scholarly journals The Vertical City Weather Generator (VCWG v1.3.2)

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 961-984
Author(s):  
Mohsen Moradi ◽  
Benjamin Dyer ◽  
Amir Nazem ◽  
Manoj K. Nambiar ◽  
M. Rafsan Nahian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Turbulent Kinetic Energy ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Weather Generator ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Vertical Profiles ◽  
Vertical Diffusion ◽  
Average Bias

Abstract. The Vertical City Weather Generator (VCWG) is a computationally efficient urban microclimate model developed to predict temporal and vertical variation of potential temperature, wind speed, specific humidity, and turbulent kinetic energy. It is composed of various sub-models: a rural model, an urban vertical diffusion model, a radiation model, and a building energy model. Forced with weather data from a nearby rural site, the rural model is used to solve for the vertical profiles of potential temperature, specific humidity, and friction velocity at 10 m a.g.l. The rural model also calculates a horizontal pressure gradient. The rural model outputs are applied to a vertical diffusion urban microclimate model that solves vertical transport equations for potential temperature, momentum, specific humidity, and turbulent kinetic energy. The urban vertical diffusion model is also coupled to the radiation and building energy models using two-way interaction. The aerodynamic and thermal effects of urban elements, surface vegetation, and trees are considered. The predictions of the VCWG model are compared to observations of the Basel UrBan Boundary Layer Experiment (BUBBLE) microclimate field campaign for 8 months from December 2001 to July 2002. The model evaluation indicates that the VCWG predicts vertical profiles of meteorological variables in reasonable agreement with the field measurements. The average bias, root mean square error (RMSE), and R2 for potential temperature are 0.25 K, 1.41 K, and 0.82, respectively. The average bias, RMSE, and R2 for wind speed are 0.67 m s−1, 1.06 m s−1, and 0.41, respectively. The average bias, RMSE, and R2 for specific humidity are 0.00057 kg kg−1, 0.0010 kg kg−1, and 0.85, respectively. In addition, the average bias, RMSE, and R2 for the urban heat island (UHI) are 0.36 K, 1.2 K, and 0.35, respectively. Based on the evaluation, the model performance is comparable to the performance of similar models. The performance of the model is further explored to investigate the effects of urban configurations such as plan and frontal area densities, varying levels of vegetation, building energy configuration, radiation configuration, seasonal variations, and different climate zones on the model predictions. The results obtained from the explorations are reasonably consistent with previous studies in the literature, justifying the reliability and computational efficiency of VCWG for operational urban development projects.

scholarly journals The Vertical City Weather Generator (VCWG v1.0.0)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Moradi ◽  
Benjamin Dyer ◽  
Amir Nazem ◽  
Manoj K. Nambiar ◽  
M. Rafsan Nahian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Model ◽  
Weather Generator ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Rural Site ◽  
Vertical Diffusion ◽  
Urban Microclimate

Abstract. The Vertical City Weather Generator (VCWG) is a computationally efficient urban microclimate model developed to predict temporal and vertical variation of temperature, wind speed, and specific humidity. It is composed of various sub models: a rural model, an urban microclimate model, and a building energy model. In a nearby rural site, a rural model is forced with weather data to solve a vertical diffusion equation to calculate vertical potential temperature profiles using a novel parameterization. The rural model also calculates a horizontal pressure gradient. The rural model outputs are then forced on a vertical diffusion urban microclimate model that solves vertical transport equations for momentum, temperature, and specific humidity. The urban microclimate model is also coupled to a building energy model using feedback interaction. The aerodynamic and thermal effects of urban elements and vegetation are considered in VCWG. To evaluate the VCWG model, a microclimate field campaign was held in Guelph, Canada, from 15 July 2018 to 5 September 2018. The meteorological measurements were carried out under a comprehensive set of wind directions, wind speeds, and thermal stability conditions in both the rural and the nearby urban areas. The model evaluation indicated that the VCWG predicted vertical profiles of meteorological variables in reasonable agreement with field measurements for selected days. In comparison to measurements, the overall model biases for potential temperature, wind speed, and specific humidity were within 5 %, 11 %, and 7 %, respectively. The performance of the model was further explored to investigate the effects of urban configurations such as plan and frontal area densities, varying levels of vegetation, seasonal variations, different climate zones, and time series analysis on the model predictions. The results obtained from the explorations were reasonably consistent with previous studies in the literature, justifying the reliability and computational efficiency of VCWG for operational urban development projects.

