NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Oklahoma National Weather Center celebrated Earth Day with an open house event for the NWC Experimental Green Roof, the state's first experimental university vegetative roof system, which was recently installed at the facility.
"We are pleased to have the green roof at our complex," said John Snow, College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences dean and administrator of the NWC. "The project is a combination of efforts between our School of Meteorology and the College of Architecture. It will provide opportunities and benefits not only to the two colleges through research, but also to the entire state of Oklahoma by offering insight into energy efficiency and water quality."
Vegetative roof systems, also known as green roofs, have been shown to improve energy and water efficiency and enhance water quality. The systems intercept solar radiation and cool structures during the summer months. Annual storm-water runoff also is reduced, and pollutants are reduced in the storm-water effluent.
"This green roof system will reduce storm water runoff quantity and improve discharge quality while reducing warm season energy demand loads," said Reid Coffman, principal investigator for the NWC Experimental Green Roof project and Division of Landscape Architecture assistant professor. "This roof will be the subject of advanced examination into the water and energy performance of vegetative roof systems as contributors toward green urban development.
"By establishing this experimental project at OU, we hope to become one of the leaders in the state in the area of green-roof research, development and application. This will make Oklahoma more competitive for urban development, cost of living and overall quality of life. While the green roof is at the National Weather Center, before it is moved to a permanent location in a few years, we will study plant performance, radiation balance and cooling efficiency."
The green roof project is being led by Coffman, Petra Klein, OU School of Meteorology associate professor, and Lee Fithian, Division of Architecture assistant professor. The Oklahoma Water Resource Board and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission are the project sponsors.
About the NWC Experimental Green Roof
The green roof, located on the National Weather Center's sixth-floor outdoor classroom, comprises 1,280 square feet and consists of 160 planted green roof trays. The trays contain an engineered substrate consisting of lightweight sand, expanded clay and organic material. The substrate weighs about a third of the weight of regular topsoil. The roof is planted with sedums – exotic succulents that are highly adaptive to a green roof's growing conditions. As part of the experiment, native dry-land prairie grasses and flowers will be seeded over the sedum for comparison.
Primary investigation areas for the green roof will include plant performance, changes in the radiation balance, cooling efficiency for various climate conditions and impacts on building day lighting.
A second phase of the project is scheduled to begin later this year and will add an additional 220 square feet to the existing green roof. The roof will remain at the NWC for up to three years for investigation. Based on the research gathered, it will then be moved to a permanent location.
About the OU College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences' School of Meteorology
The OU School of Meteorology is the largest undergraduate program in the nation, with more than 280 undergraduate and 110 graduate students. It is ranked No. 1 in the nation in mesoscale and severe storm research and is among the top seven of the nearly 100 institutions that grant degrees in atmospheric science.
The School of Meteorology is housed in the National Weather Center, a facility that houses a unique confederation of University of Oklahoma, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and state organizations that work together in partnership to improve understanding of events occurring in Earth's atmosphere over a wide range of time and space scales. Together with the Department of Geography, the School of Meteorology is part of OU's College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences. For more information, visit http://weather.ou.edu/.
About the OU College of Architecture
The OU College of Architecture offers a dynamic professional education in architecture, construction science, interior design, landscape architecture, and regional and city planning through a variety of undergraduate and graduate programs in interdisciplinary, collaborative settings emphasizing excellence in education, research and service to the community.
The Division of Landscape Architecture provides an interdisciplinary setting in which to learn and think critically and creatively in addressing environmental issues that are rooted in, though not limited to, the physiographic region of the Great Plains, the metropolis of Oklahoma City and smaller communities within the state. For more information, visit http://coa.ou.edu/.