Impact of future urban growth on regional climate changes in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, Korea

The influence of changes in future urban growth (e.g., land use changes) on the future climate variability in the Seoul metropolitan area (SMA), Korea was evaluated using the WRF model and an urban growth model (SLEUTH). The land use changes in the study area were simulated using the SLEUTH model under three different urban growth scenarios: (1) current development trends scenario (SC1), (2) managed development scenario (SC 2) and (3) ecological development scenario (SC 3). The maximum difference in the ratio of urban growth between SC 1 and SC 3 (SC 1 - SC 3) for 50 years (2000-2050) was approximately 6.72%, leading to the largest differences (0.01 degrees C and 0.03 m s(-1), respectively) in the mean air temperature at 2 m (T2) and wind speed at 10 m (WS10). From WRF-SLEUTH modeling, the effects of future urban growth (or future land use changes) in the SMA are expected to result in increases in the spatial mean T2 and WS10 of up to 1.15 degrees C and 0.03 m s(-1), respectively, possibly due to thermal circulation caused by the thermal differences between urban and rural regions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.