Wintertime winds in and around the Ulaanbaatar metropolitan area in the presence of a temperature inversion

Temperature inversions are frequently observed in mountainous urban areas and can cause severe air pollution problems especially in wintertime. This study investigates wintertime winds in and around the Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, metropolitan area in the presence of a temperature inversion using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with the Seoul National University Urban Canopy Model (SNUUCM). Ulaanbaatar is located in complex terrain and in a nearly east-west-oriented valley. A wintertime scenario with clear skies, weak synoptic winds, and a temperature inversion under the influence of a Siberian high-pressure system is selected. Local winds are weak in the presence of the temperature inversion. In the daytime, weak mountain upslope winds develop, up-valley winds appear to be stronger in the urban area than in the surrounding areas, and channeling winds are produced in the main valley. The bottom of the temperature inversion layer rises up in the urban area, and winds below the bottom of the temperature inversion layer strengthen. In the nighttime, mountain downslope winds and down-valley winds develop. Urban effects in the presence of the temperature inversion are examined by comparing the results of simulations with and without the city. It is shown that in the daytime the urban area acts to elevate the bottom of the temperature inversion layer and weaken the strength of the temperature inversion layer. Winds east of the city weaken in the afternoon and down-valley winds develop later in the simulation with the city.     

Simulation of a Summer Urban Breeze Over Paris

Numerical simulations for an anticyclonic summer episode in the Paris area have been performed at the meso- scale for a 48-hour period, and compared to observations from a dense operational observational network. The meteorological stations have been classified, according to the extent of urbanization of their surroundings, into four classes (central Paris, urban, suburban, and rural). The atmospheric model, coupled with an urban surface scheme, correctly reproduces the temperature (within 1 K from the observations) and humidity. The intense urban heat island during the night is also well represented.Following the validation, the model is used to quantify atmospheric effects of Paris on the boundary layer, through a comparison with a purely rural simulation. At night, the model simulates a neutral or even slightly unstable boundary layer to a depth of 200 m over the city. In contrast, a very stable layer formed in the countryside. During the day, the boundary layer was more turbulent and 500 m deeper over Paris; vertical velocities of up to 1 m s^-1 were created over the city. This leads to an urban breeze with convergence at low levels (with winds around 5 to 7 m s^-1), and divergence at the boundary-layer top (with similar wind speeds). The horizontal extent of the breeze reaches for more than 50 km from the city centre, and could have an important impact on pollutant diffusion in the area for calm days.Finally, three other spring cases are presented briefly. These show that an urban breeze develops if the synoptic wind is weak enough or disorganized; an urban plume develops otherwise.     

A Monte Carlo Model Of The Nocturnal Surface Temperatures In Urban Canyons

A model for the urban canyon is formulated for meteorologicalconditions of weak winds at night time. Thermal radiation, conductivity and convection are simulated by means of the Monte Carlo method. These are the main physical processesof energy transfer that give rise to the characteristic temperaturedistribution in these systems. The model has been satisfactory tested under ideal conditions for which analytical solutions exist.The predictions of the model under morerealistic conditions accurately reproduce the observationalresults. A strong temperature gradient across streets, with the canyon corners up to 4 °C warmer than the canyon centre, is found for the deepest canyons. This theoretical predictionhas been successfully verified with measurementstaken in a number of streets of the city of Granada in Spain.     

Air Pollution Transport in an Alpine Valley: Results From Airborne and Ground-Based Observations

An observational dataset from a wintertime field campaign in the Inn Valley, Austria, is analysed in order to study mechanisms of air pollution transport in an Alpine valley. The results illustrate three types of mechanisms: transport by a density current, back-and-forth transport by valley winds, and transport by slope winds. The first type is associated with an air mass difference along the valley. Cooler air located in the lower part of the valley behaves like a density current and produces the advection of pollutants by upvalley winds. In the second type, strong horizontal gradients in pollution concentrations exist close to ground. Multiple wind reversals result in a back-and-forth transport of pollutants by weak valley winds. In the third type, upslope winds during daytime decrease low-level pollution concentrations and cause the formation of elevated pollution layers.     

