Urban heat islands and their influence on coastal climates

The concentration of human activity in urban centres has lead to the substitution of natural surfaces for a greater abundance of synthetic materials, altering the thermal and radiative properties. Such urban centres exhibit elevated temperatures compared to their rural surroundings, a phenomenon known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. It has been suggested that cities with a strong UHI create their own regional climates, interacting with the immediate meteorological processes. This study quantifies the development of Adelaide's UHI and examines the resulting influence on the sea-breeze. Historical climate data and Landsat imagery have been used to identify the development, extent and intensity of the UHI. Changes to the coastal climate have been quantified through the use of a sea breeze algorithm and spectral analysis. The analysis has demonstrated significant long-term growth in UHI intensity, corresponding with the urbanisation of Adelaide. The local sea-breeze was observed to have increased in strength and occur more frequently. The consequence of these changes on near shore processes are enhanced beach instability, greater risk to rising sea levels and increased management costs for beaches into the future.