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Matei Georgescu

Matei Georgescu

Director, Urban Climate Research Center

Matei.Georgescu@asu.edu

480-727-5986

School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning
Arizona State University
PO Box 875302
Tempe, AZ 85287-5302

Titles

  • Senior Global Futures Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory
  • Director, Urban Climate Research Center
  • Associate Professor and Associate Director, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • Affiliated Faculty, Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation
  • Associate Editor, Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres
  • Editorial Board, Environmental Research Letters

Biography

Matei Georgescu's research aims to improve understanding and characterization of distinct phenomena related to urbanization-induced landscape change. He focuses on identifying hydro-climatic and air quality impacts resulting from large-scale urbanization, as well as potential adaptation and mitigation strategies. In addition, Georgescu addresses environmental consequences (e.g., on climate and hydrology) of renewable energy expansion by integrating across physical, agricultural, and socioeconomic elements. The range of tools used to investigate these topics include climate models, remote sensing data and associated applications, and in situ weather/climate observations.

Prior to joining ASU,  Georgescu was a Post-Doctoral Scholar in the Center on Food Security and the Environment (Department of Environmental Earth System Science) at Stanford University from 2008-2010.

Education

  • PhD, Atmospheric Science, Rutgers University, 2008
  • MS, Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, 2003
  • BS, Meteorology, Rutgers University, 1999

Expertise

External Links

Journal Articles

In Press

Brandi, A., A. Martilli, F. Salamoni and M. Georgescu. Urban boundary-layer flows in complex terrain: Dynamic interactions during a hot and dry summer season in Phoenix, Arizona. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society DOI: 10.1002/qj.4752. (link )

2024

Salamanca Palou, F., B. M. Svoma, J. Walter, D. Insua-Costa, G. Miguez-Macho, J. Karanja and M. Georgescu. 2024. Modeling Salt-Verde Watershed winter precipitation using convection-permitting WRF-simulations with water vapor tracers. JGR Atmospheres 129(12):e2024JD041029. DOI: 10.1029/2024JD041029. (link )

2021

Guyer, H., M. Georgescu, D. M. Hondula, F. Wardenaar and J. K. Vanos. 2021. Identifying the need for locally-observed wet bulb globe temperature across outdoor athletic venues for current and future climates in a desert environment. Environmental Research Letters 16(12):124042. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac32fb. (link )

2020

Broadbent, A. M., E. S. Krayenhoff and M. Georgescu. 2020. The motley drivers of heat and cold exposure in 21st century US cities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2005492117 . (link )

Cao, Q., Y. Liu, M. Georgescu and J. Wu. 2020. Impacts of landscape changes on local and regional climate: a systematic review. Landscape Ecology 35:1269-1290. DOI: 10.1007/s10980-020-01015-7. (link )

Iwaniec, D. M., E. M. Cook, M. J. Davidson, M. Berbés-Blázquez, M. Georgescu, E. S. Krayenhoff, A. Middel, D. A. Sampson and N. B. Grimm. 2020. The co-production of sustainable future scenarios. Landscape and Urban Planning 197:103744. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103744. (link )

Liao, C., J. Qiu, B. Chen, D. Chen, B. Fu, M. Georgescu, C. He, G. D. Jenerette, X. Li, X. Li, X. Li, B. Qiuying, P. Shi and J. Wu. 2020. Advancing landscape sustainability science: Theoretical foundation and synergies with innovations in methodology, design, and application. Landscape Ecology 35:1-9. DOI: 10.1007/s10980-020-00967-0. (link )

2019

Hondula, D. M., J. L. Sabo, R. Quay, M. V. Chester, M. Georgescu, N. B. Grimm, S. L. Harlan, A. Middel, S. Porter, C. L. Redman, B. Rittmann, B. L. Ruddell and D. D. White. 2019. Cities of the Southwest are testbeds for urban resilience. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 17(2):79-80. DOI: 10.1002/fee.2005. (link )

Uludere Aragon, N., M. Stuhlmacher, J. P. Smith, N. Clinton and M. Georgescu. 2019. Urban agriculture's bounty: contributions to Phoenix's sustainability goals. 14(10):. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab428f . (link )

2018

Cao, Q., D. Yu, M. Georgescu and J. Wu. 2018. Substantial impacts of landscape changes on summer climate with major regional differences: The case of China. Science of The Total Environment 625(Jun):416-427. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.290. (link )

Cao, Q., D. Yu, M. Georgescu, J. Wu and W. Wang. 2018. Impacts of future urban expansion on summer climate and heat-related human health in eastern China. Environmental International 112(Mar):134-146. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2017.12.027. (link )

