How can cities prepare for future climate and environmental change? Which adaptive strategies - such as implementing green belts, insulation, or smart façade treatments - are beneficial? How can we resolve the conflict between the increased pressure for urban development and the necessary adjustments for adapting to the consequences of climate change?
Future planning decisions in cities will be based on efficient urban climate models. To date, there are no suitable models for providing detailed and clear information on climate change and climatological correlations in urban areas. The collaborative project MOSAIK-2 intends to solve this issue by developing a highly efficient, high-resolution and user-friendly urban climate model.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will provide more than 4.5 million euros of funding for the project. With 2.65 million euros, more than half of the amount will be allocated to the Institute of Meteorology and Climatology (IMUK) at Leibniz University Hannover. MOSAIK-2 is a follow-up project of PALM-4U, which laid the foundations for developing an urban climate model. Over the next three years, Prof. Siegfried Raasch and Dr. Björn Maronga from LUH will coordinate the project during the second funding phase. Additional project partners include Freie Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, the German Aerospace Center, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, as well as the meteorological service "Deutscher Wetterdienst".
Today, project managers, guests and prominent figures gathered at LUH to mark the launch of the second funding period. During his talk, Prof. Gerhard Adrian, who was elected President of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 2019, provided extensive background information on the issue. Björn Thümler, Minister of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony, praised Hannover''s academic expertise in the field and emphasised the positive impact for Lower Saxony. Belit Onay (mayor of Hannover) illustrated the importance of the local perspective, whereas the project managers elaborated on further project details.
MOSAIK-2 aims to add further important actions to the existing urban climate model PALM-4U, which was developed in the first funding phase. Both national and international research units have incorporated the simulation model into their work. The model enables researchers to analyse the microclimate in individual urban districts, as well as to identify critical spots regarding heat stress, wind conditions or the concentration of harmful substances. Over the next three years, the researchers will continue to work on the model developed during the first funding phase. They aim to expand and improve the model considerably by implementing additional features, such as air quality assessments via an integrated traffic emission model, incorporating rainfall or advanced atmospheric chemistry parametrisation. Finally, they plan to strengthen collaborations with partners in Germany and abroad.
Note to editors:
For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Siegfried Raasch and Dr. Björn Maronga, Institute of Meteorology and Climatology at Leibniz University Hannover (Tel. +49 511 762 3253 / 4101, Email raasch@muk.uni-hannover.de / maronga@muk.uni-hannover.de).
