Dr. Yesheng Lu has been awarded a Walter Benjamin Position by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The Walter Benjamin Program supports outstanding early career researchers in pursuing independent research projects and further developing their scientific careers.
As part of the funding, Yesheng will conduct a research project on “Vegetation-Turbulence-Sediment Coupling in Open Channel Flows – a Flume Study via Stereo Imaging Techniques“. The project investigates how aquatic vegetation influences riverbed dynamics, a key challenge in the restoration of rivers, flood management, and climate resilience. The aim is to improve our understanding of the vegetation-turbulence-sediment interactions and to develop improved predictive models for the design of more reliable river restoration measures.
We warmly congratulate Yesheng and wish him every success in his research.
This TV report was broadcast in the science program "W wie Wissen" on the German TV channel ARD. It looks at nocturnal cold air flows that occur during relatively windless and cloudless summer nights. In the process, colder air from the surrounding countryside flows into the urban area and provides a helpful cooling effect for the city, which heats up during the day.
Using the example of studies for the city of Mannheim (Germany), it is explained how corridors for the inflow of cold air can be created through well-planned development and the arrangement of open spaces, so that as many city residents as possible benefit from the nocturnal cooling.
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Laboratory studies of nightly cold air drainage into the German city of Mannheim were performed. The incentive was to mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) effect which impacts dweller’s health and impairs sleep quality in hot summer nights. Colder air from the rural surroundings can cool down city air temperature and contribute to improved living and health conditions.
The movie shows the flow of simulated cold air as it was studied at scaled models for the present and the projected future state tailored to the improved intrusion of cold air flow into the city center. In subsequent film clips cold air flows in the present and future state are compared for various subareas and filmed from different perspectives.
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