城市下垫面对河谷城市兰州冬季热岛效应及边界层结构的影响

利用中尺度数值模式WRF耦合单层城市冠层模块UCM,引入2005年MODIS土地利用类型资料,在对2005年1月25—28日兰州市热岛现象进行高分辨率数值模拟的基础上,设计了去除城市下垫面敏感性试验,探讨了城市下垫面对城市边界层的影响程度。结果表明,城市下垫面能使近地层大气温度升高而风速减小,并且,在夜间表现更明显。由城市热岛强度日变化分析可知,城市下垫面对兰州市热岛强度的贡献率为44%。夜间,城市上空200 m以下的近地层大气保持了白天的混合层特征,热岛环流的上升运动促进了山风环流,使得上升气流到达地面以上600 m左右;白天,由于山峰加热效应,城市上空400—600 m存在一个脱地逆温层,城市热岛环流使得11—15时（北京时）市区近地层出现弱上升气流,抑制了谷风环流的形成及发展。城市下垫面的低反照率特性和建筑物的多次反射作用导致城市下垫面的净辐射通量大于非城市下垫面;城市下垫面由于建筑材料的不透水性,导致潜热通量远小于感热通量,而储热项所占比重明显增大。     

利用RAMS模式对山谷城市冬季局地风场的数值模拟

利用美国科罗拉多州立大学和MRC/ASTER发展的中尺度数值模式RAMS, 采用三重嵌套的方法, 模拟研究了兰州山谷地区局地环流特征。结果表明： （1）兰州市近地面流场以偏东风为主, 在城市东西部之间的狭窄地带, 风速相对较大些, 在东西部山谷城市中心区域有大片的静风区; 冬季兰州市山谷夜间是辐合流场, 白天是辐散流场。受城市热岛环流的影响, 白天热岛环流抑制谷风环流, 夜间增大山风环流, 夜间的山风风速大于白天的谷风风速。（2）白天, 兰州市区山顶和山谷之间上空气柱以下沉气流为主, 这主要是由于地形作用使得白天盛行谷风环流和山峰加热作用的共同影响。夜间, 兰州市区山顶和山谷之间上空以上升气流为主, 这主要是由于地形作用使得市区和山谷在夜间盛行山风环流, 但是冬天夜间兰州市区和山谷上空有较厚的逆温层存在, 抑制了气流的上升运动。（3）在午后13：00左右, 兰州市区山谷从近地面到400 m高度, 辐散场在逐渐减弱, 在510 m左右的高度转变为辐合场; 皋兰山顶上空从近地面到400 m高度, 辐合场在逐渐减弱, 在510 m左右的高度转变为辐散场。在凌晨01：00左右, 兰州市区山谷从近地面到400 m高度, 辐合场在逐渐增强, 到400 m高度达到最强, 从400 m到510 m高度又逐渐减弱; 皋兰山顶上空从近地面到220 m左右的高度, 辐散场在逐渐减弱, 在400 m左右的高度辐散场转变为辐合场, 从400 m到510 m左右的高度, 皋兰山顶的辐合场逐渐增强。     

A Physically-Based Scheme For The Urban Energy Budget In Atmospheric Models

An urban surface scheme for atmospheric mesoscale models ispresented. A generalization of local canyon geometry isdefined instead of the usual bare soil formulation currently usedto represent cities in atmospheric models. This allows refinement ofthe radiative budgets as well as momentum, turbulent heat and ground fluxes.The scheme is aimed to be as general as possible, in order to representany city in the world, for any time or weather condition(heat island cooling by night, urban wake, water evaporation after rainfalland snow effects).Two main parts of the scheme are validated against published data.Firstly, it is shown that the evolution of the model-predictedfluxes during a night with calm winds is satisfactory, considering both the longwave budget and the surface temperatures. Secondly, the original shortwave scheme is tested off-line and compared to the effective albedoof a canyon scale model. These two validations show that the radiative energy input to the urban surface model is realistic.Sensitivity tests of the model are performed for one-yearsimulation periods, for both oceanic and continental climates. The scheme has the ability to retrieve, without ad hoc assumptions, the diurnal hysteresis between the turbulent heat flux and ground heat flux. It reproduces the damping of the daytime turbulent heat flux by the heat storage flux observed in city centres. The latent heat flux is negligible on average,but can be large when short time scales are considered (especially afterrainfall). It also suggests that in densely built areas, domesticheating can overwhelm the net radiation, and supply a continuous turbulentheat flux towards the atmosphere. This becomes very important inwinter for continental climates. Finally, a comparison with a vegetation scheme shows that the suburban environment can be represented with a bare soil formulation for large temporal or spatial averages (typical of globalclimatic studies), but that a surface scheme dedicated to the urban surface is necessary when smaller scales are considered: town meteorological forecasts, mesoscale or local studies.     

