WGIC Secretariat - WGIC

Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect in Fresno, California

WGIC Secretariat on February 27, 2024

SatVu HotSat-1 imagery, Fresno, California – 31^st July 2023 at 21:35 UTC (14:35 PDT). Local temperatures at the time of capture exceeded 38°C (100°F). The highlighted area represents the extent of the Fig Gardens residential area, showing a cooler temperature than the surroundings. Areas with limited vegetation, like the strip mall area to the East of Fig Gardens, show warmer temperatures than the surroundings.

On July 31st, 2023, SatVu’s satellite HOTSAT-1 captured thermal data within Fresno, California. The data showed a cool blue zone aligned with the neighbourhood of Fig Gardens. This area is known for its high density of mature trees, as seen in aerial data.

Fig Gardens, developed in 1910 north of Fresno on previously unused land covered with hardpan, was revealed to have sandy soil beneath. The developer planted fig, eucalyptus, cedar, oleander, and shade trees, then sold the land to new residents who built homes and created a community. In 1919, the remaining land was subdivided into residential lots to develop a suburban environment. Today, large mature trees are a defining feature of Fig Gardens and contribute to its community feel.

Fig Gardens is a desirable area to live in but has a high price tag. The median home price in Fig Gardens is $715,000 compared to $396,000 for the rest of Fresno. Additionally, there is a disparity between this area and the rest of Fresno due to past discriminatory policies.

The history of Fig Gardens and Fresno is fascinating. Thermal imagery from SatVu highlights the benefit of planned urban greening to reduce the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. UHI contributes to heat-related illnesses and deaths and impacts a city’s economy through increased strain on energy infrastructure and the liveability of its citizens. SatVu is developing data and insight products to enable city managers to understand, manage, and mitigate the heat risk in their community.

Trust for Public Land (TPL) and Urban Parks, USA

WGIC Secretariat on February 27, 2024

TPL developers designed ParkServe, an Esri-powered GIS tool and comprehensive database of local parks in nearly 14,000 US cities, towns, and communities. City leaders and park advocates can access TPL’s extensive database of local parks to guide improvement efforts and quantify and measure park inventory quality. ParkServe data underpins TPL’s engagement with cities. A few years after recovering from Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans became one of the first TPL Climate Smart Cities partnerships. Causing more than 1,800 deaths and $125 billion in damage, Katrina was a harbinger of the disruptive weather events that would increase with climate change. As the city prioritized improving climate resilience, TPL facilitated the creation of “green schoolyards,” replacing concrete surfaces prone to flooding with gardens of native plants that absorb rainfall and runoff. Several other interventions, including wetlands restoration and stormwater catchment basins, also addressed flood concerns while increasing open space access for neighborhoods that did not previously have it.

Mapping One Million Trees, Bentley Mendoza, Argentina

WGIC Secretariat on February 27, 2024

Trees make cities more resilient to floods, attenuate the effects of heat waves, regulate air quality, and create healthier and more livable environments. In Mendoza, Argentina, Bentley and GenMap built a city-scale reality model of the region’s green infrastructure using mobile mapping technology, identifying and mapping one million trees using object feature extraction. The project digitalized, geo-referenced, and obtained the dimensions of each tree and surrounding roads and sidewalks in the area to manage the green infrastructure remotely. The resulting database enables efficient management of the health condition of each tree.

Integrated Management of Urban Water Cycle, Porto, Portugal

WGIC Secretariat on February 27, 2024

The municipal water and energy utility organization created an online platform combining all data sources (from GIS, real-time network sensors, household meters, SCADA, laboratory billing, work orders, and logistics). The city of Porto used Bentley’s technology to create a digital twin of the city’s water supply, wastewater, stormwater, and bathing water systems that helped forecast flooding and water quality issues, enabling the city to improve its response and resilience. Implementing all the modeling domains and the plug-in-based server capabilities contributed to the success of the implementation at the city scale. This eased the integration of new models, data sources, and tools and helped put these components into operation and publish results seamlessly. This utility can predict performance, identify failures early, and prescribe actions based on asset information. Forecasts, alerts, and what-if scenario modeling lowered water supply interruptions by 22.9%.

