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Anthropogenic heat in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

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Abstract

The main goal of this work is to describe the anthropogenic energy flux (Q F) in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The hourly, monthly, and annual values of the anthropogenic energy flux are estimated using the inventory method, and the contributions of vehicular, stationary, and human metabolism sources from 2004 to 2007 are considered. The vehicular and stationary sources are evaluated using the primary consumption of energy based on fossil fuel, bio fuel, and electricity usage by the population. The diurnal evolution of the anthropogenic energy flux shows three relative maxima, with the largest maxima occurring early in the morning (∼19.9 Wm−2) and in the late afternoon (∼20.3 Wm−2). The relative maximum that occurs around noontime (∼19.6 Wm−2) reflects the diurnal pattern of vehicle traffic that seems to be specific to São Paulo. With respect to diurnal evolution, the energy flux released by vehicular sources (Q FV) contributes approximately 50% of the total anthropogenic energy flux. Stationary sources (Q FS) and human metabolism (Q FM) represent about 41% and 9% of the anthropogenic energy flux, respectively. For 2007, the monthly values of Q FV, Q FS, Q FM, and Q F are, respectively, 16.8 ± 0.25, 14.3 ± 0.16, 3.5 ± 0.03, and 34.6 ± 0.41 MJ m−2 month−1. The seasonal evolution monthly values of Q FV, Q FS, Q FM, and Q F show a relative minimum during the summer and winter vacations and a systematic and progressive increase associated with the seasonal evolution of the economic activity in São Paulo. The annual evolution of Q F indicates that the city of São Paulo released 355.2 MJ m−2 year−1 in 2004 and 415.5 MJ m−2 year−1 in 2007 in association with an annual rate of increase of 19.6 MJ m−2 year−1 (from 2004 to 2006) and 30.5 MJ m−2 year−1 (from 2006 to 2007). The anthropogenic energy flux corresponds to about 9% of the net radiation at the surface in the summer and 15% in the winter. The amplitude of seasonal variation of the maximum hourly value of the diurnal variation increases exponentially with latitude.

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Abbreviations

A :

Urbanized area (m2)

a Fuel :

Fraction of vehicles by fuel type

C Electr :

Monthly consumption of electricity by stationary sources (GWh month−1)

C Fuel :

Monthly consumption of fuel by vehicular or stationary sources (m3 month−1)

E DPC :

Energy flux released from daily consumption of electricity by stationary sources (MJ m−2 day−1)

EVFuel :

Energy released by vehicles per distance traveled and fuel type (J m−1)

EVT :

Total energy released from fuel combustion of vehicles per traveled distance (J m−1)

f :

Hourly fraction of the daily consumption of electricity by stationary sources

FDPC :

Energy flux released from daily consumption of fuel by stationary sources (MJ m−2 day−1)

FE:

Fuel economy (m l−1)

F t :

Traffic fraction

g :

Fraction of fuel consumption by stationary sources

Lat:

Latitude (degree)

M :

Rate of metabolic production of energy per person (W)

n :

Number of persons or animals

n D :

Number of days in the month

NHCElectr :

Net heat released by the consumption of electricity by stationary sources (J KWh−1)

NHCFuel :

Net heat released by fuel combustion per fuel type from vehicular or stationary sources (J kg−1)

NWRP:

Number of residents (person)

pcDVD:

Mean traveled distance of vehicles per person per day (m person−1 day−1)

ρ Fuel :

Fuel density (kg m−3)

ρ pop :

Population density (person m−2)

Q*:

Net radiation

Q F :

Anthropogenic energy flux

Q MAXF :

Maximum hourly value of the diurnal evolution of Q F

ΔQ S :

Heat storage

Q H :

Turbulent sensible heat

Q LE :

Turbulent latent heat

ΔQ A :

Heat advection

Q FM :

Anthropogenic energy flux released by human and animal metabolism

Q FS :

Anthropogenic energy flux released by stationary sources

Q FSE :

Anthropogenic energy flux released from the consumption of electricity by stationary sources

Q FSF :

Anthropogenic energy flux released from the consumption of fuel by stationary sources

Q FV :

Anthropogenic energy flux released by vehicular sources

R 2 :

Coefficient of determination

WP:

Number of nonresidents (person)

CET:

Municipal Company of Transportation

CETESB:

Environmental Protection Agency of the State of São Paulo

DETRAN:

Department of Transportation of the State of São Paulo

IAG:

Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences

IBGE:

Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics

LPG:

Liquefied petroleum gas

MRSP:

Metropolitan region of São Paulo City

ONSE:

National Operator of the Brazilian Electric System

SSE:

State of São Paulo Energy and Sanitation Agency

UHI:

Urban heat island

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by CAPES and CNPq (476.807/2007-7). We offer thanks to Antonio Carlos Roson, the CET Chief Engineer, for providing data about vehicle traffic in São Paulo. We also thank João Ricardo Neves for his valuable assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Group of Micrometeorology, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Mauricio Jonas Ferreira, Amauri Pereira de Oliveira & Jacyra Soares

  2. Departamento de Ciências Atmosféricas—IAG/USP, Rua do Matão, 1226, 05508.090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Amauri Pereira de Oliveira

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  1. Mauricio Jonas Ferreira
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  2. Amauri Pereira de Oliveira
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  3. Jacyra Soares
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Correspondence to Amauri Pereira de Oliveira.

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Ferreira, M.J., de Oliveira, A.P. & Soares, J. Anthropogenic heat in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Theor Appl Climatol 104, 43–56 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-010-0322-7

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