Relationship between urban heat sink and heat energy exchange in Beijing, China

During our monitoring of the UHI effect in central Beijing using Advance Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data, an urban heat sink was found. This paper focuses on the analysis of this urban heat sink developed in the winter morning of Beijing by analyzing the heat energy exchange in detail. The heat energy exchange including the net radiation, latent heat flux and sensible heat flux at the boundary between the land and atmosphere were calculated in our study area. The results show that the rural area has a bigger net radiation, sensible heat flux and smaller latent heat flux than that of the urban area, and the residue heat flux in the rural area is bigger than that of the urban area.