Home is where the research is
Going home over the summer is a nice way for many college students to unwind and relax after being away at school. However, for Andrew Hutchman, a third-year atmospheric sciences and civil engineering major, there was more than a home-cooked meal waiting for him.
The Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at Ohio State and the State Climate Office of Ohio helped guide Hutchman with his research, along with some of his professors.
Hutchman set up six temperature sensors around East Liverpool and Calcutta, Ohio, to calculate temperature and humidity of the area every five minutes. According to Hutchman, this is the first study comparing two different cities.
“Most [studies] just look at one city or a broad spectrum across the country, they don’t really look into the specifics of individual cities,” he said. “They always picked big cities to look into, but the smaller cities, like the rust belt cities that aren’t really looked at, are still being impacted by urban heating.”
His research studies how cities are warming faster than surrounding rural areas. One reason Hutchman proposed for this phenomenon is the building materials used in cities.
Temperatures within the city of Columbus differ by 30 degrees when compared to the area around the city, Hutchman said, but he was surprised to find that even a much smaller city such as East Liverpool, with a population of around 11,000, has a 10-degree difference in temperature.
“I’ve always had an interest in weather and then I took a class last semester about urban heating and it really peaked my interest,” said Hutchman.
Hutchman is currently working on a 10-page article about his research to be submitted to the American Meteorological Society Journal. After graduation, he plans to continue to research city warming or conduct severe weather research.
by Emily Lehmkuhl, College of Engineering student communications assistant
