A note on surface layer parameterizations in the weather research and forecast model

Two surface layer parameterization schemes along with five planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes in the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) are analyzed in order to evaluate the performance of the WRF model in simulating the surface variables and turbulent fluxes over an Indian sub-continent region. These surface layer schemes are based on the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University—National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5) parameterization; (a) Old MM5 scheme having Businger-Dyer similarity functions and (b) revised MM5 scheme utilizing the functions that are valid for full ranges of atmospheric stabilities. The study suggests that each PBL scheme can reproduce the diurnal variation of 2 m temperature, momentum flux and sensible heat flux irrespective of the surface layer scheme used for the simulations. However, a comparison of model-simulated values of surface variables and turbulent fluxes with observed values suggests that each PBL scheme is found to systematically over-estimate the nocturnal 2 m temperature and 10 m wind speed with both the revised and old schemes during stable conditions.     

A diagnostic study of wangara wind profiles in quasi-steady and near-neutral cases

Under the assumption of a geostrophic wind varying exponentially with height, profiles of four turbulence characteristics (Reynolds stress, eddy diffusivity, momentum mixing length, and energy dissipation rate) are evaluated for three cases of quasi-steady wind profile observations under near-neutral boundary layer conditions. These cases occurred during the Wangara Experiment organized by CSIRO at Hay, N.S.W., Australia, in 1967. It is shown that mean vertical motion and surface friction velocity significantly influence the evaluated profiles of the turbulence characteristics.This study was done while Zhang visited the Department of Meteorology, University of Wisconsin, from the Department of Meteorology, Nanjing University, China, and was completed when Zhang was affiliated with the National Center for Atmospheric Research.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Airborne measurements of the vertical flux of ozone in the boundary layer

A fast-response chemiluminescent ozone sensor was mounted in an aircraft instrumented for air motion and temperature measurements. Measurements of the vertical flux of ozone by the eddy correlation technique were obtained after correcting for time delay and pressure sensitivity in the ozone sensor output. The observations were taken over eastern Colorado for two days in April, one a morning and the other an afternoon flight. Since the correlation coefficient of ozone and vertical velocity is small compared to, for example, temperature and vertical velocity in the lower part of the convective boundary layer, an averaging length of the order of 100 km was required to obtain a reasonably accurate estimate of the ozone flux. The measured variance of ozone appeared to be too large, probably mainly due to random noise in the sensor output, although the possibility of the production of ozone fluctuations by chemical reactions cannot be dismissed entirely. Terms in the budget equation for ozone were estimated from the aircraft measurements and the divergence of the ozone flux was found to be large compared to the flux at the surface divided by the boundary-layer height.Part of this work was carried out while a visitor at Risø National Laboratory, Denmark.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

SEASONAL PERSISTENCE OF THE WEST PACIFIC SUBTROPICAL HIGH AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SURFACE HEAT FLUX ANOMALY

This paper investigates the interannual variation of the West Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) intensity based on the data compiled by the Chinese National Climate Center. Monthly reanalysis data from National Centers for Environmental Prediction and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) are also used to study the lead-lag relationship between WPSH intensity and surface heat flux anomalies. The three major findings are as follows: First, WPSH intensity presents good seasonal persistence, especially from winter to the ensuing summer. Persistence is more significant after 1977, especially from spring to summer, and from summer to autumn; persistence of anticyclonic anomalies are significantly better than cyclonic anomalies. Second, surface heat flux tends to present opposite anomalous patterns between the strong and weak years of the WPSH intensity, which is especially valid at the latent heat flux over the ocean. Simultaneous correlations between surface heat flux and WPSH intensity in each of the seasons are marked by similar key areas. Finally, surface heat flux from the preceding winter of a strong summer WPSH is quite similar to strong spring WPSH, but the positive anomalies over the northwest Pacific and south of Japan are notably stronger. The situations in the weak years are similar except for those over the northwest Pacific: winter surface heat flux shows negative anomalies for a weak spring WPSH, but positive anomalies for a weak summer WPSH. It is suggested that surface heat flux in the previous winter plays an important role in maintaining the WPSH intensity in the ensuing spring and summer.     

