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At least 217 records · Page 12

New, Improved Goddard Bulk-Microphysical Schemes for Studying Precipitation Processes in WRF

An improved bulk microphysical parameterization is implemented into the Weather Research and Forecasting ()VRF) model. This bulk microphysical scheme has three different options, 2ICE (cloud ice & snow), 3ICE-graupel (cloud ice, snow & graupel) and 3ICE-hail (cloud ice, snow & hail). High-resolution model simulations are conducted to examine the impact of microphysical schemes on two different weather events (a midlatitude linear convective system and an Atlantic hurricane). The results suggest that microphysics has a major impact on the organization and precipitation processes associated with a summer midlatitude convective line system. The Goddard 3ICE scheme with a cloud ice-snow-hail configuration agreed better with observations in terms of rainfall intensity and a narrow convective line than did simulations with a cloud ice-snow-graupel or cloud ice-snow (i.e., 2ICE) configuration. This is because the 3ICE-hail scheme includes dense ice precipitating (hail) particle with very fast fall speed (over 10 in For an Atlantic hurricane case, the Goddard microphysical schemes had no significant impact on the track forecast but did affect the intensity slightly. The improved Goddard schemes are also compared with WRF's three other 3ICE bulk microphysical schemes: WSM6, Purdue-Lin and Thompson. For the summer midlatitude convective line system, all of the schemes resulted in simulated precipitation events that were elongated in the southwest-northeast direction in qualitative agreement with the observed feature. However, the Goddard 3ICE scheme with the hail option and the Thompson scheme agree better with observations in terms of rainfall intensity, expect that the Goddard scheme simulated more heavy rainfall (over 48 mm/h). For the Atlantic hurricane case, none of the schemes had a significant impact on the track forecast; however, the simulated intensity using the Purdue-Lin scheme was much stronger than the other schemes. The vertical distributions of model simulated cloud species (i.e., snow) are quite sensitive to microphysical schemes, which is an important issue for future verification against satellite retrievals. Both the Purdue-Lin and WSM6 schemes simulated very little snow compared to the other schemes for both the midlatitude convective line and hurricane cases. Sensitivity tests are performed for these two WRF schemes to identify that snow productions could be increased by increasing the snow intercept, turning off the auto-conversion from snow to graupel and reducing the transfer processes from cloud-sized particles to precipitation-sized ice.

Tao, Wei-Kuo↗

Genesis of Pre-Hurricane Felix (2007): The Role of the Easterly Wave Critical Layer - Part 1

The formation of pre Hurricane Felix (2007) in a tropical easterly wave is examined in a two-part study using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with a high-resolution nested grid configuration that permits the representation of cloud system processes. The simulation commences during the wave stage of the precursor African easterly-wave disturbance. Here the simulated and observed developments are compared, while in Part II of the study various large-scale analyses, physical parameterizations, and initialization times are explored to document model sensitivities. In this first part the authors focus on the wave/vortex morphology, its interaction with the adjacent intertropical convergence zone complex, and the vorticity balance in the neighborhood of the developing storm. Analysis of the model simulation points to a bottom-up development process within the wave critical layer and supports the three new hypotheses of tropical cyclone formation proposed recently by Dunkerton, Montgomery, and Wang. It is shown also that low-level convergence associated with the ITCZ helps to enhance the wave signal and extend the "wave pouch" from the jet level to the top of the atmospheric boundary layer. The region of a quasi-closed Lagrangian circulation within the wave pouch provides a focal point for diabatic merger of convective vortices and their vortical remnants. The wave pouch serves also to protect the moist air inside from dry air intrusion, providing a favorable environment for sustained deep convection. Consistent with the authors' earlier findings, the tropical storm forms near the center of the wave pouch via system-scale convergence in the lower troposphere and vorticity aggregation. Components of the vorticity balance are shown to be scale dependent, with the immediate effects of cloud processes confined more closely to the storm center than the overturning Eliassen circulation induced by diabatic heating, the influence of which extends to larger radii.