scholarly journals Impacts of Modifications to a Local Planetary Boundary Layer Scheme on Forecasts of the Great Plains Low-Level Jet Environment

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 1109-1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Jahn ◽  
William A. Gallus
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
Pbl Scheme ◽  
Low Level Jet

Abstract The Great Plains low-level jet (LLJ) is influential in the initiation and evolution of nocturnal convection through the northward advection of heat and moisture, as well as convergence in the region of the LLJ nose. However, accurate numerical model forecasts of LLJs remain a challenge, related to the performance of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) scheme in the stable boundary layer. Evaluated here using a series of LLJ cases from the Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) program are modifications to a commonly used local PBL scheme, Mellor–Yamada–Nakanishi–Niino (MYNN), available in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. WRF forecast mean absolute error (MAE) and bias are calculated relative to PECAN rawinsonde observations. The first MYNN modification invokes a new set of constants for the scheme closure equations that, in the vicinity of the LLJ, decreases forecast MAEs of wind speed, potential temperature, and specific humidity more than 19%. For comparison, the Yonsei University (YSU) scheme results in wind speed MAEs 22% lower but specific humidity MAEs 17% greater than in the original MYNN scheme. The second MYNN modification, which incorporates the effects of potential kinetic energy and uses a nonzero mixing length in stable conditions as dependent on bulk shear, reduces wind speed MAEs 66% for levels below the LLJ, but increases MAEs at higher levels. Finally, Rapid Refresh analyses, which are often used for forecast verification, are evaluated here and found to exhibit a relatively large average wind speed bias of 3 m s−1 in the region below the LLJ, but with relatively small potential temperature and specific humidity biases.

scholarly journals Measurements of Enhanced Turbulent Mixing near Highways

2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (9) ◽  
pp. 1618-1632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Gordon ◽  
Ralf M. Staebler ◽  
John Liggio ◽  
Paul Makar ◽  
Shao-Meng Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Turbulent Kinetic Energy ◽  
Traffic Flow ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
Vertical Diffusion ◽  
Global Environmental

AbstractIn August and September of 2010, measurements of turbulent fluxes and turbulent kinetic energy were made on highways in the Toronto area (Ontario, Canada). In situ turbulence measurements were made with a mobile laboratory while driving on the highway with traffic. Results demonstrate that the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) spectrum is significantly enhanced on and near the highway by traffic for frequencies above 0.015 Hz. The decay of TKE with distance behind vehicles is well approximated by power-law curves. The strongest increase in TKE is seen while following heavy-duty trucks, primarily for frequencies above 0.7 Hz. From these results, a parameterization of on-road TKE enhancement is developed that is based on vehicle type and traffic-flow rate. TKE with distance downwind of the highway also decays following a power law. The enhancement of roadside TKE is shown to be strongly dependent on traffic flow. The effect of vehicle-induced turbulence on vertical mixing was studied by comparing parameterized TKE enhancement with the typical TKE predictions from the Global Environmental Multiscale weather forecast to predict the potential increase in vertical diffusion that results from highway traffic. It is demonstrated that this increase in TKE by traffic may be locally significant, especially in the early morning.

Do Undiluted Convective Plumes Exist in the Upper Tropical Troposphere?

