High-resolution numerical simulation of summer wind field comparing WRF boundary-layer parametrizations over complex Arctic topography: case study from central Spitsbergen
The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) mesoscale model was run in three different configurations over\nSvalbard Archipelago and compared with the 12-day summer measurements of surface wind characteristics\nat three sites along the western coast of Petuniabukta, central Spitsbergen. For studying...
| Published in: | Meteorologische Zeitschrift |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1127/metz/2017/0796 http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0273223 |
| Summary: | The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) mesoscale model was run in three different configurations over\nSvalbard Archipelago and compared with the 12-day summer measurements of surface wind characteristics\nat three sites along the western coast of Petuniabukta, central Spitsbergen. For studying wind patterns over\ncomplex topography, we chose the following sites for their differing terrain elevation and local surface\ncharacteristics: a raised marine terrace (15 m a.s.l.), the foreland of Hørbyebreen Glacier (67 m a.s.l.)\nand the top of Mumien Peak (773 m a.s.l.). The WRF simulations were conducted using three boundary\nlayer (BL) parameterization schemes: the Yonsei University (YSU), the Mellor-Yamada-Janjic (MYJ) and\nthe Quasi-Normal Scale Elimination (QNSE), with 1-km horizontal resolution of the inner domain. The WRF\nsimulations agreed fairly well with the surface wind observations taken at all the sites. For wind speed, the\nmean correlation coefficients between the modelled and observed data ranged from 0.56 to 0.67. The best\nresults across all the stations were found for the QNSE parameterization scheme, with a bias of 0.1 m s−1.\nThe wind speed simulations were sensitive to the geographical location and elevation of the stations. All\nthe parameterization schemes had difficulties in capturing the surface wind field in the narrow valley near\nthe Hørbye foreland station, while satisfactory estimates were found at the top of Mumien Peak and Terrace\nstation, located in a wide part of the fjord. The WRF estimates proved to be highly sensitive to the largescale\nforcing, as was documented in the cyclonic circulation patterns with strong northerly winds. This led to\nan overestimation of the modelled wind speed on the leeward slopes of the highest peaks in the study area.\nThe model results tended to be underestimated during the anticyclonic situations with the geostrophic winds\n<4ms−1 from the northwest and east sectors. |
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