Wang, Zhuo↗

Evaluation and Optimization of Snow Albedo Scheme in Noah-MP Land Surface Model Using In Situ Spectral Observations in the Colorado Rockies

The Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) ground snow albedo algorithm is commonly used in land-surface models (LSM), weather forecasting and research applications. This study addresses key uncertainties in BATS simulated ground snow albedo within the Noah-MP LSM framework through evaluation and optimization of the Noah-MP BATS ground snow albedo formulation using 2-band (visible and near-infrared (NIR)) in situ albedo observations at Rocky Mountain field stations. The Noah-MP BATS ground snow albedo scheme is extremely sensitive to its input parameters. Namely, an ensemble generated by varying BATS input parameters within potentially plausible ranges provides an average daily range (maximum ensemble member minus minimum ensemble member) of ground snow albedo exceeding 0.45 in visible and NIR bands. Parameter optimization improves agreement between simulated and in situ observed ground snow albedo in visible, NIR and broadband spectrums. Importantly, optimized parameters result in reduced biases relative to observed fresh-snow albedo and better agreement with observed albedo decay. Our analysis across different sites supports that the optimized BATS ground snow albedo parameters are appropriate to transfer in space and time, at least within the region studied (the central-southern Rocky Mountains). The primary error source remaining after parameter optimization is that observed fresh-snow albedo is highly variable, particularly in the NIR spectrum, whereas BATS fresh-snow albedo is constant, an issue which requires further investigation. This study shows significant correlations between observed fresh-snow albedo and surface meteorological conditions (e.g., downward shortwave radiation and temperature) which can support future model development that attempts to include a time-varying formulation for fresh-snow albedo.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Optimal 1D Ly α forest power spectrum estimation – II. KODIAQ, SQUAD, and XQ-100

ABSTRACT We measure the 1D Ly α power spectrum P1D from Keck Observatory Database of Ionized Absorption toward Quasars (KODIAQ), The Spectral Quasar Absorption Database (SQUAD), and XQ-100 quasars using the optimal quadratic estimator. We combine KODIAQ and SQUAD at the spectrum level, but perform a separate XQ-100 estimation to control its large resolution corrections in check. Our final analysis measures P1D at scales k < 0.1 s km−1 between redshifts $z$ = 2.0–4.6 using 538 quasars. This sample provides the largest number of high-resolution, high-S/N observations; and combined with the power of optimal estimator it provides exceptional precision at small scales. These small-scale modes (k ≳ 0.02 s km−1), unavailable in Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument analyses, are sensitive to the thermal state and reionization history of the intergalactic medium, as well as the nature of dark matter. As an example, a simple Fisher forecast analysis estimates that our results can improve small-scale cut-off sensitivity by more than a factor of 2.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Augmentation of WRF-Hydro to simulate overland-flow- and streamflow-generated debris flow susceptibility in burn scars

In steep wildfire-burned terrains, intense rainfall can produce large runoff that can trigger highly destructive debris flows. However, the ability to accurately characterize and forecast debris flow susceptibility in burned terrains using physics-based tools remains limited. Here, we augment the Weather Research and Forecasting Hydrological modeling system (WRF-Hydro) to simulate both overland and channelized flows and assess postfire debris flow susceptibility over a regional domain. We perform hindcast simulations using high-resolution weather-radar-derived precipitation and reanalysis data to drive non-burned baseline and burn scar sensitivity experiments. Our simulations focus on January 2021 when an atmospheric river triggered numerous debris flows within a wildfire burn scar in Big Sur – one of which destroyed California's famous Highway 1. Compared to the baseline, our burn scar simulation yields dramatic increases in total and peak discharge and shorter lags between rainfall onset and peak discharge, consistent with streamflow observations at nearby US Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow gage sites. For the 404 catchments located in the simulated burn scar area, median catchment-area-normalized peak discharge increases by ~ 450 % compared to the baseline. Catchments with anomalously high catchment-area-normalized peak discharge correspond well with post-event field-based and remotely sensed debris flow observations. We suggest that our regional postfire debris flow susceptibility analysis demonstrates WRF-Hydro as a compelling new physics-based tool whose utility could be further extended via coupling to sediment erosion and transport models and/or ensemble-based operational weather forecasts. Given the high-fidelity performance of our augmented version of WRF-Hydro, as well as its potential usage in probabilistic hazard forecasts, we argue for its continued development and application in postfire hydrologic and natural hazard assessments.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Atmospheric response to variations in sea-surface temperature