The formation and maintenance of the North Water Polynya

Abstract

This paper investigates the formation and maintenance of the North Water Polynya, Baffin Bay in winter using a multi‐category sea‐ice model coupled with the Princeton ocean model. Monthly climatological atmospheric data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis provides the forcing. An objectively‐analysed climatology provides the initial ocean temperature and salinity. Wind stress drives the ice in a cyclonic gyre around northern Baffin Bay. Localized regions of thin ice form where wind drives ice away from coastlines or fast ice. The regions of thin ice are characterized by enhanced ice growth, exceeding 1.2 m mo^?1. In the regions of thin ice, surface ocean heat flux is also enhanced and is between 30–60 W m^?2. Surface heat flux is, in part, attributable to convective mixing and entrainment driven by ice growth. The surface heat flux reflects advection of the warm West Greenland Current. Heat and salt balances show that horizontal advective exchange counterbalances surface fluxes of heat and salt.     

Regional simulations to quantify land use change and irrigation impacts on hydroclimate in the California Central Valley

In this study, the influence of land use change and irrigation in the California Central Valley is quantified using the Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research fifth generation Mesoscale Model (MM5) coupled with the Community Land Model version 3 (CLM3). The simulations were forced with modern-day and presettlement land use types at 30-km spatial resolution for the period 1 October 1995 to 30 September 1996. This study shows that land use change has significantly altered the structure of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) that affects near-surface temperature. In contrast, many land-use change studies indicate that albedo and evapotranspiration variations are the key processes influencing climate at local-to-regional scales. Our modeling results show that modern-day daily maximum near-surface air temperature (Tmax) has decreased due to agricultural expansion since presettlement. This decrease is caused by weaker sensible heat flux resulting from the lower surface roughness lengths associated with modern-day crops. The lower roughness lengths in the Central Valley also result in stronger winds that lead to a higher PBL. The higher PBL produces stronger sensible heat flux, causing nighttime warming. In addition to land use change, cropland irrigation has also affected hydroclimate processes within the California Central Valley. We generated a 10-member MM5-CLM3 ensemble simulation, where each ensemble member was forced by a fixed volumetric soil water content (SWC) between 3% and 30%, at 3% intervals, over the irrigated areas during a spring?Csummer growing season, 1 March to 31 August 1996. The results show that irrigation lowers the modern-day cropland surface temperature. Daytime cooling is produced by irrigation-related evaporation enhancement. This increased evaporation also dominates the nighttime surface cooling process. Surface cooling and the resulting weaker sensible heat flux further lower the near-surface air temperature. Thus, irrigation strengthens the daytime near-surface air temperature reduction that is caused by land use change, and a similar temperature change is seen for observations over irrigated cropland. Based on our modeling results, the nighttime near-surface warming induced by land use change is alleviated by low-intensity irrigation (17%?<?SWC?<?19%), but such warming completely reverses to a cooling effect under high-intensity irrigation (SWC?>?19%). The land use changes discussed in this study are commonly observed in many regions of the world, and the physical processes identified here can be used to better understand temperature variations over other areas with similar land cover changes.     

THE WARMING MECHANISM IN THE SOUTHERN ARABIAN SEA DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN OCEAN DIPOLE EVENTS

This study aims to explore the relative role of oceanic dynamics and surface heat fluxes in the warming of southern Arabian Sea and southwest Indian Ocean during the development of Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) events by using National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) daily reanalysis data and Global Ocean Data Assimilation System (GODAS) monthly mean ocean reanalysis data from 1982 to 2013, based on regression analysis, Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis and combined with a 2? layer dynamic upper-ocean model. The results show that during the initial stage of IOD events, warm downwelling Rossby waves excited by an anomalous anticyclone over the west Indian Peninsula, southwest Indian Ocean and southeast Indian Ocean lead to the warming of the mixed layer by reducing entrainment cooling. An anomalous anticyclone over the west Indian Peninsula weakens the wind over the Arabian Sea and Somali coast, which helps decrease the sea surface heat loss and shallow the surface mixed layer, and also contributes to the sea surface temperature (SST) warming in the southern Arabian Sea by inhibiting entrainment. The weakened winds increase the SST along the Somali coast by inhibiting upwelling and zonal advection. The wind and net sea surface heat flux anomalies are not significant over the southwest Indian Ocean. During the antecedent stage of IOD events, the warming of the southern Arabian Sea is closely connected with the reduction of entrainment cooling caused by the Rossby waves and the weakened wind. With the appearance of an equatorial easterly wind anomaly, the warming of the southwest Indian Ocean is not only driven by weaker entrainment cooling caused by the Rossby waves, but also by the meridional heat transport carried by Ekman flow. The anomalous sea surface heat flux plays a key role to damp the warming of the west pole of the IOD.     

