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Urban Climate

Decoding the complex microclimates of urban environments through dense sensor networks and multi-scale observations.

My urban climate work tracks how city form, land cover, and daily activity amplify or dampen heat exposure. Using dense sensor networks, crowdsourced transects, and remote sensing, I map neighborhood-scale heat index and boundary-layer structure to reveal when and where residents face the highest risk. These measurements feed process-based models and help target mitigation strategies like cool corridors, reflective infrastructure, and tree canopy investments.

A key emphasis is co-developing digital twins that blend observations with high-resolution simulations. By partnering with local agencies and community groups, the models stay grounded in on-the-ground priorities—from emergency response to long-term planning—so that the science directly supports equitable resilience policies.

Representative Publications

Lee, J., Berkelhammer, M., et al. (2025). Gap-Filling of Urban Soil Sensor Measurements Using Gated Attention Bidirectional LSTM (GA-BiLSTM): Methods, Findings, and Implications. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. PDF
Lee, J., & Berkelhammer, M. (2025). Evaluating the Influence of Traffic Congestion on Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity. Geophysical Research Letters. PDF
Lee, J., & Berkelhammer, M. (2024). Observational Constraints on the Spatial Effect of Greenness and Canopy Cover on Urban Heat in Major Midlatitude City. Geophysical Research Letters. PDF