A two-week prediction experiment was performed with the GISS atmospheric model on a global data set beginning 20 December 1972 to test the sensitivity of the model to sea-surface temperature (SST) variations. Use of observed SST's in place of climatological monthly mean sea temperatures for surface flux calculations in the model was found to have a marked local effect on predicted precipitation over the ocean, with enhanced convection over warm SST anomalies. However, use of observed SST's did not lead to any detectable general improvement in forecast skill. The influence of the SST anomalies on daily predicted fields of pressure and geopotential was small up to about one week compared with the growth of prediction error, and no greater over a two-week period than that resulting from random errors in the initial meteorological state. The 14-day average fields of sea-level pressure and 500 mb height predicted by the model were similarly insensitive to the SST anomalies.

Spar, J.↗

The Dynamical Role of the Chesapeake Bay on the Local Ozone Pollution Using Mesoscale Modeling—A Case Study

This study investigated the dynamic influence of the Chesapeake Bay (CB) on local ozone (O3) concentration and distribution using a weather forecasting model. The Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF–Chem) was employed to simulate O3 production and transportation near the CB. Baseline (water) as well as sensitivity (nowater) model experiments of bay circulation were carried out with and without bay water by changing the water surface from water to land (loam). First, the model performance simulating O3 was evaluated using the baseline experiment results and AirNow surface wind and O3 observations. The results showed that the model overestimates surface O3 by up to 20–30%. Further, the comparisons of the baseline and sensitivity experiments revealed higher O3 mixing ratios, primarily due to the resulting bay breeze circulation. These increases, after considering model overestimation, represent a mean bay dynamics circulation-induced contribution of up to 10% at night and 5% during the day. Furthermore, the boundary layer over northern CB, where it is at its narrowest width, was higher (by 1.2 km on average) during daytime due to higher surface temperatures observed. The boundary layer depth difference between the northern, central, and southern regions of the bay leads to a differential in the role of bay circulation dynamics in the observed O3 increase. The relatively wider swath of water surface over southern CB resulted in a lower boundary layer depth and stronger breeze circulation and this circulation contributed to O3 concentrations. Moreover, since the case selected has a minimal bay breeze circulation, the associated surface ozone enhancements represent what is expected at least at a minimum.

Chesapeak Bay↗

Examples of data assimilation in mesoscale models

The keynote address was the problem of physical initialization of mesoscale models. The classic purpose of physical or diabatic initialization is to reduce or eliminate the spin-up error caused by the lack, at the initial time, of the fully developed vertical circulations required to support regions of large rainfall rates. However, even if a model has no spin-up problem, imposition of observed moisture and heating rate information during assimilation can improve quantitative precipitation forecasts, especially early in the forecast. The two key issues in physical initialization are the choice of assimilating technique and sources of hydrologic/hydrometeor data. Another example of data assimilation in mesoscale models was presented in a series of meso-beta scale model experiments with and 11 km version of the MASS model designed to investigate the sensitivity of convective initiation forced by thermally direct circulations resulting from differential surface heating to four dimensional assimilation of surface and radar data. The results of these simulations underscore the need to accurately initialize and simulate grid and sub-grid scale clouds in meso- beta scale models. The status of the application of the CSU-RAMS mesoscale model by the NOAA Forecast Systems Lab for producing real-time forecasts with 10-60 km mesh resolutions over (4000 km)(exp 2) domains for use by the aviation community was reported. Either MAPS or LAPS model data are used to initialize the RAMS model on a 12-h cycle. The use of MAPS (Mesoscale Analysis and Prediction System) model was discussed. Also discussed was the mesobeta-scale data assimilation using a triply-nested nonhydrostatic version of the MM5 model.

