Energy Partitioning and Air Temperature Anomalies Above Urban Surfaces: A High-Resolution PALM-4U Study

Urban heat islands intensify heat stress and degrade air quality in densely built areas, yet the physical processes governing near-surface thermal variability remain poorly quantified. This study applies the coupled MOLOCH and PALM model system 6.0 (PALM-4U) over Bologna (Italy) during a summer 2023 heatwave to resolve meter-scale atmospheric dynamics within the Urban Canopy Layer and Roughness Sublayer at 2 m horizontal resolution. The coupled configuration was validated against in situ meteorological observations and Landsat-8 LST data, showing improved agreement in air temperature and wind speed compared to standalone mesoscale simulations. Results reveal pronounced diurnal and vertical variability of wind speed, turbulent kinetic energy, and friction velocity, with maxima between two/three times the median building height (hc). Distinct surface-dependent contrasts emerge: asphalt and roofs act as strong daytime heat sources (Bowen ratio βasphalt ≈ 4.8) and nocturnal heat reservoirs at pedestrian level (z ≈ 0.07 hc), while vegetation sustains daytime latent heat fluxes (βvegetation ≈ 0.6÷0.8) and cooler surface and near-surface air (Temperature anomaly of surface ΔTs ≈ −9 °C and air ΔTair ≈ −0.3 °C). Thermal anomalies decay with height, vanishing above z ≈ 2.5 hc due to turbulent mixing. These findings provide insight into fine-scale energy exchanges driving intra-urban thermal heterogeneity and support climate-resilient urban design.