creation of strategic plans for the development of the city. The project also provided a model tool for solving the problems of various so-called hot-spots, i.e. specific locations with serious problems. Typically, it can be about air quality, the reorganization of some places with regard to the load of the heat island is also considered. In these cases, it is often an interrelated problem. The conclusions of URBI PRAGENSI will improve the quality of life of all Prague's residents in the long term and will almost immediately lead to greater application of advanced computing methods in practice. In addition, the project proves that the environment and technology are not enemies, but recently more and more allies.
Project title: Urban Development of weather forecast, air quality, and climate scenario for Prague (URBI PRAGENSI)
Funder: Operational Programme Prague – Growth Pole
Project no.: CZ.07.1.02/0.0/0.0/16_040/0000383
Duration: 01/2018 – 11/2020
Investigator for the deparment: doc. RNDr. Tomáš Halenka, CSc (project co-investigator)
WWW: https://www.urbipragensi.cz (in czech), http://libuse.urbipragensi.cz/

Project GAČR Junior UCCI
Urban emissions largely contribute to the air pollution and enter complicated interaction with meteorology, via radiative effects and modification of cloud/rain microphysics. Cities further, due to specific physical and geometric properties of surfaces, substantially modify the meteorological conditions (e.g. via the urban heat island effect), which further influence the transport, reactions and deposition of pollutants. The description of these processes requires an integrated high-resolution (1 km x 1 km) modeling framework considering non-hydrostatic approach. This project aims to implement modern state-of-the-art modeling tools to describe in high-resolution, how urban emissions (i) modify the meteorological conditions; (ii) how they contribute to and perturb the air pollution, (iii) to quantify the physical interactions (via radiation and microphysics) that the emitted and secondarily formed species are entering, modulated further by the mentioned urban meteorological forcing due to urban surfaces.
Project title: Modeling the interactions of air pollution with meteorology over urban areas in high resolution (UCCI)
Funder: Czech Grant Agency
Project no.: 19–10747Y (Junior project)
Duration: 01/2019 – 12/2021
Investigator for the department: doc. Mgr. Peter Huszár, Ph.D. (principal investigator)

Project GAČR MATELO
The project aimed at studying the middle atmosphere effects of localized gravity wave (GW) forcing. Characteristics of the higher GW activity regions, their spatial and temporal variability, and links to other climate factors were studied. We implemented algorithms for full 3D diagnostics of the wave forcing and Brewer-Dobson circulation (BDC). The diagnostics were applied along with numerical simulation of the MUAM circulation model in order to specify the BDC longitudinal variability and the role of the localized GW forcing. In the next step, we studied the generation and propagation directions of the planetary waves sourced by the localized GW forcing. Implications for the polar regions (circulation perturbations, winter preconditioning, SSWs characteristics), equatorial stratosphere (tropopause folds links, influence on the exchange with the troposphere) and mesosphere were studied using the numerical simulations. The results were evaluated in the context of the global middle atmospheric mean circulation and long-term trends.
Project title: Middle atmosphere effects of localized gravity wave forcing (MATELO)
Funder: Czech Grant Agency
Project no.: 16–01562J
Duration: 01/2016 – 12/2018
Investigator for the department: prof. RNDr. Petr Pišoft, Ph.D. (principal project investigator)

Project GAČR Postdoc Urban impacts
As a result of high density of human activities, cities emit significant amount of pollutants into air that can have harmful effects. The emitted species chemically perturb the air and contribute to the green-house effect. The specific properties of the surface in cities occupied by artificial objects can alter climate too. To simulate these processes and their consequences on the evolution of climate, climate-chemistry models have to be applied. This project aims to apply a high resolution coupled regional climate-chemistry model in order to understand and quantify the impact of these processes on regional atmospheric chemistry and climate in present and future, focusing on cities in Central Europe and Czech Republic. After adapting the model for the mentioned goals, simulations for the present (2001–2010) for the evaluation of the sensitivity of the climate on chemical processes in atmosphere will be performed. Simulations for future decades 2026–2035 and 2046–2055 will estimate the potential evolution of cities impact in the context of the projected climate and emissions changes.
Project title: Modeling of impact of cities on regional climate and air quality
Funder: Czech Grant Agency
Project no.: 13–19733P (Postdoc project)
Duration: 01/2013 – 12/2015
Investiagtor for the department: doc. Mgr. Peter Huszár, Ph.D. (principal project investigator)

Project UHI
The project UHI, which started from a deep analysis of the Urban Heat Island phenomenon carried out with traditional micrometeorology techniques and remote sensing techniques, is designed to both develop mitigation and risk prevention and management strategies to tackle the problem arising from the UHI phenomenon.
Project title: Development and application of mitigation and adaptation strategies and measures for counteracting the global Urban Heat Islands phenomenon
Funder: EU Operational Programm NN
Project no.: CE292P3
Duration: 05/2011 – 04/2014
Investigator for the department: doc. RNDr. Tomáš Halenka, CSc. (co-investigator)