| Title | Meteobike: Mapping urban heat islands with bikes |
|---|---|
| Faculty/College/Unit | Arts |
| Status | Active |
| Duration | 2 Year |
| Initiation | 04/01/2023 |
| Project Summary | Heat islands are urban areas that experience higher temperatures relative to their surroundings. The Meteobike project was designed to help students develop a better understand of the urban heat island (UHI) effect, gain hands-on experience with sensors and programming, and expose them to the process of designing and carrying out original research. A Meteobike is a low-cost, mobile weather station comprised of a microcomputer (i.e., a Raspberry Pi), GPS receiver and a temperature/humidity sensor. Students can easily attach a Meteobike unit to their bikes then ride to collect real-time meteorological data to map the UHI effect. This project has been successfully implemented in GEOS 401: Urban Meteorology in 2020 and 2021. However, through the TLEF Fund, we hope to expand the scope of this project to make the Meteobike project more accessible, include additional new low-cost sensors, and develop standardized calibration protocols to ensure more accurate and reliable measurements. |
| Funding Details | |
| Year 1: Project Year | Year 1 |
| Year 1: Funding Year | 2023/2024 |
| Year 1: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 1: Principal Investigator | Sara Knox |
| Year 1: Funded Amount | 25,761 |
| Year 1: Team Members | Sara Knox, Assistant Professor, Geography, Faculty of Arts |