Using similarity theory to parameterize mesoscale heat fluxes generated by subgrid-scale landscape discontinuities in GCMs

Journal Article · Sat Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Journal of Climate

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1995)008<0932:USTTPM>2.0.CO;2· OSTI ID:81173

Lynn, B H; Avissar, R ^[1]; Abramopoulos, F ^[2]

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1. Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States)
2. Hughes, STX, New York, NY (United States)

Similarity theory was used to develop a parameterization of mesoscale heat fluxes induced by landscape discontinuities for large-scale atmospheric models (e.g., general circulation models). For this purpose, Buckingham Pi theory, a systematic method for performing dimensional analysis, was used to derive a set of dimensionless groups, which describes the large-scale atmospheric background conditions, the spatial variability of surface sensible heat flux, and the characteristic structure of the landscape. These dimensionless groups were used to calculate the coefficients of a fourth-order Chebyshev polynomial, which represents the vertical profiles of dimensionless mesoscale heat fluxes obtained for a broad range of large-scale atmospheric conditions and different landscapes. The numerous three-dimensional numerical experiments performed to evaluate this similarity relationship suggest that the parameterization is quite robust. 42 refs., 13 figs., 8 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 81173
• Journal Information: Journal of Climate, Journal Name: Journal of Climate Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 8; ISSN 0894-8755; ISSN JLCLEL
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
AIR-BIOSPHERE INTERACTIONS
GENERAL CIRCULATION MODELS
HEAT FLUX
PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS
TOPOGRAPHY