Urban Heat Island Circulation in Göteborg,Sweden

Summary The paper presents a study of the Urban Heat Island Circulation (UHIC) in Göteborg, Sweden. Observations and recordings have been carried out from 1981 to 1986 during winter nights with anticyclonic weather conditions. The UHIC develops in general at a large negative net radiation balance, when the heat island intensity is at least 2.5°C, the wind speed less than 3 m/s and the sky is clear. If the weather conditions are favourable the UHIC starts 4–6 hours after midnight and stops a few hours after sunrise. An increase in cloud cover during the late night will not prevent the development of the UHIC. The UHIC layer extends to 40–70 metres in the vertical direction and to 10–13 km in the horizontal direction. The UHIC layer is capped by an inversion and the flow is almost independent of the direction of the regional flow. The UHIC is of great importance for the concentrations of air pollutions in Göteborg, as it transports both polluted and clean air. The study is a part of a clean air programme in the Göteborg area.With 7 Figures     

Structure and diurnal variation of the atmospheric boundary layer over a mid-latitude glacier in summer

During the summer of 1994, a meteorological experiment(PASTEX) was performed over the Pasterze Glacier,Austria. In this paper we describe the averagehorizontal and vertical structure of the atmosphericboundary layer (ABL) above the melting glacier, aswell as its diurnal variation during a period of fairweather. It was found that very persistent glacierwinds with a vertical extent of 100 m dominate thesummertime structure of the ABL, because the gravityforce acting on the near surface air parcels is manytimes larger than the synoptic-scale pressuregradient. During fair weather, we find a welldeveloped mountain-valley wind circulation above thekatabatic layer. During daytime, the valley wind advectswarm and humid air from the ice-free valley towardsthe glacier, limiting the development of the glacierwind. During the night, the downslope flows thatdevelop above the ice-free valley walls (mountainwind) merge with the glacier wind and enhance thedownslope transport of air. The associated subsidenceis the most probable cause for the drying of the lowerpart of the atmosphere during the night. Duringperiods of weak synoptic winds, the glacier windeffectively generates turbulence in the stronglystratified surface layer. On average, the turbulentfluxes of sensible and latent heat provide 25% of thetotal melting energy at the surface of the glaciertongue, and the influence of the glacier winds on thesurface energy budget can therefore not beneglected.     

Urban Thermodynamic Island in a Coastal City Analysed from an Optimized Surface Network

Within the framework of ESCOMPTE, a French experiment performed in June and July 2001 in the south-east of France to study the photo-oxidant pollution at the regional scale, the urban boundary layer (UBL) program focused on the study of the urban atmosphere over the coastal city of Marseille. A methodology developed to optimize a network of 20 stations measuring air temperature and moisture over the city is presented. It is based on the analysis of a numerical simulation, performed with the non-hydrostatic, mesoscale Meso-NH model, run with four nested-grids down to a horizontal resolution of 250 m over the city and including a specific parametrization for the urban surface energy balance. A three-day period was modelled and evaluated against data collected during the preparatory phase for the project in summer 2000. The simulated thermodynamic surface fields were analysed using an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) decomposition in order to determine the optimal network configuration designed to capture the dominant characteristics of the fields. It is the first attempt of application of this kind of methodology to the field of urban meteorology. The network, of 20 temperature and moisture sensors, was implemented during the UBL-ESCOMPTE experiment and continuously recorded data from 12 June to 14 July 2001. The measurements were analysed in order to assess the urban thermodynamic island spatio-temporal structure, also using EOF decomposition. During nighttime, the influence of urbanization on temperature is clear the field is characterized by concentric thermo-pleths around the old core of the city, which is the warmest area of the domain. The moisture field is more influenced by proximity to the sea and airflow patterns. During the day, the sea breeze often moves from west or south-west and consequently the spatial pattern for both parameters is characterized by a gradient perpendicular to the shoreline. Finally, in order to assess the methodology adopted, the spatial structures extracted from the simulation of the 2000 preparatory campaign and observations gathered in 2001 have been compared. They are highly correlated, which is a relevant validation of the methodology proposed. The relations between these spatial structures and geographical characteristics of the site have also been studied. High correlations between temperature spatial structure during nighttime and urban cover fraction or street aspect ratio are observed and simulated. For temperature during daytime or moisture during both daytime and nighttime these geographical factors are not correlated with thermodynamic fields spatial structures.     

