Diurnal course analysis of the WRF-simulated and observation-based planetary boundary layer height

Abstract. Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) single-column model simulations were performed in the late summer of 2012 in order to analyse the diurnal changes of the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Five PBL schemes were tested with the WRF. From the radiometer and wind-profiler measurements at one station, derived PBL heights were also compared to the simulations. The weather conditions during the measurement period proved to be dry; the soil moisture was below wilting point 85 percent of the time. Results show that (1) simulation-based PBL heights are overestimated by about 500–1000 m with respect to the observation-based PBL heights, and (2) PBL height deviations between different observation-based methods (around 700 m in the midday) are comparable with PBL height deviations between different model schemes used in the WRF single-column model. The causes of the deviations are also discussed. It is shown that in the estimation of the PBL height the relevance of the atmospheric profiles could be as important as the relevance of the estimation principles.

[1]  Sethu Raman,et al.  A review and comparative evaluation of multilevel boundary layer parameterizations for first‐order and turbulent kinetic energy closure schemes , 1988 .

[2]  Mixing Depth Estimation from Operational JMA and KMA Wind-Profiler Data and its Preliminary Applicat , 2011 .

[3]  J. Adame,et al.  The Performance of Different Boundary-Layer Parameterisations in Meteorological Modelling in a Southwestern Coastal Area of the Iberian Peninsula , 2012 .

[4]  B. Galperin,et al.  ‘Application of a New Spectral Theory of Stably Stratified Turbulence to the Atmospheric Boundary Layer over Sea Ice’ , 2005 .

[5]  A. Holtslag,et al.  Evaluation of the Diurnal Cycle in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Over Land as Represented by a Variety of Single-Column Models: The Second GABLS Experiment , 2011 .

[6]  Song-You Hong,et al.  Intercomparison of Planetary Boundary-Layer Parametrizations in the WRF Model for a Single Day from CASES-99 , 2011 .

[7]  E. Mlawer,et al.  Radiative transfer for inhomogeneous atmospheres: RRTM, a validated correlated-k model for the longwave , 1997 .

[8]  James J. Hack,et al.  A comparison of single column model simulations of summertime midlatitude continental convection , 2000 .

[9]  Alexis K.H. Lau,et al.  Evaluation of nonlocal and local planetary boundary layer schemes in the WRF model , 2012 .

[10]  Petra Seibert,et al.  Mixing Height Determination for Dispersion Modelling - A Test of Meteorological Pre-Processors , 1998 .

[11]  James Correia,et al.  Verification of Convection-Allowing WRF Model Forecasts of the Planetary Boundary Layer Using Sounding Observations , 2013 .

[12]  P. Lacarrére,et al.  Parameterization of Orography-Induced Turbulence in a Mesobeta--Scale Model , 1989 .

[13]  Tamás Weidinger,et al.  Characterizing air pollution potential over Budapest using macrocirculation types , 1998 .

[14]  J. Pleim.  A Combined Local and Nonlocal Closure Model for the Atmospheric Boundary Layer. Part I: Model Description and Testing , 2007 .

[15]  Fuqing Zhang,et al.  Evaluation of Three Planetary Boundary Layer Schemes in the WRF Model , 2010 .

[16]  David A. Randall,et al.  Alternative methods for specification of observed forcing in single-column models and cloud system models , 1999 .

[17]  Song-You Hong,et al.  A new stable boundary‐layer mixing scheme and its impact on the simulated East Asian summer monsoon , 2010 .

[18]  Allen B. White,et al.  Boundary-layer depth and entrainment zone characterization with a boundary-layer profiler , 1994 .

[19]  G. Finch.  The boundary layer , 1951 .

[20]  Zavisa Janjic,et al.  The Step-Mountain Coordinate: Physical Package , 1990 .

[21]  A. Holtslag,et al.  Evaluation of Limited-Area Models for the Representation of the Diurnal Cycle and Contrasting Nights in CASES-99 , 2008 .

[22]  L. Mahrt,et al.  The Nocturnal Surface Inversion and Influence of Clear-Air Radiative Cooling , 1982 .

[23]  Zaviša I. Janić.  Nonsingular implementation of the Mellor-Yamada level 2.5 scheme in the NCEP Meso model , 2001 .

[24]  J. Dudhia,et al.  Coupling an Advanced Land Surface–Hydrology Model with the Penn State–NCAR MM5 Modeling System. Part II: Preliminary Model Validation , 2001 .

[25]  G. Powers,et al.  A Description of the Advanced Research WRF Version 3 , 2008 .

[26]  J. Dudhia,et al.  A Revised Approach to Ice Microphysical Processes for the Bulk Parameterization of Clouds and Precipitation , 2004 .

[27]  A. Holtslag,et al.  Single-Column Model Intercomparison for a Stably Stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layer , 2004 .

[28]  A. Engeln,et al.  A Planetary Boundary Layer Height Climatology Derived from ECMWF Reanalysis Data , 2013 .

[29]  J. Dudhia,et al.  A New Vertical Diffusion Package with an Explicit Treatment of Entrainment Processes , 2006 .