Goldblatt, R., M. Stuhlmacher, B. M. Tellman, N. Clinton, G. Hanson, M. Georgescu, C. Wang, F. S. Candela, A. K. Khandelwal, W. Cheng, R. C and B. Jr. 2018. Using Landsat and nighttime lights for supervised pixel-based image classification of urban land cover. Remote Sensing of Environment 205(Feb):253-275. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2017.11.026. (link )

Hondula, D. M., R. E. Davis and M. Georgescu. 2018. Clarifying the connections between green space, urban climate, and heat-related mortality. American Journal of Public Health 108, Supplement 2(2):562-563. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.304295. (link )

Hunt, J. C., Y. D. Aktas, A. Mahalov, M. Moustaoui, F. Salamanca Palou and M. Georgescu. 2018. Climate change and growing megacities: Hazards and vulnerability. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability 171(6):314-326. DOI: 10.1680/jensu.16.00068. (link )

2017

Eakin, H., L. A. Bojórquez-Tapia, M. A. Janssen, M. Georgescu, D. Manuel-Navarrete, E. R. Vivoni, A. E. Escalante, A. Baeza-Castro, M. Mazari-Hiriart and A. M. Lerner. 2017. Opinion: Urban resilience efforts must consider social and political forces. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114(2):186-189. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1620081114. (link )

Hondula, D. M., R. C. Balling Jr., R. Andrade, S. Krayenhoff, A. Middel, A. Urban, M. Georgescu and D. J. Sailor. 2017. Biometeorology for cities. International Journal of Biometeorology 61(Supp. 1):59-69. DOI: 10.1007/s00484-017-1412-3. (link )

2016

Benson-Lira, V., M. Georgescu, S. Kaplan and E. R. Vivoni. 2016. Loss of a lake system in a megacity: The impact of urban expansion on seasonal meteorology in Mexico City. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 121(7):3079-3099. DOI: 10.1002/2015JD024102. (link )

Cao, Q., D. Yu, M. Georgescu and J. Wu. 2016. Impacts of urbanization on summer climate in China: An assessment with coupled land-atmospheric modeling. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 121(18):10,505-10,521. DOI: 10.1002/2016JD025210. (link )

Salamanca, F., M. Georgescu, A. Mahalov, M. Moustaoui and A. Martilli. 2016. Citywide impacts of cool roof and rooftop solar photovoltaic deployment on near-surface air temperature and cooling energy demand. Boundary Layer Meteorology DOI: 10.1007/s10546-016-0160-y.

2015

Cao, Q., D. Yu, M. Georgescu, Z. Han and J. Wu. 2015. Impacts of land use and land cover change on regional climate: A case study in the agro-pastoral transitional zone of China. Environmental Research Letters 10:124025. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124025. (link )

Georgescu, M. 2015. Challenges associated with adaptation to future urban expansion. Journal of Climate 28:2544-2563. DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00290.1. (link )

Georgescu, M., W. T. Chow, Z. H. Wang, A. J. Brazel, B. Trapido-Lurie, M. Roth and V. Benson-Lira. 2015. Prioritizing urban sustainability solutions: Coordinated approaches must incorporate scale-dependent built environment induced effects. Environmental Research Letters 10(6):061001. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/10/6/061001. (link )

Hondula, D. M., R. C. Balling Jr., J. K. Vanos and M. Georgescu. 2015. Rising temperatures, human health, and the role of adaptation. Current Climate Change Reports 1(3):144-154. DOI: 10.1007/s40641-015-0016-4. (link )

Kaplan, S., M. Georgescu, N. Alfasi and I. Kloog. 2015. Impact of future urbanization on summer: A case study of Israel. Theoretical and Applied Climatology DOI: 10.1007/s00704-015-1708-3. (link )

Sailor, D. J., M. Georgescu, J. M. Milne and M. Hart. 2015. Development of a national anthropogenic heating database with an extrapolation for international cities. Atmospheric Environment 118(October):7-18. DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.07.016. (link )

Salamanca, F., M. Georgescu, A. Mahalov and M. Moustaoui. 2015. Summertime response of temperature and cooling energy demand to urban expansion in a semiarid environment. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 54(8):1756–1772. DOI: 10.1175/JAMC-D-14-0313.1. (link )

Shaffer, S. R., W. T. Chow, M. Georgescu, P. Hyde, G. D. Jenerette, A. Mahalov, M. Moustaoui and B. L. Ruddell. 2015. Multiscale modeling and evaluation of urban surface energy balance in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 54:322-338. DOI: 10.1175/JAMC-D-14-0051.1. (link )

2014

Bagley, J. E., S. C. Davis, M. Georgescu, M. Z. Hussain, J. Miller, S. W. Nesbitt, A. VanLoocke and C. J. Bernacchi. 2014. The biophysical link between climate, water, and vegetation in bioenergy agro-ecosystems. Biomass and Bioenergy 71(Dec):187-201. DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2014.10.007. (link )

