Hyeyum Hailey Shin

Representation of the Subgrid-Scale Turbulent Transport in Convective Boundary Layers at Gray-Zone Resolutions

AbstractParameterization of the unresolved vertical transport in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) is one of the key physics algorithms in atmospheric models. This study attempts to represent the subgrid-scale (SGS) turbulent transport in convective boundary layers (CBLs) at gray-zone resolutions by investigating the effects of grid-size dependency in the vertical heat transport parameterization for CBL simulations. The SGS transport profile is parameterized based on the 2013 conceptual derivation by Shin and Hong. First, nonlocal transport via strong updrafts and local transport via the remaining small-scale eddies are separately calculated. Second, the SGS nonlocal transport is formulated by multiplying a grid-size dependency function with the total nonlocal transport profile fit to the large-eddy simulation (LES) output. Finally, the SGS local transport is formulated by multiplying a grid-size dependency function with the total local transport profile, which is calculated using an eddy-diffusivity for...

Analysis of Resolved and Parameterized Vertical Transports in Convective Boundary Layers at Gray-Zone Resolutions

AbstractThe gray zone of a physical process in numerical models is defined as the range of model resolution in which the process is partly resolved by model dynamics and partly parameterized. In this study, the authors examine the grid-size dependencies of resolved and parameterized vertical transports in convective boundary layers (CBLs) for horizontal grid scales including the gray zone. To assess how stability alters the dependencies on grid size, four CBLs with different surface heating and geostrophic winds are considered. For this purpose, reference data for grid-scale (GS) and subgrid-scale (SGS) fields are constructed for 50–4000-m mesh sizes by filtering 25-m large-eddy simulation (LES) data.As relative importance of shear increases, the ratio of resolved turbulent kinetic energy increases for a given grid spacing. Vertical transports of potential temperature, momentum, and a bottom-up diffusion passive scalar behave in a similar fashion. The effects of stability are related to the horizontal sca...

Impacts of the Lowest Model Level Height on the Performance of Planetary Boundary Layer Parameterizations

AbstractThe lowest model level height z1 is important in atmospheric numerical models, since surface layer similarity is applied to the height in most of the models. This indicates an implicit assumption that z1 is within the surface layer. In this study, impacts of z1 on the performance of planetary boundary layer (PBL) parameterizations are investigated. Three conceptually different schemes in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model are tested for one complete diurnal cycle: the nonlocal, first-order Yonsei University (YSU) and Asymmetric Convective Model version 2 (ACM2) schemes and the local, 1.5-order Mellor–Yamada–Janjic (MYJ) scheme.Surface variables are sensitive to z1 in daytime when z1 is below 12 m, even though the height is within the surface layer. Meanwhile during nighttime, the variables are systematically altered as z1 becomes shallower from 40 m. PBL structures show the sensitivity in the similar manner, but weaker. The order of sensitivity among the three schemes is YSU, ACM2, a...

Impacts of subgrid‐scale orography parameterization on simulated surface layer wind and monsoonal precipitation in the high‐resolution WRF model

This paper reports on the first attempt to investigate whether excessive precipitation over mountainous areas, which is a common problem in model simulations, could be remedied by the implementation of a more realistic surface wind field in the high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. A series of 48 h short-range forecasts was conducted for the month of July 2006 within the triple-nested WRF configuration, for which the highest resolution of 3 km was focused on areas with complex orography over East Asian monsoonal regions. For accurate surface wind simulations, the subgrid-scale (SGS) orography parameterization scheme was employed. It was found that the simulated surface wind showed negative (positive) bias over mountainous (flat) regions when the SGS orography parameterization was excluded. After inclusion of the SGS orography parameterization, wind speed over mountainous (flat) regions increased (decreased), implying that the bias was mitigated. Moisture divergence (convergence) over the mountains (on the leeward side of the mountains) was induced, and surface latent heat flux increased along the mountain ranges following the improvement in the representation of the surface wind by the inclusion of the SGS orography parameterization. Eventually, excessive precipitation simulated over mountainous areas of East Asia, which is a feature commonly observed in numerical model studies, was alleviated because of the moisture divergence and increased surface latent heat flux.

Evaluation of PBL Parameterizations in WRF at Subkilometer Grid Spacings: Turbulence Statistics in the Dry Convective Boundary Layer

AbstractPlanetary boundary layer (PBL) parameterizations in mesoscale models have been developed for horizontal resolutions that cannot resolve any turbulence in the PBL, and evaluation of these parameterizations has been focused on profiles of mean and parameterized flux. Meanwhile, the recent increase in computing power has been allowing numerical weather prediction (NWP) at horizontal grid spacings finer than 1 km, at which kilometer-scale large eddies in the convective PBL are partly resolvable. This study evaluates the performance of convective PBL parameterizations in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model at subkilometer grid spacings. The evaluation focuses on resolved turbulence statistics, considering expectations for improvement in the resolved fields by using the fine meshes. The parameterizations include four nonlocal schemes—Yonsei University (YSU), asymmetric convective model 2 (ACM2), eddy diffusivity mass flux (EDMF), and total energy mass flux (TEMF)—and one local scheme, the M...

Numerical simulations of heavy rainfall over central Korea on 21 September 2010 using the WRF model

On 21 September 2010, heavy rainfall with a local maximum of 259 mm d−1 occurred near Seoul, South Korea. We examined the ability of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in reproducing this disastrous rainfall event and identified the role of two physical processes: planetary boundary layer (PBL) and microphysics (MPS) processes. The WRF model was forced by 6-hourly National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Final analysis (FNL) data for 36 hours form 1200 UTC 20 to 0000 UTC 22 September 2010. Twenty-five experiments were performed, consisting of five different PBL schemes—Yonsei University (YSU), Mellor-Yamada-Janjic (MYJ), Quasi Normal Scale Elimination (QNSE), Bougeault and Lacarrere (BouLac), and University of Washington (UW)—and five different MPS schemes—WRF Single-Moment 6-class (WSM6), Goddard, Thompson, Milbrandt 2-moments, and Morrison 2-moments. As expected, there was a specific combination of MPS and PBL schemes that showed good skill in forecasting the precipitation. However, there was no specific PBL or MPS scheme that outperformed the others in all aspects. The experiments with the UW PBL or Thompson MPS scheme showed a relatively small amount of precipitation. Analyses form the sensitivity experiments confirmed that the spatial distribution of the simulated precipitation was dominated by the PBL processes, whereas the MPS processes determined the amount of rainfall. It was also found that the temporal evolution of the precipitation was influenced more by the PBL processes than by the MPS processes.

Derivation of Turbulent Kinetic Energy from a First-Order Nonlocal Planetary Boundary Layer Parameterization

AbstractTurbulent kinetic energy (TKE) is derived from a first-order planetary boundary layer (PBL) parameterization for convective boundary layers: the nonlocal K-profile Yonsei University (YSU) PBL. A parameterization for the TKE equation is developed to calculate TKE based on meteorological profiles given by the YSU PBL model. For this purpose buoyancy- and shear-generation terms are formulated consistently with the YSU scheme—that is, the combination of local, nonlocal, and explicit entrainment fluxes. The vertical transport term is also formulated in a similar fashion. A length scale consistent with the K profile is suggested for parameterization of dissipation.Single-column model (SCM) simulations are conducted for a period in the second Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Atmospheric Boundary Layer Study (GABLS2) intercomparison case. Results from the SCM simulations are compared with large-eddy simulation (LES) results. The daytime evolution of the vertical structure of TKE matches we...