Carr, Fred↗

Electrification in Hurricanes over the Tropical Americas: Implication for Stratospheric Water Vapor

This study explores the relation between lightning activity and water vapor in the Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL) over hurricane systems in the Tropical Americas. The hypothesis herein is that hurricanes that exhibit enhanced lightning activity are associated with stronger updrafts that can transport more moisture directly into the TTL (and subsequently into the tropical stratosphere) or even directly into the tropical stratosphere over this region. The TTL over the Tropical Americas, which includes the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, is of particular interest, because summertime cold point tropopause is the lowest in height and thus the warmest in temperature over the tropics. The latter condition implies higher saturation values and thus potential for more water vapor to enter the stratosphere. Climate forecast is very sensitive to stratospheric water vapor abundance, because of the key role that water vapor plays in regulating the chemical and radiative properties of the stratosphere. Given the potential for increases in hurricane intensity and frequency under predicted warmer conditions, it becomes essential to understand the effect of hurricanes on stratospheric water vapor. In this study, we use a combination of ground and space-borne observations as well as trajectory calculations. The observations include: cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning data from the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN), geostationary infrared observations from the National Climatic Data Center Hurricane Satellite (HURSAT) data set, cloud properties from Aqua-MODIS, and water vapor from Aura-MLS. We analyze hurricanes from the 2005 season when Aura-MLS data are available, namely: Dennis, Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Our analysis consists of examining CG lightning, cloud-top properties, and TTL water vapor (i.e., 100 and 147 mb) over the hurricane while it remains over water in the Tropical Americas region. We investigate daily as well as diurnal statistical properties. The hurricanes analyzed in this study showed that lightning activity is negatively correlated with minimum infrared brightness temperature and positively correlated with 100-mb water vapor. An examination of the maxima in water vapor observed over the hurricane not only shows larger magnitudes, but also larger differences between water vapor averages and water vapor maxima over the hurricane as lightning activity increases. Trajectory calculations are performed using the Flextra model in order to investigate the fate of the moister air masses found in the TTL.

Pittman, Jasna V.↗

Quantifying sensitivity in numerical weather prediction-modeled offshore wind speeds through an ensemble modeling approach

A decade of research has shown that numerical weather prediction (NWP)-modeled wind speeds can be highly sensitive to the inputs and setups within the NWP model. For wind resource characterization applications, this sensitivity is often addressed by constructing a range of setups and selecting the one that best validates against observations. However, this approach is not possible in areas that lack high-quality hub height observations, especially offshore wind areas. In such cases, techniques to quantify and disseminate confidence in NWP-modeled wind speeds in the absence of observations are needed. We address this need in the present study and propose best practices for quantifying the spread in NWP-modeled wind speeds. We implement an ensemble approach in which we consider 24 different setups to the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. We construct the ensemble by considering variations in WRF version, WRF namelist, atmospheric forcing, and sea surface temperature (SST) forcing. Our analysis finds that the standard deviation produces more consistent estimates compared to the interquartile range and tends to be the more conservative estimator for ensemble variability. We further find that model spread increases closer to the surface and on shorter time scales. In conclusion, we explore methods to attribute total ensemble variability to the different ensemble components (e.g., atmospheric forcing and SST product) and find that contributions by components also vary depending on time scale. We anticipate that the methods and results presented in this paper will provide a reasonable foundation for further research into ensemble-based wind resource data sets.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

The June 2012 North American Derecho: A Testbed for Evaluating Regional and Global Climate Modeling Systems at Cloud‐Resolving Scales