Numerical Modelling of Urban Heat-Island Intensity

A three-dimensional, non-hydrostatic, high-resolution numerical model was used toanalyse urban heat-island (UHI) intensity in an idealised but realistic configuration.The urban area was 20 km square and lay on flat land at about latitude 50° Nin a maritime climate. In the model the urban area was represented by anomalies ofalbedo, anthropogenic heat flux, emissivity, roughness length, sky-view factor (SVF),surface resistance to evaporation (SRE) and thermal inertia. A control simulationincluded all these factors and the resultant UHI structure, energetics and intensitywere validated against observations. The results also compared favourably withearlier simulations.A series of experiments was conducted in which successively one of the anomaliesthat represented the urban area was omitted from the control simulation so as toprovide the basis for an assessment of its effect. In daytime the individual effectsdue to albedo, anthropogenic heat, emissivity, SVF and thermal inertia ranged from0.2 to 0.8 °C. In common with albedo, anthropogenic heat, emissivity andSVF, the SRE aided the formation of a UHI; it was also the most important factorin increasing its intensity. The roughness length had the opposite effect. At nightemissivity, roughness length, SVF and SRE had effects ranging from 0.3 to0.75 °C, but the largest effect (2 °C) was due to the anthropogenicheat. These results showed a difference in the causes of daytime and nighttime UHIs.In daytime the roughness length and SRE were the most important factors affectingUHI intensity; at night the anthropogenic heat was the most important. The simulationssuggested that the size of the urban area had a minimal effect on UHI intensity.     

Numerical studies on urban heat island associated with urbanization in yangtze delta region

The impact of modifications of the surface characteristics on local climate is simulated with a numerical mesoscale model in the Yangtze delta region, east of China. The simulated reference case with the current surface properties shows that there is urban heat island in Shanghai city which is located in the center of this region. The mod-ifications of surface characteristics due to the urbanization around Shanghai will lead to the change of local air circu-lation and redistribution of surface temperature. Simulation for this case shows that the urbanization around Shanghai has little effect on Shanghai, but will extend the area of heat island. Another case is assumed that the area of grassland is kept as 50% while the urban areas are extended. Compared with the case of pure urbanization, the max-imum reduction of surface air temperature is 2.0oC in the daytime and 2.3oC at night.     

Local foehn effects in the Upper Isar Valley,Part 3: Additional investigations

Summary The present paper is the continuation of two recent studies investigating the foehn-like valley wind system around Mittenwald (Bavarian Isar Valley). We deal with the synoptic/mesoscale conditions causing the local foehn (“Minifoehn”), considering field campaigns from both the mesoscale and the climatological point of view. Furthermore, we describe the structure and further features of the local foehn at smaller scales, using both the results of the VERTIKATOR field campaign and numerical simulations. We obtain as a new result that the foehn-caused local warm air pool around Mittenwald induces slight nocturnal upvalley winds between an adjacent valley basin located some 8 km north of Mittenwald and the basin of Mittenwald. Furthermore, a weak northerly flow may also occur at Mittenwald prior to the onset of the Minifoehn. Numerical simulations indicate that the local pressure gradient responsible for this phenomenon is related to a gravity wave forming over the hill range southwest of Mittenwald. Observations within a five-year period indicate that Minifoehn frequently occurs when ambient winds coming from the southern sector are predominant, but, contrary to deep foehn, weather conditions with northerly synoptic-scale flows do not necessarily exclude the development of the local foehn which comes from the southwest. We also present further evidence that in the presence of southerly synoptic-scale winds, orographic gravity waves interact with the drainage flow. Another new result is that strong synoptic-scale westerly winds are able to suppress the occurrence of Minifoehn. In addition, the possible influence of the Inn Valley wind system as well as dynamical differences between the thermally driven up- and downvalley winds are briefly discussed.     

A study of atmospheric structures using sodar in relation to land and sea breezes

Simultaneous observations were made by an acoustic sounder and on a meteorological tower during the month of May 1978 at the Atomic Power Station Tarapur. The probing range of the acoustic sounder was 700 m. The meteorological tower could sense wind and temperature at various levels up to a height of 120 m.The site being close to the sea shore, the thermal environment of the lower atmosphere is controlled mostly by land and sea breeze circulations. Thermal convective structures were seen during the daytime and also at night. The frequency of plume formation and the height of the plumes were, however, low during the night. The convective boundary layer in the daytime ranged from 400–500 m while at night it was mostly under 200 m. The observation of thermals at night is explained by the presence of a naturally stable marine layer above 30 m at this site. In the morning hours, winds suddenly change their direction allowing advection of a land breeze which is responsible for the formation of surface-based shear echoes to a height of 200 m during the transition period and for the subsequent development of an elevated layer due to mixing of two different air masses. A marine layer was also seen over Tarapur for a few days during the early evening and night hours. Its height was mostly around 400 m. It may indicate the presence of a subsidence inversion at Tarapur. The need for collection of supporting meteorological data to a height of 500 m by tethered balloon or some other suitable in-situ technique is stressed.     