Companhia Águas de Joinville (CAJ), State of Santa Catarina, Brazil

WGIC Secretariat on February 27, 2024

Aerial picture of Joinville, Brazil

After a severe water crisis, the city of Joinville developed a contingency plan to maintain water supply during drought conditions. Preliminary simulations produced water shortages, so the city sought a more comprehensive network study and used Bentley applications to create a digital twin and perform a hydraulic analysis of the distribution system. The new contingency plan redistributed water across two sources – Cubatão and Piraí – guaranteeing water supply during severe drought and improving overall water distribution to the city. The proposed solution required less capital investment for implementation because it could optimize flow between city sectors utilizing the existing network and remove the need for costly additional piping and pumping (saving BRL 4.5M). The solution reduced production by 30%, equivalent to 170 liters per second in the fragile Piraí water source. This mitigated the effects of drought, benefiting 150,000 area residents. It also resolved issues within the Cubatão system, reducing water loss in critical district metered areas by 40,000 cubic meters per month and water shortage complaints by 90%.

California Water and Flood Management, California, USA

WGIC Secretariat on February 27, 2024

The New Bullards Bar Dam provides flood control, 340 MW of clean energy, and a reliable water supply for residents and the ecosystem. Over 50 years after its construction, extreme weather events have become more frequent and intense, increasing the risk to its structural integrity. The agency combined drone surveys and automated sensors with Bentley applications to improve inspections and obtain the level of detail that dam operator Yuba Water Agency needed. Combining IoT, 3D reality modeling, and artificial intelligence enabled survey teams to monitor the dam remotely, automatically detect tiny but growing cracks, and establish real-time, automated monitoring of the dam’s structural integrity. The new automated system provides 1,000 times more data monitoring points than the previous method, improving data accuracy by 50% and risk assessment by 100%. As a result, Yuba Water can immediately assess the dam during extreme weather events and after earthquakes to prevent disasters. Yuba Water now has renewed confidence that New Bullards Bar Dam will remain safer and more resilient in the face of climate change.

Extreme drought conditions have created water scarcity in the US West. In the Southern California Water Replenishment District (WRD) LA County, California, Bentley developed 3D models of the local water basins, creating a better understanding of groundwater flow and identifying contamination. These models helped WRD make the region more sustainable and drought resilient using local resources, including advanced treated recycled water to replenish groundwater supplies.

Coastal Resilience

WGIC Secretariat on February 27, 2024

Geospatial data can help low-lying coastal populations make better climate change mitigation and adaptation decisions. Fugro’s coastal resilience tools and solutions provide geospatial insights that help assess the risk and prepare adaptation strategies, including nature-based solutions. Rising sea levels are causing more frequent and severe coastal flooding. Earth observation data, including satellite imagery, airborne data and ocean floor monitoring, are crucial to understanding climate risks. Governments are developing coastal resilience strategies with global and local spatial digital twins to aid planning, monitoring, and action. Vulnerable communities in small island states benefit from remote sensing-based digital twins, helping understand hydrological processes and coastal risks. Predictive analysis and recurring geodata programs inform infrastructure design and development planning for climate resilience. User-friendly access to spatial digital twins, aided by AI analytics and efficient GIS tools, facilitates better data-driven decision-making.

A specific example of Fugro’s LiDAR-based spatial digital twin that has helped coastal and SIDS (Small Island Developing States) stakeholders is the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project, developed by the UNDP with financing from the Green Climate Fund. The resultant models provide an enhanced understanding of the islands’ hydrological processes and complex coastal risks. Tuvalu can now elucidate the relationship between land elevation and sea level, model future scenarios, and inform the design of coastal infrastructure and development planning.

Virtual World Asset Management

WGIC Secretariat on February 27, 2024

The generation, delivery, and storage of electricity presents unique challenges. The dawn of the renewable energy generation has seen traditional network operators and their aging assets come under significant strain. Outdated inspection programs are used to maintain the electrical power grid. These inspection processes include inspectors going into the field to gather information on the network and the surrounding environment. This is hugely inefficient, costly and environmentally damaging. Fugro has developed a remote sensing solution, Fugro ROAMES^® creates a 3D digital twin of electrical grid networks, assets and the surrounding environment. This solution relies on AI and ML to process and deliver in-depth analytics rapidly across the entire network and is hosted through an online 3D visual assessment tool with embedded analytics. Fugro ROAMES^® allows the utility sector to digitally inspect their assets from the office, saving up to 40% on inspection operating expenses, with a much-reduced carbon footprint.