Abstract In this paper, we introduce a testbed for evaluating and comparing climate modeling systems at cloud resolving scales using hindcasts of the June 2012 North American derecho. To demonstrate its utility for model intercomparison, the testbed is applied to two models: the regionally‐refined Simple Cloud‐Resolving E3SM Atmosphere Model (SCREAM) at 6.5, 3.25 and 1.625 km grid spacing and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with 3.2 and 1.6 km grid spacing. We find the simulation results to be highly sensitive to the initial conditions (ICs), initialization time, and model configurations, with ICs from the Rapid Refresh producing the best simulation. Significant improvement is identified in both models as horizontal grid spacing is refined. While a propagation delay of approximately 2 hr is found in both models, SCREAM at 1.625 km simulates the observed bow echo structure of the derecho well and predicts strong surface gusts that exceed 30 m/s. In comparison, WRF has difficulty producing surface wind over 25 m/s, with wind gusts in WRF 42%–46% lower than in SCREAM. However, WRF has a lower bias in simulating cloud top temperature and extent, but overestimates precipitation intensity. Both models reproduce the observed outgoing longwave radiation spatial patterns well (Pearson correlation >0.88), but, compared with NEXRAD observations, simulate generally larger areas of composite radar reflectivity >40 dBZ and underestimate the precipitating area by ∼47%.

2012 North American derecho↗

Impacts of Microphysical Scheme on Convective and Stratiform Characteristics in Two High Precipitation Squall Line Events

This study investigates the impact of snow, graupel, and hail processes on simulated squall lines over the Southern Great Plains in the United States. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to simulate two squall line events in Oklahoma during May 2007, and the simulations are validated against radar and surface observations. Several microphysics schemes are tested in this study, including the WRF 5-Class Microphysics (WSM5), WRF 6-Class Microphysics (WSM6), Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) Three Ice (3-ice) with graupel, Goddard Two Ice (2-ice), and Goddard 3-ice hail schemes. Simulated surface precipitation is sensitive to the microphysics scheme when the graupel or hail categories are included. All of the 3-ice schemes overestimate the total precipitation with WSM6 having the largest bias. The 2-ice schemes, without a graupel/hail category, produce less total precipitation than the 3-ice schemes. By applying a radar-based convective/stratiform partitioning algorithm, we find that including graupel/hail processes increases the convective areal coverage, precipitation intensity, updraft, and downdraft intensities, and reduces the stratiform areal coverage and precipitation intensity. For vertical structures, simulations have higher reflectivity values distributed aloft than the observed values in both the convective and stratiform regions. Three-ice schemes produce more high reflectivity values in convective regions, while 2-ice schemes produce more high reflectivity values in stratiform regions. In addition, this study has demonstrated that the radar-based convective/stratiform partitioning algorithm can reasonably identify WRF-simulated precipitation, wind, and microphysical fields in both convective and stratiform regions.

snow↗

Estimating CO2 Emissions Using Real and Simulated Total Column Observations

Total column measurements of CO2 (XCO2) have been proposed as a possible way to estimate emissions from large urban regions. Using calculations from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with a 1km emissions field, we investigate the viability of both real and proposed observing systems consisting of surface and/or column measurements for constraining emission sources of various types and sizes in the San Francisco Bay Area. We find that column observations are best suited for assessing enhancements downwind of very large emissions sources. For smaller sources (such as highways), in situ surface monitors are required to provide sufficient sensitivity. We explore methods for estimating emissions from the real and simulated observations.

Raheja, Garima↗

The WRF Lightning Forecasting Algorithm: Sensitivities to Microphysics and Boundary Layer Physics Schemes

As with WRF model simulated convection in general, LFA output is sensitive to cloud and PBL physics. WRF convection is also sensitive to model initialization uncertainties and unresolved errors.  Large sensitivity exists in HRRR-like Thompson microphysics and PBL, for which original LFA calibration constant needs to be multiplied by 1.13 to give proper FRD amplitudes. Thompson microphysics scheme also shows poorest correlations relative to reference data, suggesting low predictability of HRRR LFA output. Need to validate HRRR LFA against GLM observations.

weather prediction↗

Probing UV-sensitive Pathways for CN and HCN Formation in Protoplanetary Disks with the Hubble Space Telescope

