Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
2-2015
Abstract
Physical mechanisms of incongruency between observations and Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model predictions are examined. Limitations of evaluation are constrained by (i) parameterizations of model physics, (ii) parameterizations of input data, (iii) model resolution, and (iv) flux observation resolution. Observations from a new 22.1-m flux tower situated within a residential neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona, are utilized to evaluate the ability of the urbanized WRF to resolve finescale surface energy balance (SEB) when using the urban classes derived from the 30-m-resolution National Land Cover Database. Modeled SEB response to a large seasonal variation of net radiation forcing was tested during synoptically quiescent periods of high pressure in winter 2011 and premonsoon summer 2012. Results are presented from simulations employing five nested domains down to 333-m horizontal resolution. A comparative analysis of model cases testing parameterization of physical processes was done using four configurations of urban parameterization for the bulk urban scheme versus three representations with the Urban Canopy Model (UCM) scheme, and also for two types of planetary boundary layer parameterization: the local Mellor–Yamada– Janjic scheme and the nonlocal Yonsei University scheme. Diurnal variation in SEB constituent fluxes is examined in relation to surface-layer stability and modeled diagnostic variables. Improvement is found when adapting UCM for Phoenix with reduced errors in the SEB components. Finer model resolution is seen to have insignificant (,1 standard deviation) influence on mean absolute percent difference of 30-min diurnal mean SEB terms
Keywords
Diurnal effects, Atmosphere-land interaction, Energy budget/balance, Model evaluation/performance, Land use, Urban meteorology
Discipline
Urban Studies and Planning
Research Areas
Political Science
Publication
Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology
Volume
54
Issue
2
First Page
322
Last Page
338
ISSN
1558-8432
Identifier
10.1175/JAMC-D-14-0051.1
Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Citation
SHAFFER, Stephen R., CHOW, Winston T. L., GEORGESCU, Matei, HYDE, Peter, JENERETTE, Darrel, MAHALOV, Alex, MOUSTAOUI, M., & RUDDELL, Benjamin Lyle.(2015). Multiscale modeling and evaluation of urban surface energy balance in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 54(2), 322-338.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3058
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-14-0051.1