Fugro ROAMES^® transforms the inspection and maintenance processes for electrical grid networks and holds significant implications for city climate action. The vegetation analytics help fortify the resilience of electrical networks against escalating natural hazards, a growing concern in the face of climate change. Traditional inspection methods often struggle to assess the impact of vegetation on power infrastructure, particularly in regions prone to wildfires and floods. Fugro ROAMES^® 3D digital twin accurately captures the spatial distribution, species and health of surrounding vegetation. This enhances the overall reliability of electrical grids and serves as a crucial tool for cities grappling with the escalating risks of climate-induced disasters. By enabling utilities to proactively identify and mitigate potential hazards from vegetation, such as fire-prone areas or flood-vulnerable zones, Fugro Fugro ROAMES^® contributes directly to the resilience of electrical networks. Integrating such technology aligns seamlessly with city climate action plans, as it empowers municipalities to adapt and fortify critical infrastructure in the face of a changing climate, fostering a more sustainable and resilient urban energy landscape.

Lifecycle Management and Modeling for Energy Solutions

WGIC Secretariat on February 27, 2024

Bentley Systems provides digital twins from geospatial data to support the construction and lifecycle project management for many low-carbon energy transition projects. Optimizing construction design and program management on complex projects increases energy efficiency and reduces carbon emissions. the Konya Karapinar solar plant in Turkey, Bentley collected data from drones to generate 3D as-built point cloud models to create a digital twin of the power plant. Combining drone, photogrammetry and 4D Building Information Modeling (BIM) technologies provided project stakeholders with better visualization of the construction progress and the current project state.

China’s first anti-ice flow offshore wind project used Bentley’s integrated simulation and 3D design tools to achieve a digital twin model to optimize wind farm design, overcome uneven terrain, and protect wind towers from seasonal ice floes. Using Asset Reliability Management Software, owner-operators can use predictive analytics to anticipate failures and critical conditions. This approach can achieve up to 80% reduction in offshore inspection visits on the transmission assets, improve safety records and reduce carbon emissions.

In South Korea, Bentley worked with Doosan and Microsoft to develop a digital twin of one of its wind farms, creating a 3D model for operators. The digital twin links IoT sensor data, machine learning and models to accurately predict production output, maximize energy production, and minimize operations and maintenance costs.

For geothermal energy projects, Bentley uses a subsurface digital twin to dynamically update their model while drilling to inform decisions around directional drilling and when to complete the wells. Managing and visualizing data to make important decisions saved tens of millions in reduced drilling costs and 85MW of energy.

The Wuqiangxi hydroelectric power station expansion project in Hunan, China, added 500 MW of capacity while reducing CO₂ emissions by 472,100 tons. Bentley’s lifecycle digital plant management included solutions for design, 3D models and project collaboration to coordinate stakeholders and reduce the design time and construction cost.

Similarly, Bentley supported the ITER Organization (an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject of 35 countries) to build the world’s largest nuclear power plant. Once operational, it will be the first fusion device to produce carbon-free energy and maintain fusion for long periods for the commercial production of fusion-based electricity. 4D planning technology at ITER, combining construction schedules and detailed engineering CAD models, provides a detailed visual representation of activities and greatly improves the speed and quality of the construction schedule.

Geospatial Analysis Platform for Climate Resilient Cities

WGIC Secretariat on February 27, 2024

Machine learning models custom-created in the Picterra platform enable fast and accurate land classification, object detection, mapping processes and analysis of high-resolution global urban-area maps, allowing cities to track future urban land-use changes and identify adaptation needs. Geospatial analysis allows cities to monitor environmental parameters such as vegetation health, land cover changes, biodiversity or water resources.

Users can assess the impact of climate change on ecosystems or air quality, track biodiversity preservation efforts in and around the city, and tackle urban heat islands or water pollution. Through the analysis of geospatial data and historical patterns, cities can identify high-risk areas and develop strategies for mitigation and adaptation of hazards like floods, as well as identify suitable locations for renewable energy installations and optimize energy efficiency, supporting the scaling up of renewables in heating, cooling, transportation, and power sectors.

Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect in Fresno, California

Trust for Public Land (TPL) and Urban Parks, USA

Mapping One Million Trees, Bentley Mendoza, Argentina

Integrated Management of Urban Water Cycle, Porto, Portugal

Companhia Águas de Joinville (CAJ), State of Santa Catarina, Brazil

California Water and Flood Management, California, USA

Coastal Resilience

Virtual World Asset Management

Lifecycle Management and Modeling for Energy Solutions

Geospatial Analysis Platform for Climate Resilient Cities

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