PRELIMINARY STUDY ON RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DOUBLE VORTICES SELF-ORGANIZATION AND TYPHOON FORMATION IN BAROCLINIC ENVIRONMENT

The relationship between the self-organization of double vortices (SODVs) and the formation of typhoons was discussed based on six numerical experiments with the Fifth-Generation National Center for Atmospheric Research/Penn State Mesoscale Model (MM5) and further discussion was made with a real typhoon case. The results showed that there is a critical distance dc for SODVs in baroclinic atmosphere. When the distance between separated vortices is smaller than or equal to dc, the double vortices self-organize into a typhoon-like vortex with two spiral bands. But the double vortices cannot have such organization if the distance between them is larger than dc. The value of dc is about 380 km in the context of ideal conditions in this paper, larger than that achieved in a barotropic model. A typical typhoon case in 2005 (Haitang) was selected to verify the above-mentioned conclusions. It was found that the SODV is one of the important and typical ways for the formation of typhoons.     

扎陵湖和鄂陵湖夏季典型地表水热交换特征的数值模拟

选用由美国国家环境预报中心NCEP和美国国家大气研究中心NCAR联合开发的新一代中尺度数值模式WRF(Weather Research and Forecasting Model)模式,采用两重网格单向反馈嵌套的方法对扎陵湖和鄂陵湖区域的大气边界层特征进行数值模拟,并把湖泊水体下垫面替换为草地下垫面以设计另一组去除湖泊...     

The Energy Balance Experiment EBEX-2000. Part I: overview and energy balance

An overview of the Energy Balance Experiment (EBEX-2000) is given. This experiment studied the ability of state-of-the-art measurements to close the surface energy balance over a surface (a vegetative canopy with large evapotranspiration) where closure has been difficult to obtain. A flood-irrigated cotton field over uniform terrain was used, though aerial imagery and direct flux measurements showed that the surface still was inhomogeneous. All major terms of the surface energy balance were measured at nine sites to characterize the spatial variability across the field. Included in these observations was an estimate of heat storage in the plant canopy. The resultant imbalance still was 10%, which exceeds the estimated measurement error. We speculate that horizontal advection in the layer between the canopy top and our flux measurement height may cause this imbalance, though our estimates of this term using our measurements resulted in values less than what would be required to balance the budget. The National Center for Atmospheric Research is supported by the National Science Foundation     

Arctic sea ice decay simulated for a CO2-induced temperature rise

A large scale numerical time-dependent model of sea ice that takes into account the heat fluxes in and out of the ice, the seasonal occurrence of snow, and ice motions has been used in an experiment to determine the response of the Arctic Ocean ice pack to a warming of the atmosphere. The degree of warming specified is that expected for a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide with its associated greenhouse effect, a condition that could occur before the middle of the next century. The results of three 5-year simulations with a warmer atmosphere and varied boundary conditions were: (1) that in the face of a 5 K surface atmospheric temperature increase the ice pack disappeared completely in August and September but reformed in the central Arctic Ocean in mid fall; (2) that the simulations were moderately dependent on assumptions concerning cloud cover; and (3) that even when atmospheric temperature increases of 6–9 K were combined with an order-of-magnitude increase in the upward heat flux from the ocean, the ice still reappeared in winter. It should be noted that a year-round ice-free Arctic Ocean has apparently not existed for a million years or more.Currently on leave, working for the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, on the World Climate Programme.The calculations for this work were carried out while both authors were at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

利用一个海气耦合模式对台风Krovanh的模拟

采用中尺度大气模式MM5和区域海洋模式POM构造了中尺度海气耦合模式, 模拟了Krovanh (0312) 台风过程中台风－海洋相互作用, 分析了台风引起的海面降温影响台风强度的机制和海洋对台风响应的特征。试验结果显示: 考虑台风引起的海面降温使台风强度模拟有了较大改进, 模拟的台风中心气压和近中心最大风速均与实况较符合。POM模拟的海表面温度与TRMM/TMI观测的海表面温度也较为一致, 台风Krovanh在其路径右侧95 km处引起较大的海面降温, 最大降温幅度达5.8℃。与海表面温度降低相对应的是混合层深度的增加, 较大的海面降温对应较大的混合层加深, 表明大风夹卷在海表面温度的降低中起主要作用。分析表明, 台风引起的海面降温降低海洋向大气输送的潜热通量和感热通量, 特别是在台风内核区, 平均总热通量减少了32.1%。热通量的减少使得湿静力能及湿静力能径向梯度减小, 削弱了台风强度。     