Urban–rural contrasts of meteorological parameters in Łódź

Summary Data from two automatic stations in Łódź (one urban and one rural) for the period 1997–2002 are analyzed to reveal urban–rural contrasts of such parameters as air temperature, relative humidity, water vapour pressure and wind speed. Under favourable weather conditions the highest temperature differences between the urban and rural station exceeds 8 °C. Relative humidity is lower in the town, sometimes by more than 40%. Water vapour pressure differences can be either positive (up to 5 hPa) or negative (up to −4 hPa). Wind speed at the urban station is on average lower by about 34% in night and 39% during daytime. Regression analysis shows that for rural winds lower than 1.13 m s⁻¹ urban winds can be stronger than rural speeds. Attention has also been paid to singularities in the course of the analyzed parameters over 24 hour periods. It is shown that the typical course of the urban heat island intensity under favourable conditions is similar in all season. Four stages of this course have been distinguished. Wind speed differences also seem to change in a typical way. Case studies show that humidity contrasts, unlike temperature, can evolve in different ways under fine weather conditions. Types of relative humidity evolution are proposed.     

低纬高原城市昆明的气候特征

以低纬高原城市昆明为研究对象，利用城市内的实测资料与城郊昆明气象站的资料进行了比较研究，分析了城市内外的气候特征、变化规律及其差异，得到了一些有益的结果，可为探讨低纬高原城市气候特征和形成机制、城市环境污染防治及城市建筑的规划、设计提供依据。     

Patterns of weak,near-surface winds at Melbourne,Australia

Up to 30 months of near-surface anemograph records have been examined from 13 locations in and near Melbourne, Australia, to determine the wind patterns which existed during prolonged periods of light winds (at least 3 hours at 2 m s^-1 or less). A coherent katabatic wind system was found to develop in at least part of the monitored region on approximately 30% of nights. The flow broadly followed the slope of the basin surrounding the city, with a strong flow down the main river valley, and was partly reinforced by a land breeze in bayside areas. Other valleys also acted as channels for these winds. The general tendency of these katabatic winds was to converge towards the central business district and the northern part of Port Phillip Bay adjacent to the city centre. Where winds from different directions interacted, one of the winds dominated or successive replacement occurred causing the wind direction to vary considerably during a period.There were indications that in the presence of low-level stability with a synoptic gradient wind between east and north, the gradient flow may be deflected around the major topographic barrier to the northeast of the city. The existence of such a situation would have major implications in terms of air quality due to the possibility of pollutants being recirculated in conditions when vertical diffusion was very limited.     

Urban and rural dewfall,surface moisture,and associated canopy-level air temperature and humidity measurements for vancouver,canada

Canopy-level humidity is often less at night during fine weather in a mid-latitude city, compared to its rural surroundings. This feature has been attributed, in part, to reduced urban dew, but links are largely unproven, because urban dew data are rare. In this study, surface moisture (i.e., dew + guttation by blotting) and dewfall (by mini-lysimeter) were measured at rural and urban residential sites in Vancouver, Canada, during the summer of 1996. Air temperature and humidity were measured at both sites, and on rural-to-urban vehicle traverses. Weather and location effects were evident. Humidity data suggested the small (< 1 g m^–3) urban moisture excess observed on fine nights was linked to reduced urban dew. For grass, the frequency of moisture events, and surface moisture amounts, were similar for both sites. However, on grass, rural dewfall (mean=0.10 mm per night) was more than urban dewfall (mean=0.07 mm per night). On the other hand, data for a roof lysimeter (mean dewfall=0.12 mm per night) showed that an urban roof could rival rural grass as a favoured location for dewfall in Vancouver.     

人为热源和城市绿化对冬季山谷城市边界层结构影响的数值模拟

为了探讨人为热源和城市绿化对城市边界层的影响,本文在RAMS模式中引入周期性日变化的人为热源和人工改变下垫面状况,初步模拟分析了人为热源和城市绿化对城市边界层结构的影响.结果表明:人为热源具有明显的增温效应,增强了城市的湍流交换,白天增加了大气不稳定度,促进了混合层的发展,夜间降低了大气稳定度,减弱了城市夜间逆温.城市绿化减小了地表反照率,增加了到达地面的净辐射,模拟期间土壤冻结,增加的净辐射其中一部分以感热的形式来加热大气;绿化后地气之间的湍流交换增强,增加了大气不稳定度,减弱了白天高空逆温;本文还讨论了不同绿化布局对白天高空逆温的影响以及人为热源和城市绿化之间的非线性相互作用.