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 468-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Romps ◽  
Zhiming Kuang
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Heat Of Fusion ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Base Temperature ◽  
Neutral Buoyancy ◽  
Environmental Air ◽  
Ice Phase

Abstract Using a passive tracer, entrainment is studied in cloud-resolving simulations of deep convection in radiative–convective equilibrium. It is found that the convective flux of undiluted parcels decays with height exponentially, indicating a constant probability per vertical distance of mixing with environmental air. This probability per distance is sufficiently large that undiluted updrafts are negligible above a height of 4–5 km and virtually absent above 10 km. These results are shown to be independent of the horizontal grid size within the range of 3.2 km to 100 m. Plumes that do reach the tropopause are found to be highly diluted. An equivalent potential temperature is defined that is exactly conserved for all reversible adiabatic transformations, including those with ice. Using this conserved variable, it is shown that the latent heat of fusion (from both freezing and deposition) causes only a small increase in the level of neutral buoyancy near the tropopause. In fact, when taken to sufficiently low pressures, a parcel with an ice phase ends up colder than it would without an ice phase. Nevertheless, the contribution from fusion to a parcel’s kinetic energy is quite large. Using an ensemble of tracers, information is encoded in parcels at the cloud base and decoded where the parcel is observed in the free troposphere. Using this technique, clouds at the tropopause are diagnosed for their cloud-base temperature, specific humidity, and vertical velocity. Using these as the initial values for a Lagrangian parcel model, it is shown that fusion provides the kinetic energy required for diluted parcels to reach the tropopause.

Turbulence Structure of the Hurricane Boundary Layer between the Outer Rainbands

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 2455-2467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun A. Zhang ◽  
William M. Drennan ◽  
Peter G. Black ◽  
Jeffrey R. French
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Turbulent Kinetic Energy ◽  
Energy Budget ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Turbulent Kinetic Energy Budget ◽  
Layer Height ◽  
Boundary Layer Height ◽  
Kinetic Energy Budget ◽  
Hurricane Boundary Layer

Abstract As part of the Coupled Boundary Layers Air–Sea Transfer (CBLAST)-Hurricane program, flights were conducted to directly measure turbulent fluxes and turbulence properties in the high-wind boundary layer of hurricanes between the outer rainbands. For the first time, vertical profiles of normalized momentum fluxes, sensible heat and humidity fluxes, and variances of three-dimensional wind velocities and specific humidity are presented for the hurricane boundary layer with surface wind speeds ranging from 20 to 30 m s−1. The turbulent kinetic energy budget is estimated, indicating that the shear production and dissipation are the major source and sink terms, respectively. The imbalance in the turbulent kinetic energy budget indicates that the unmeasured terms, such as horizontal advection, may be important in hurricane boundary layer structure and dynamics. Finally, the thermodynamic boundary layer height, estimated based on the virtual potential temperature profiles, is roughly half of the boundary layer height estimated from the momentum flux profiles. The latter height where momentum and humidity fluxes tend to vanish is close to that of the inflow layer and also of the maximum in the tangential velocity profiles.

scholarly journals The Microscale Obstacle Resolving Meteorological Model MITRAS: Model Theory

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed H. Salim ◽  
K. Heinke Schlünzen ◽  
David Grawe ◽  
Marita Boettcher ◽  
Andrea M. U. Gierisch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Turbulent Kinetic Energy ◽  
Radiation Absorption ◽  
Grid Cells ◽  
Meteorological Model ◽  
Production Term ◽  
Wall Functions ◽  
Radiative Processes ◽  
Microscale Model

Abstract. This paper describes the developing theory and the underlying processes of the microscale obstacle resolving model MITRAS Version 2. MITRAS calculates wind, temperature, humidity and precipitation fields as well as transport within the obstacles layer using Reynolds averaging. It explicitly resolves obstacles, including buildings and overhanging obstacles, to consider their aerodynamic and thermodynamic effects. Buildings are represented by impermeable grid cells at the building positions so that the wind speed vanishes and zero turbulent kinetic energy is assumed in these grid cells. Wall functions are used to calculate appropriate turbulent fluxes. Most exchange processes at the obstacle surfaces are considered in MITRAS, including convective and radiative processes in order to obtain an accurate surface temperature. MITRAS is also able to simulate the effect of wind turbines. They are parameterized using the actuator-disk concept to account for the reduction in wind speed. The turbulence generation in the wake of a wind turbine is parameterized by adding an additional part to the turbulence mechanical production term in the turbulent kinetic energy equation. Effects of trees are considered explicitly, including the wind speed reduction, turbulence production, and dissipation due to drag forces from plant foliage elements as well as the radiation absorption and shading. The paper is providing not only a documentation of the model dynamics and numerical framework but also a solid foundation for future microscale model extensions.