Similarity studies of entrainment in convective mixed layers

A similarity study of entrainment at the top of convectively driven mixed layer is presented. The similarity framework is used for a comparison between various parameterized models of mixed-layer growth rate and between closely related models for the ratio of heat fluxes at ground and inversion levels. These various models are also tested, in dimensionless form, against data from laboratory, field experiments and numerical higher-order-modeling of the convective layer. It is concluded that a rather accurate prediction of mixed-layer growth can be achieved with the simple constant flux ratio model, but that more refined studies of entrainment are required to account for the decrease of the heat flux ratio with increasing convective intensity.List of acronyms CRPE Centre de Recherches en Physique de l'Environnement, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France - EERM Etablissement d'Etudes et de Recherches Météorologiques, Boulogne, France - INRA Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Versailles, France - LAMP Laboratoire Associé de Météorologie Physique, Clermont-Ferrand, France - NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, U.S.A. - NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Research Laboratories, Boulder, U.S.A.     

Three-dimensional numerical study of the height and mean structure of a heated planetary boundary layer

The heated boundary layer for DAY 33 of the Wangara data of southeast Australia (Clarke et al., 1971) is studied numerically with a three-dimensional model using 64000 grid points within a volume 5 km on a side and 2 km deep. Subgrid-scale transport equations were utilized in place of eddy-coefficient formulations. The rate of growth of the mixed layer is examined and parameterized, and the vertical profiles of heat flux, moisture flux and momentum fluxes are examined. The momentum boundary layer is found to coincide essentially with the mixed layer, and to grow with the latter during the hours of solar heating of the surface.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Effects of Sea Spray Evaporation and Dissipative Heating on Intensity and Structure of Tropical Cyclone

To examine effects of sea spray evaporation and dissipative heating on structure and intensity of a real tropical cyclone,the sea spray flux parameterization scheme was incorporated into the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model(MM5).Sensitivity tests were performed with varying the spray source function intensities and with and without dissipation heating.The numerical results indicate that sea spray evaporation increases the interfacial sensible heat flux,which is increased by 16% for the moderate spray and 47% for the heavy spray,but has little effect on the interfacial latent heat flux.The net effect of sea spray evaporation is to decrease the total sensible heat flux and to increase the total latent heat flux.The total enthalpy flux is increased by 1% and 12% with moderate and strong spray amounts,respectively.Consistent with these results,the intensity of the tropical cyclone is increased by 5% and 16% in maximum 10-m wind speed,respectively,due to sea spray evaporation.Sea spray evaporation and dissipative heating modify the tropical cyclone structure in important but complex ways.The effect of sea spray on the near-surface temperature and moisture depends on the spray amounts and its location within the tropical cyclone.Within the high-wind region of a tropical cyclone,the lower atmosphere becomes cooler and moister due to the evaporation of sea spray.However,the dissipative heating offsets the cooling due to sea spray evaporation,which makes the lower atmosphere warmer.     

Chemical sensor resolution required for measuring surface fluxes by three common micrometeorological techniques

We define the chemical or compositional resolution required to measure the surface emission/deposition flux of trace constituents under different meteorological conditions by means of the eddy correlation, gradient, and conditional sampling techniques. These chemical resolutions are defined for the full range of different atmospheric conditions and are reported in terms of commonly measured micrometeorological parameters.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation     