Chow, W. T., F. Salamanca, M. Georgescu, A. Mahalov, J. M. Milne and B. L. Ruddell. 2014. A multi-method and multi-scale approach for estimating city-wide anthropogenic heat fluxes. Atmospheric Environment 99(December):64-76. DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.09.053. (link )

Georgescu, M., P. E. Morefield, B. G. Bierwagen and C. P. Weaver. 2014. Urban adaptation can roll back warming of emerging megapolitan regions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111(8):2909-2914. DOI: 1073/pnas.1322280111. (link )

Hondula, D. M., M. Georgescu and R. C. Balling Jr. 2014. Challenges associated with projecting urbanization-induced heat-related mortality. Science of The Total Environment 490:538-544. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.04.130. (link )

Salamanca, F., M. Georgescu, A. Mahalov, M. Moustaoui and M. Wang. 2014. Anthropogenic heating of the urban environment due to air conditioning. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 119(10):5949-5965. DOI: 10.1002/2013JD021225. (link )

2013

Georgescu, M., D. B. Lobell, C. B. Field and A. Mahalov. 2013. Simulated hydro-climatic impacts of projected Brazilian sugarcane expansion. Geophysical Research Letters 40(5):972-977. DOI: 10.1002/grl.50206. (link )

Salamanca, F., M. Georgescu, A. Mahalov, M. Moustaoui, M. Wang and B. M. Svoma. 2013. Assessing summertime urban air conditioning consumption in a semiarid environment. Environmental Research Letters 8(3):034022. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/034022. (link )

2011

Georgescu, M., D. B. Lobell and C. B. Field. 2011. Direct climate effects of perennial bioenergy crops in the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 108(11):4307-4312. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1008779108 . (link )

Georgescu, M., M. Moustaoui, A. Mahalov and J. Dudhia. 2011. An alternative explanation of the seim-arid urban area "oasis effect". Journal of Geophysical Research 116:D24113. DOI: 10.1029/2011JD016720. (link )

Posters

2018

Stuhlmacher, M., R. Goldblatt, M. Georgescu, N. Clinton, B. M. Tellman, G. Hanson and A. K. Khandelwal. 2018. 30-meter resolution urban classification in Google Earth Engine. Poster presented at the 20th Annual CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, January 5, 2018, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )

2017

Davidson, M. J., E. M. Cook, D. M. Iwaniec, M. Berbés-Blázquez, M. Boylan, M. Georgescu, N. B. Grimm, S. Krayenhoff, X. Li, A. Middel, B. Ramierz and D. A. Sampson. 2017. Exploring outcomes and assessing tradeoffs of co-developed sustainable future scenarios for the central Arizona-Phoenix region. Poster presented at the 19th Annual Central-Arizona Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, 13 January 2017, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )

Wright, M. K., P. C. Chakalian, L. C. Kurtz, L. E. Watkins, S. L. Harlan, M. Georgescu and D. M. Hondula. 2017. Extreme heat and power failures: Understanding household-scale risks. Poster presented at the 19th Annual Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, 13 January 2017, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )

2015

Li, J., M. Georgescu, P. G. Hyde, A. Mahalov and M. Moustaoui. 2015. Phoenix ozone variation due to urbanization and regional transport. Poster presented at the Seventeenth Annual CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, 16 January 2015, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )

Li, X., S. R. Shaffer, A. Mahalov, B. L. Turner II, M. Georgescu, I. Kamarianakis, E. Mack and M. Moustaoui. 2015. High-resolution fractional land-cover classification and infuence of multi-scale aggregation method for urban applications. Poster presented at the 16th Annual WRF Users Workshop, 17 June 2015, Boulder, CO. (link )

2014

Milne, J., M. Georgescu, D. J. Sailor and M. Hart. 2014. Developing anthropogenic heating profiles for urban areas across the United States. Poster presented at the 16th Annual CAP LTER Poster Symposium and All Scientists Meeting, January 17, 2014, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )

2013

Lorenz, D., M. Georgescu and A. J. Brazel. 2013. Assessing climate impacts of projected continental U.S. urban expansion. Poster presented at the 11 January 2013, 15th Annual CAP LTER Poster Symposium and All Scientist Meeting 2013, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )

Shaffer, S. R., B. L. Ruddell, W. T. Chow, M. Moustaoui, A. Mahalov and M. Georgescu. 2013. Evaluation of WRF for fine scale surface energy balance modeling in Phoenix. Poster presented at the 2013 AGU Fall Meeting, 9-13 December 2013, San Francisco, CA. (link )