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Title: Coupled mesoscale-LES modeling of a diurnal cycle during the CWEX-13 field campaign: From weather to boundary-layer eddies

Journal Article · · Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2017MS000960· OSTI ID:1368587
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [3]
  1. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder Colorado USA
  2. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder Colorado USA, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden Colorado USA
  3. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos New Mexico USA
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Multiscale modeling of a diurnal cycle of real-world conditions is presented for the first time, validated using data from the CWEX-13 field experiment. Dynamical downscaling from synoptic-scale down to resolved three-dimensional eddies in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) was performed, spanning 4 orders of magnitude in horizontal grid resolution: from 111 km down to 8.2 m (30 m) in stable (convective) conditions. Computationally efficient mesoscale-to-microscale transition was made possible by the generalized cell perturbation method with time-varying parameters derived from mesoscale forcing conditions, which substantially reduced the fetch to achieve fully developed turbulence. In addition, careful design of the simulations was made to inhibit the presence of under-resolved convection at convection-resolving mesoscale resolution and to ensure proper turbulence representation in stably-stratified conditions. Comparison to in situ wind-profiling lidar and near-surface sonic anemometer measurements demonstrated the ability to reproduce the ABL structure throughout the entire diurnal cycle with a high degree of fidelity. The multiscale simulations exhibit realistic atmospheric features such as convective rolls and global intermittency. Also, the diurnal evolution of turbulence was accurately simulated, with probability density functions of resolved turbulent velocity fluctuations nearly identical to the lidar measurements. Explicit representation of turbulence in the stably-stratified ABL was found to provide the right balance with larger scales, resulting in the development of intra-hour variability as observed by the wind lidar; this variability was not captured by the mesoscale model. Moreover, multiscale simulations improved mean ABL characteristics such as horizontal velocity, vertical wind shear, and turbulence.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396; AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1368587
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1368588; OSTI ID: 1372803; OSTI ID: 1398878
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-17-25098; NREL/JA-5000-70249
Journal Information:
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Journal Name: Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems; ISSN 1942-2466
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 63 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Earth Sciences
Diurnal cycle
LES atmospheric modeling
multiscale modeling
turbulence
atmospheric boundary layers
WRF
large-eddy simulation
CWEX-13
17 WIND ENERGY