High-resolution numerical simulation of summer wind field comparing WRF boundary-layer parametrizations over complex Arctic topography: case study from central Spitsbergen
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Meteorologische Zeitschrift |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1127/metz/2017/0796 |
| Field | Atmosphere sciences, meteorology |
| Keywords | surface wind field; model evaluation; topographic effect; circulation pattern; Svalbard |
| Description | The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) mesoscale model was run in three different configurations over Svalbard Archipelago and compared with the 12-day summer measurements of surface wind characteristics at three sites along the western coast of Petuniabukta, central Spitsbergen. For studying wind patterns over complex topography, we chose the following sites for their differing terrain elevation and local surface characteristics: a raised marine terrace (15 m a.s.l.), the foreland of Horbyebreen Glacier (67 m a.s.l.) and the top of Mumien Peak (773 m a.s.l.). The WRF simulations were conducted using three boundary layer (BL) parameterization schemes: the Yonsei University (YSU), the Mellor-Yamada-Janjic (MYJ) and the Quasi-Normal Scale Elimination (QNSE), with 1-km horizontal resolution of the inner domain. The WRF simulations agreed fairly well with the surface wind observations taken at all the sites. For wind speed, the mean correlation coefficients between the modelled and observed data ranged from 0.56 to 0.67. The best results across all the stations were found for the QNSE parameterization scheme, with a bias of 0.1m s-1. The wind speed simulations were sensitive to the geographical location and elevation of the stations. All the parameterization schemes had difficulties in capturing the surface wind field in the narrow valley near the Horbye foreland station, while satisfactory estimates were found at the top of Mumien Peak and Terrace station, located in a wide part of the fjord. |
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