scholarly journals On the Impact of Trees on Ventilation in a Real Street in Pamplona, Spain

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose-Luis Santiago ◽  
Riccardo Buccolieri ◽  
Esther Rivas ◽  
Beatriz Sanchez ◽  
Alberto Martilli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Turbulent Kinetic Energy ◽  
Wind Velocity ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Pollutant Dispersion ◽  
Average Concentration ◽  
Pollutant Concentration ◽  
Prevailing Wind Direction ◽  
The Impact

This paper is devoted to the quantification of changes in ventilation of a real neighborhood located in Pamplona, Spain, due to the presence of street trees Pollutant dispersion in this urban zone was previously studied by means of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. In the present work, that research is extended to analyze the ventilation in the whole neighborhood and in a tree-free street. Several scenarios are investigated including new trees in the tree-free street, and different leaf area density (LAD) in the whole neighborhood. Changes between the scenarios are evaluated through changes in average concentration, wind speed, flow rates and total pollutant fluxes. Additionally, wind flow patterns and the vertical profiles of flow properties (e.g., wind velocity, turbulent kinetic energy) and concentration, horizontally-averaged over one particular street, are analyzed. The approach-flow direction is almost perpendicular to the street under study (prevailing wind direction is only deviated 4º from the perpendicular direction). For these conditions, as LAD increases, average concentration in the whole neighborhood increases due to the decrease of wind speed. On the other hand, the inclusion of trees in the street produces an increase of averaged pollutant concentration only within this street, in particular for the scenario with the highest LAD value. In fact, the new trees in the street analyzed with the highest LAD value notably change the ventilation producing an increase of total pollutant fluxes inward the street. Additionally, pollutant dispersion within the street is also influenced by the reduction of the wind velocity along the street axis and the decrease of turbulent kinetic energy within the vegetation canopy caused by the new trees. Therefore, the inclusion of new trees in a tree-free street should be done by considering ventilation changes and traffic emissions should be consequently controlled in order to keep pollutant concentration within healthy levels.

Two Corrections for Turbulent Kinetic Energy Generated by Wind Farms in the WRF Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 148 (12) ◽  
pp. 4823-4835
Author(s):  
Cristina L. Archer ◽  
Sicheng Wu ◽  
Yulong Ma ◽  
Pedro A. Jiménez
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Turbulent Kinetic Energy ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Atmospheric Stability ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
The Way

AbstractAs wind farms grow in number and size worldwide, it is important that their potential impacts on the environment are studied and understood. The Fitch parameterization implemented in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model since version 3.3 is a widely used tool today to study such impacts. We identified two important issues related to the way the added turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) generated by a wind farm is treated in the WRF Model with the Fitch parameterization. The first issue is a simple “bug” in the WRF code, and the second issue is the excessive value of a coefficient, called CTKE, that relates TKE to the turbine electromechanical losses. These two issues directly affect the way that a wind farm wake evolves, and they impact properties like near-surface temperature and wind speed at the wind farm as well as behind it in the wake. We provide a bug fix and a revised value of CTKE that is one-quarter of the original value. This 0.25 correction factor is empirical; future studies should examine its dependence on parameters such as atmospheric stability, grid resolution, and wind farm layout. We present the results obtained with the Fitch parameterization in the WRF Model for a single turbine with and without the bug fix and the corrected CTKE and compare them with high-fidelity large-eddy simulations. These two issues have not been discovered before because they interact with one another in such a way that their combined effect is a somewhat realistic vertical TKE profile at the wind farm and a realistic wind speed deficit in the wake. All WRF simulations that used the Fitch wind farm parameterization are affected, and their conclusions may need to be revisited.

scholarly journals Accelerated wind conditions: spectral shape evolution and turbulent kinetic energy dissipation from laboratory and field measurements

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Robles-Diaz ◽  
Francisco J. Ocampo-Torres ◽  
Hubert Branger
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Momentum Transfer ◽  
Turbulent Kinetic Energy ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Wind Wave ◽  
Wave Spectrum ◽  
Sampling Rate ◽  
Momentum Exchange ◽  
Free Surface Displacement

