Title
Quasi-2D Model for Runoff Temperature from a Paved Surface
Publisher
St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
Abstract
Thermal pollution from urban runoff is considered to be a significant contributor to the
degradation of coldwater ecosystems. Impervious surfaces (streets, parking lots and
buildings) are characteristic of urban watersheds. A model for predicting rainfall runoff
temperatures and runoff rates from an impervious surface (parking lot) is described in
this report. The model has been developed from basic principles. It is a portion of a larger
project to develop a modeling tool to assess the impact of urban development on the
temperature of coldwater streams. Heat transfer and runoff processes on an impervious
surface were investigated for both dry and wet weather periods. The principal goal of the
effort was to describe and quantify the heat transfer between a paved surface and storm
water runoff during a rainfall event. A kinematic wave scheme was used to predict runoff
flow rates as a function of distance and time on a paved surface, and a numerical
approximation of the 1-D unsteady heat diffusion equation was used to calculate
temperature distributions in the sub-surface. Equations to predict the magnitude of the
radiative, convective, conductive and evaporative heat fluxes at a dry or wet surface,
using standard climate data as input, were developed. The model can simulate surface
runoff (flow) and temperature continuously throughout a specified time period (e.g. a
month) or for a single rainfall event. It also predicts the ‘total heat export’ for an event,
which is defined as the heat contained in the runoff above a reference temperature. A
sensitivity study was performed to investigate the extent to which heat export is affected
by antecedent pavement temperature, characteristics of the rainfall event, and physical
parameters of the paved surface. In general, it was found that heat export was more
sensitive to rainfall intensity, rainfall duration, and antecedent pavement temperature
conditions than the physical properties of the paved surface (slope, roughness, length). It
was also found that lower-intensity events extracted more heat from the pavement per
depth of rainfall than higher-intensity events, and an increase in rainfall duration
increased the total event heat export, especially for higher-intensity events. Finally,
atmospheric forcing was determined to have a significant influence on runoff temperature
and heat export, leading to a reduction in heat export that was a function of rainfall
intensity.
Funding information
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Suggested Citation
Janke, Ben; Herb, William; Mohseni, Omid; Stefan, Heinz.
(2006).
Quasi-2D Model for Runoff Temperature from a Paved Surface.
St. Anthony Falls Laboratory.
Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy,
https://hdl.handle.net/11299/113682.