一个冰气相互作用数值模拟结果的可能统计解释

基于一个全球海-冰-气耦合模式的数值模拟结果,选取冬季格陵兰海海表面温度(SST)、海冰密集度、海表面感热通量等物理量以及3个相关区域海平面气压分别作经验正交函数展开,取第一模时间系数作相关分析。结果表明,上一年海冰密集度偏大(小)与来年的SST偏低(高)相联系,但二者同期相关性最大。当海气热通量交换变化超前一年时,其与SST相关性最大。模式最低层大气温度与海洋表面热通量之间的同时相关性最大,冬季模式最低层气温偏高(低)与海洋表面失去的感热、潜热通量偏少(多)相联系。气温、比湿都和冰岛低压区及格陵兰海的海平面气压相关性最强,冰岛低压气压偏低(高)与模式最低层气温和比湿偏高(低)相联系。所以,在海-冰-气年际尺度的相互作用中,主要关系是大气环流调整造成大气中云量和低层气温、湿度变化,进而影响海气界面上的通量交换,造成SST的变化。SST变化决定着海冰范围及海冰密集度的变化,但海冰变化时通过相变潜热的释放或吸收反过来对SST变化有较明显影响。     

The Project for Intercomparison of Land-surface Parametrization Schemes (PILPS): 1992 to 1995

The World Climate Research Programme Project for Intercomparison of Land-surface Parametrization Schemes (PILPS) is an on-going international intercomparison of land surface schemes designed for use in climate modelling and weather prediction. The five phases of PILPS are described in this work with an indication of the status of each. Phase 0 documented the status of land surface schemes. Phase 1 performed a series of off-line tests using synthetic atmospheric forcing. Phase 2 exploited observational data in off-line tests. Phase 3 was comprised of coupled tests within the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) project and finally Phase 4 will consider the performance of land-surface schemes when coupled to their host climate models in fully coupled evaluations. Results from Phase 1 indicate that there is a wide range among models. Phase 2 indicates that while some models are consistent with observations, there remains a large range among models and that many diverge greatly from observations. PILPS phases 2(a) and 2(b) results suggest that individual land-surface schemes capture specific aspects of the complex system with reasonable accuracy but no one scheme captures the whole system satisfactorily and consistently. In Phase 3 the intercomparison of PILPS schemes as a component of global atmospheric circulation models is being conducted jointly with the AMIP as diagnostic subproject number 12. Preliminary results suggest that results differ by about the same range as in the offline experiments in Phases 1 and 2. Phase 4 will couple selected land-surface schemes to the USA's National Center for Atmospheric Research climate system model and to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology limited area model. Received: 24 October 1995 / Accepted: 28 May 1996     

基于对流尺度集合预报的飑线结构特征模拟与改善

对流尺度集合预报是研究飑线等强对流天气的新方向。当前对飑线系统结构的研究主要采用卫星和雷达资料结合高分辨率确定性预报的方法,而本文从集合预报技术的角度分析飑线结构特征。针对2014年7月30日中国江淮地区的一次强飑线过程,利用WRF模式开展了对流尺度集合预报试验,采用概率匹配平均法对集合预报结果进行综合处理,重点考察集合预报对飑线结构特征的模拟能力。结果表明:对流尺度集合预报能够模拟出飑线系统的基本结构特征。集合平均和概率匹配平均法相比控制预报而言,对飑线回波、热力场、动力场和微物理量场结构有明显的改善作用。同时模拟出了飑线系统近地面冷池和环境垂直风切变的相互作用,与RKW理论相一致。概率匹配平均法在回波强度上较集合平均更接近实况,应用于对流尺度集合预报研究极端天气事件具有指示意义。     

Data Assimilation Strategies in the Planetary Boundary Layer

We investigate the effect of the assimilation of surface and boundary-layer mass-field observations on the planetary boundary layer (PBL) within a one-dimensional (1D) version of the non-hydrostatic Fifth-Generation Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5). We focus on the vertical extent and effects of mass-field nudging within the PBL based on surface observations, and the added value of assimilating column mass observations within the PBL. Model experiments for dynamic initialization and dynamic analysis are conducted and composited for 29 May, 6 June, and 7 June 2002 during the International H₂O Project (IHOP) over the Southern Great Plains, U.S.A. Advantages are found when the data assimilation uses the innovation (the difference between the modelled value and the observed value) calculated by comparing the surface mass-field observation to the model value at the 2-m observation height rather than at the lowest model level. It is shown that this innovation can be applied throughout the model-diagnosed PBL via nudging during free-convective conditions because of the well-mixed nature of the PBL. However, in stable conditions, due to decreased vertical mixing the surface innovation may be best applied only in a shallow layer adjacent to the surface. Surface air-temperature innovations were also applied to the top soil-layer temperature to minimize disruption to the surface energy balance. In combination with the surface observations, the use of within-PBL mass-field data assimilation improves the simulated PBL structure.