Cooling Study Methods

This resource provides data collection methods for a study to learn more about the cooling potential of different types of greenspace, including different classes of natural areas. It answers the following research questions: 

1. Do cooling benefits vary across categories of natural and landscaped land cover? 
2. Is the air temperature in forested natural areas cooler than under trees in landscaped areas?
3.  Are higher quality forested natural areas cooler than lower quality?

In a nutshell, this resource offers:

• Methods for assessing temperature differences across categories of natural and landscaped land cover.
• Methods for assessing temperatures of higher and lower quality forested natural areas.
• Cooling study temperature sensor data sheet and data dictionary 

How to use this resource:

• To add context to the cooling study. 
• As methods for comparing temperature cross land types. 
• As methods for reproducing a cooling study using temperature sensors. 

Author: Crystal A. Crown and Clara C. Pregitzer 

Date published: 7/19/2022

Point of contact: Crystal A. Crown crystal.crown@naturalareasnyc.org