Capturing Cold-Air Flow Using Thermal Imaging

We present a thermal imaging field design for climatological studies with an application to microscale cold-air flow analysis. Measurements of microclimatic processes are often limited by a lack of spatial coherence and consequently incomplete information on spatial and temporal patterns in the airflow. We introduce and evaluate an approach for investigating cold-air flow using an infrared camera pointed at a custom-built projection screen. A statistical analysis of a cold-air-flow case study is presented that explores the potential and limitations of the proposed technique. Results indicate good compatibility with traditional methods, while spatial coherence in measurements is achieved. A few examples of additional information obtained from the thermal camera analysis are presented, including analyses of cold-air-flow characteristics.