A Three-Dimensional Scale-Adaptive Turbulent Kinetic Energy Scheme in the WRF-ARW Model

Xu Zhang Shanghai Typhoon Institute, China Meteorological Administration, and Innovative Center of Regional High Resolution NWP, Shanghai, China

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Jian-Wen Bao NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado

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Baode Chen Shanghai Typhoon Institute, China Meteorological Administration, and Innovative Center of Regional High Resolution NWP, Shanghai, China

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Evelyn D. Grell NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, and
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado

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Abstract

A new three-dimensional (3D) turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) subgrid mixing scheme is developed using the Advanced Research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model (WRF-ARW) to address the gray-zone problem in the parameterization of subgrid turbulent mixing. The new scheme combines the horizontal and vertical subgrid turbulent mixing into a single energetically consistent framework, in contrast to the conventionally separate treatment of the vertical and horizontal mixing. The new scheme is self-adaptive to the grid-size change between the large-eddy simulation (LES) and mesoscale limits. A series of dry convective boundary layer (CBL) idealized simulations are carried out to compare the performance of the new scheme and the conventional treatment of subgrid mixing to the WRF-ARW LES dataset. The importance of including the nonlocal component in the vertical buoyancy specification in the newly developed general TKE-based scheme is illustrated in the comparison. The improvements of the new scheme with the conventional treatment of subgrid mixing across the gray-zone model resolutions are demonstrated through the partitioning of the total vertical flux profiles. Results from real-case simulations show the feasibility of using the new scheme in the WRF Model in lieu of the conventional treatment of subgrid mixing.

© 2018 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

Corresponding author: Xu Zhang, zhangx@typhoon.org.cn

Abstract

A new three-dimensional (3D) turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) subgrid mixing scheme is developed using the Advanced Research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model (WRF-ARW) to address the gray-zone problem in the parameterization of subgrid turbulent mixing. The new scheme combines the horizontal and vertical subgrid turbulent mixing into a single energetically consistent framework, in contrast to the conventionally separate treatment of the vertical and horizontal mixing. The new scheme is self-adaptive to the grid-size change between the large-eddy simulation (LES) and mesoscale limits. A series of dry convective boundary layer (CBL) idealized simulations are carried out to compare the performance of the new scheme and the conventional treatment of subgrid mixing to the WRF-ARW LES dataset. The importance of including the nonlocal component in the vertical buoyancy specification in the newly developed general TKE-based scheme is illustrated in the comparison. The improvements of the new scheme with the conventional treatment of subgrid mixing across the gray-zone model resolutions are demonstrated through the partitioning of the total vertical flux profiles. Results from real-case simulations show the feasibility of using the new scheme in the WRF Model in lieu of the conventional treatment of subgrid mixing.

© 2018 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

Corresponding author: Xu Zhang, zhangx@typhoon.org.cn
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