The UV radiation field is a critical regulator of gas-phase chemistry in surface layers of disks around young stars. In an effort to understand the relationship between photocatalyzing UV radiation fields and gas emission observed at infrared and submillimeter wavelengths, we present an analysis of new and archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Spitzer, ALMA, IRAM, and SMA data for five targets in the Lupus cloud complex and 14 systems in Taurus-Auriga. The HST spectra were used to measure Lyα and far-UV (FUV) continuum fluxes reaching the disk surface, which are responsible for dissociating relevant molecular species (e.g., HCN, N{sub 2}). Semi-forbidden C ii] λ2325 and UV-fluorescent H{sub 2} emission were also measured to constrain inner disk populations of C{sup +} and vibrationally excited H{sub 2}. We find a significant positive correlation between 14 μm HCN emission and fluxes from the FUV continuum and C ii] λ2325, consistent with model predictions requiring N{sub 2} photodissociation and carbon ionization to trigger the main CN/HCN formation pathways. We also report significant negative correlations between submillimeter CN emission and both C ii] and FUV continuum fluxes, implying that CN is also more readily dissociated in disks with stronger FUV irradiation. No clear relationships are detected between either CN or HCN and Lyα or UV-H{sub 2} emission. This is attributed to the spatial stratification of the various molecular species, which span several vertical layers and radii across the inner and outer disk. We expect that future observations with the James Webb Space Telescope will build on this work by enabling more sensitive IR surveys than were possible with Spitzer.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Space-Based Ornithology - Studying Bird Migration and Environmental Change in North America

Natural fluctuations in the availability of critical stopover sites coupled with anthropogenic destruction of wetlands, land-use change, and anticipated losses due to climate change present migratory birds with a formidable challenge. Space based technology in concert with bird migration modeling and geographical information analysis yields new opportunities to shed light on the distribution and movement of organisms on the planet and their sensitivity to human disturbances and environmental changes. At the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, we are creating ecological forecasting tools for science and application users to address the consequences of loss of wetlands, flooding, drought or other natural disasters such as hurricanes on avian biodiversity and bird migration. We use an individual-based bird biophysical migration model, driven by remotely sensed land surface data, climate and hydrologic data, and biological field observations to study migratory bird responses to environmental change in North America. Simulation allows us to study bird migration across multiple scales and can be linked to mechanistic processes describing the time and energy budget states of migrating birds. We illustrate our approach by simulating the spring migration of pectoral sandpipers from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska. Mean stopover length and trajectory patterns are consistent with field observations.

Smith, James A.↗

Diagnosing the Nature of Land-Atmosphere Coupling During the 2006-7 Dry/Wet Extremes in the U.S. Southern Great Plains

Land-atmosphere interactions play a critical role in determining the diurnal evolution of both planetary boundary layer (PBL) and land surface temperature and moisture states. The degree of coupling between the land surface and PBL in numerical weather prediction and climate models remains largely unexplored and undiagnosed due to the complex interactions and feedbacks present across a range of scales. Further, uncoupled systems or experiments (e.g., the Project for Intercomparison of Land Parameterization Schemes, PILPS) may lead to inaccurate water and energy cycle process understanding by neglecting feedback processes such as PBL-top entrainment. In this study, a framework for diagnosing local land-atmosphere coupling (LoCo) is presented using a coupled mesoscale model with a suite of PBL and land surface model (LSM) options along with observations during the summers of200617 in the U.S. Southern Great Plains. Specifically, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model has been coupled to NASA's Land Information System (LIS), which provides a flexible and high-resolution representation and initialization of land surface physics and states. A range of diagnostics exploring the links and feedbacks between soil moisture and precipitation are examined for the dry/wet extremes of this region, along with the sensitivity of PBL-LSM coupling to perturbations in soil moisture. As such, this methodology provides a potential pathway to study factors controlling local land-atmosphere coupling (LoCo) using the LIS-WRF system, which is serving as a testbed for LoCo experiments to evaluate coupling diagnostics within the community.

Santanello, Joseph A.↗