Open AccessDiagnosing the Surface Layer Parameters for Dispersion Models within the Meteorological-to-Dispersion Modeling Interface
Author(s) -
Mikhail Sofiev,
Eugene Genikhovich,
Petri Keronen,
Timo Vesala
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of applied meteorology and climatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.079
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1558-8432
pISSN - 1558-8424
DOI - 10.1175/2009jamc2210.1
Subject(s) - environmental science , meteorology , wind speed , atmospheric dispersion modeling , numerical weather prediction , dispersion (optics) , sensible heat , troposphere , air pollution , physics , chemistry , organic chemistry , optics
The problem of providing dispersion models with meteorological information from general atmospheric models used, for example, for weather forecasting is considered. As part of a generalized meteorological-to-dispersion model interface, a noniterative scheme diagnosing the surface layer characteristics from wind, temperature, and humidity profiles was developed. The scheme verification included long-term comparison with data of meteorological masts at Cabauw, the Netherlands, and Hyytiälä, Finland. The algorithm compatibility and consistency with the High-Resolution Limited-Area Model (HIRLAM) was also checked, as this model is routinely used as a meteorological driver for the Air Quality and Emergency Modeling System (SILAM). The comparison with Cabauw mast data showed a good quantitative agreement between observed and diagnosed heat and momentum fluxes: the temporal correlation coefficient was ∼0.8, bias was less than 10% of the absolute flux levels, regression slope deviated from unity for less than 20% with the intercept being less than 10% of the absolute flux values, and so on. In the case of complex surface features (Hyytiälä mast in forest) the scheme proved to be robust with large deviations appearing only if the input profile data were taken outside the constant-flux layer. Comparison with the HIRLAM model showed qualitatively good agreement but also highlighted several differences between the goals, standards, and methodologies of meteorological and dispersion models. The scheme was implemented in SILAM, which served as the development platform.