title: Outdoor thermal physiology along human pathways: a study using a wearable measurement system.
abstract: An outdoor summer study on thermal physiology along subjects' pathways was conducted in a Japanese city using a unique wearable measurement system that measures all the relevant thermal variables: ambient temperature, humidity, wind speed (U) and short/long-wave radiation (S and L), along with some physio-psychological parameters: skin temperature (T skin), pulse rate, subjective thermal sensation and state of body motion. U, S and L were measured using a globe anemo-radiometer adapted use with pedestrian subjects. The subjects were 26 healthy Japanese adults (14 males, 12 females) ranging from 23 to 74 years in age. Each subject wore a set of instruments that recorded individual microclimate and physiological responses along a designated pedestrian route that traversed various urban textures. The subjects experienced varying thermal environments that could not be represented by fixed-point routine observational data. S fluctuated significantly reflecting the mixture of sunlit/shade distributions within complex urban morphology. U was generally low within urban canyons due to drag by urban obstacles such as buildings but the subjects' movements enhanced convective heat exchanges with the atmosphere, leading to a drop in T skin. The amount of sweating increased as standard effective temperature (SET*) increased. A clear dependence of sweating on gender and body size was found; males sweated more than females; overweight subjects sweated more than standard/underweight subjects. T skin had a linear relationship with SET* and a similarly clear dependence on gender and body size differences. T skin of the higher-sweating groups was lower than that of the lower-sweating groups, reflecting differences in evaporative cooling by perspiration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, 2641, Yamasaki, Noda city, Chiba Prefecture, 278-8510, Japan, nakayoshi@rs.tus.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakayoshi
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Dear
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization / Q000502:physiology*; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D002980:Climate; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000379:methods*; D000069636:Pedestrians; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D013696:Temperature; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult