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Implementation of a new urban energy budget scheme in the MetUM. Part I: Description and idealized simulations
Author(s) -
Porson A.,
Clark P. A.,
Harman I. N.,
Best M. J.,
Belcher S. E.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.668
Subject(s) - parametrization (atmospheric modeling) , scheme (mathematics) , flexibility (engineering) , canyon , representation (politics) , terrain , computer science , roof , set (abstract data type) , environmental science , meteorology , civil engineering , mathematics , geology , engineering , physics , geography , mathematical analysis , statistics , cartography , quantum mechanics , geomorphology , politics , political science , law , programming language , radiative transfer
This paper describes the formulation of a new urban scheme, MORUSES (Met Office–Reading Urban Surface Exchange Scheme) for use in the Met Office Unified Model. The implementation of the new scheme ensures that (1) the new scheme offers more flexibility in the parametrization of the building properties, and hence provides a more realistic representation of the fluxes; (2) the bulk outputs are in satisfactory agreement with previous observational studies; and (3) the impact of the new scheme on the energy balance fluxes is similar to the impact of the current urban scheme when set up to mimic it. As well as having a better physical basis, MORUSES also gains in flexibility in applications and adaptations to different urban materials as well as urban planning. The new scheme represents the urban area as a composition of two tiles, a canyon and a roof, using a simple 2D geometry. Sensitivity analysis to canyon geometry and thickness of the roof canopy emphasizes the gain in flexibility captured by the new scheme. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society and Crown Copyright