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The CAPITOUL experiment is a joint experimental effort in urban climate, including the energetic exchanges between the surface and the atmosphere, the dynamics of the boundary layer over the city and its interactions with aerosol chemistry. The campaign took place in the city of Toulouse in southwest France, for one year, from February 2004 to February 2005. This allowed the study of both the day-to-day and seasonal variability of urban climate processes. The observational network included surface stations (meteorology, energy balance, chemistry), profilers and, during intensive observing periods, aircraft and balloons.

The urban Surface Energy Balance differs between summer and winter: in summer, the solar heat stored during the previous daytime period is enough to maintain the heat release at night, but in winter, almost all the energy comes from the anthropogenic heat released by space …