Biometeorology of Humans in Desert Environments

Chapter 19

The Heat Balance of the Human Body - Components

Longwave radiation gain or loss Conductive and convective exchange with the atmosphere gain or loss Metabolic source - gain Direct, diffuse, and reflected solar radiation gain Evaporation loss Conduction with the ground gain or loss

The Energy Conservation Equation

QM + QLR + QSR + QH + QE + QG = QS
QS is the net rate of heat gain or loss as a result of an imbalance in the terms.

QS not equal to zero means that the body temperature will increase or decrease.
QS must remain small, or be large for only a short time, in humans because of the small range in tolerable body temperatures.

Long-wave (Infrared) Radiation

Emitted by the skin surface - IR (lost) intensity = Tskin4, with = Tskin~ 92 F, 33.3 C - clothing absorbs some of the emitted IR and reemits it back to the skin and to the environment. Absorbed by the skin surface - IR (gained) intensity = Tenviron4, where Tenviron applies to the atmosphere, the ground, etc. - clothing absorbs some of the IR from the environment, and emits it to the skin and back to the environment Whether there is a net gain or loss by the skin depends on Tskin versus the average Tenviron

Metabolic Source of Heat

Body at rest generates about 80 Cal of heat per hour enough to heat 1 liter of ice water to boiling point. The greater the level of exercise, the more heat generated normal to fast walk generates ~280 Cal per hour. Over a typical work day, the metabolic energy generated in a day would be about 3 times that of a person at rest.

Surrogate for rate of heat gain

The greater the activity level, and the greater the body weight, the greater the perspiration rate required to maintain a heat balance.

Conductive and Convective Exchange of Heat Between the Skin and the Atmosphere In a very shallow layer above the skin surface, conduction is responsible for the heat exchange the direction of heat transfer is from hot to cold. Outside this layer, convection transfers the heat. This is analogous to how heat is transferred between the ground surface and the atmosphere

 Thus, heat is gained by the body if the air temperature is greater than the skin surface temperature. A shallow boundary layer forms over the skin surface, with this thin boundary-layer air having a temperature near the skin temperature reduces heat transfer. Wind strips the boundary layer away from the skin, increases the temperature contrast, and increases the heat transfer. Thus, heat is gained most rapidly on windy days with air T over ~92 F, when no clothes protect the boundary layer from the wind. Note parallel with the concept of wind-chill factor.

Rate of Heat Gain

How might perspiration rate be estimated?

Evaporation
Takes place in the respiratory system and from the skin. Respiratory evaporative cooling is responsible for loss of only ~25% of metabolic heat generated in resting person. In a cool environment, the rest of the heat is lost through conduction and radiation. In the hot desert where conduction/convection, IR radiation, and solar radiation all represent heat gains, or when metabolic heat generation is high, perspiration from the skin is the main/only way that the body loses heat.

Rate of Evaporation From the Skin Depends On Humidity Wind speed Temperature
In the desert, these conditions are favorable enough for evaporation that we often dont see any moisture on the skin.

Fluid balance

Example of the Efficiency of Evaporation For Heat Regulation - Sauna

Dry air that is heated to ~110 C (230 F) Pan of water taken into this environment will boil, and a steak will cook in the amount of time that a person is in the sauna. Why doesnt the body overheat? rapid evaporation into the hot, dry environment. Evidence of evaporative loss of heat?
Blow on the skin to remove the boundary layer blister forms immediately Nostrils become raw Water thrown on hot rocks in sauna makes it feel hotter because it reduces evaporation rate.

Solar Radiation Direct, Diffuse, Reflected

Amount absorbed by the body depends
Sun angle Cloud cover Dust content of atmosphere Albedo of surface, and slope Position of the body Clothing

Maintaining the Heat Balance

QM + QLR + QSR + QH + QE + QG = QS

What the Body Does To Maintain The Heat Balance in Hot Environments
Increase perspiration Dilation of arteries to increase capillary blood flow at the skin surface (if air T is less than blood T) But, even with unlimited water consumption, strenuous physical activity in the desert can cause dangerously high body temperatures
heat is not transported fast enough from the interior of the body to the surface where the heat is lost not enough perspiration is generated to produce the required cooling

High work rate

Low work rate

Deaths per summer day in Shanghai

Threshold

Acclimatization to Desert Heat - Worked 100 min at 120 F -

Physical Effects of Heat Stress and Dehydration

Survival daily water requirement, July, acclimatized person at rest

Number of Days Without Water For Which It is Possible to Walk At Night