<div> <div> <div> <p>A determined shape of the energy wave spectrum can be estimated from a given fetch and wind speed. Also, several studies have characterized the balance of the turbulent kinetic energy under the effect of waves and currents under constant wind conditions. However, deeper research is needed in order to characterize the wind-wave generation processes under non-stationary wind conditions. In this way, to be able to determine the uncertainty on not considering accelerated wind events in the air-sea momentum exchange estimations.</p> <p>Periods of accelerated winds were analyzed from experimental and field data. On one hand, several laboratory experiments were carried out in a large wind-wave facility at the Institut Pytheas (Marseille-France). Momentum fluxes were estimated from hot wire anemometry and, the free surface displacement was measured along the wave tank by resistance and capacitance wire probes. Also, the surface drift current was measured from a profiling acoustic velocimeter. During these experiments, the wind speed goes from 2 m/s to reach the maximum wind speed of 13 m/s. A constant wind acceleration characterizes each test. On the other hand, the field data were obtained from an Oceanographic and Marine Meteorology Buoy (BOMM) located in the Gulf of Mexico, from July 2018 to February 2019. The BOMM was equipped with a sonic anemometer, capacitance wires, and an inertial motion unit. Both sets of data are characterized by a high sampling rate that allows us to directly estimate the wind stress over the sea surface. Also, provide us with useful information about the evolution of the wave spectra and enable us to determine the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy. It was observed that the wind acceleration has a direct effect on the momentum transfer efficiency from the wind to the wave field and that the momentum transfer is reduced as wind acceleration increases.</p> </div> </div> </div>

scholarly journals Turbulence parameters measured by the Beijing Mesosphere–Stratosphere–Troposphere radar in the troposphere/lower stratosphere with three models: Comparison and analyses

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ze Chen ◽  
Yufang Tian ◽  
Yinan Wang ◽  
Yongheng Bi ◽  
Xue Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Turbulent Kinetic Energy ◽  
Spectral Width ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Horizontal Wind ◽  
Horizontal Wind Speed ◽  
Turbulence Parameters ◽  
2D Model ◽  
Calculation Models

Abstract. Based on the quality-controlled observational spectral width data of the Beijing Mesosphere–Stratosphere–Troposphere (MST) radar in the altitudinal range of 3–19.8 km from 2012 to 2014, this paper analyzes the relationship between the proportion of negative turbulent kinetic energy (N-TKE) and the horizontal wind speed/horizontal wind vertical shear domain, and gives the distributional characteristics of atmospheric turbulence parameters obtained by using different calculation models. Three calculation models of the spectral width method were used in this study—namely, the H model (Hocking, 1985), N-2D model (Nastrom, 1997) and D-H model (Dehghan and Hocking, 2011). The results showed that the proportion of N-TKE in the H model increases with the horizontal wind speed and/or the vertical shear of horizontal wind speed, up to 80 %. When the horizontal wind speed is greater than 40 m·s−1, the proportion of N-TKE in the H model is greater than 60 %, and thus the H model is not applicable. When the horizontal wind speed is greater than 20 m s−1, the proportion of N-TKE in the N-2D model and D-H model increases with the horizontal wind speed, independent of the vertical shear of the horizontal wind speed, and the maximum values are 2 % and 4 %, respectively. However, it is still necessary to consider the applicability of the N-2D model and D-H model in some weather processes with strong winds. The distributional characteristics with height of the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate 𝜀 and the vertical eddy diffusion coefficient Kz derived by the three models are consistent with previous studies. Still, there are differences in the values of turbulence parameters. Also, the range resolution of the radar has little effect on the differences in the range of turbulence parameters' values. The median values of 𝜀 in the H model, N-2D model and D-H model are 10−3.2–10−2.8 m2 s−3, 10−2.8–10−2.4 m2 s−3 and 10−3.0–10−2.5 m2 s−3, respectively. The median values of Kz in these three models are 100.18–100.67 m2 s−1, 100.57–100.90 m2 s−1 and 100.44–100.74 m2 s−1.

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