Bridging the Transition from Mesoscale to Microscale Turbulence in Numerical Weather Prediction Models

Boundary-Layer Meteorology

Volumn 153, Issue 3, 2014, Pages 409-440

  Muñoz Esparza, Domingo ^a,b   Kosović, Branko ^c   Mirocha, Jeff ^d   van Beeck, Jeroen ^a  

^a VON KARMAN INSTITUTE FOR FLUID DYNAMICS   (Belgium)

^b LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY   (United States)

^c NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH   (United States)

^d LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY   (United States)

Author keywords

Boundary layer turbulence; Inflow turbulence generation; Large eddy simulation; Multiscale modelling; Nested mesoscale to large eddy simulations; Weather Research and Forecasting model

Indexed keywords

ATMOSPHERIC THERMODYNAMICS; BOUNDARY LAYER FLOW; BOUNDARY LAYERS; LARGE EDDY SIMULATION; NUMERICAL MODELS; ONE DIMENSIONAL; PERTURBATION TECHNIQUES; TURBULENCE;

A1. LARGEEDDY SIMULATIONS (LES); BOUNDARY LAYER TURBULENCE; FINITE-AMPLITUDE PERTURBATIONS; INFLOW TURBULENCE; MULTI-SCALE MODELLING; NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION MODELS; PERIODIC BOUNDARY CONDITIONS; WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING MODELS;

WEATHER FORECASTING;

BOUNDARY CONDITION; BOUNDARY LAYER; LARGE EDDY SIMULATION; MESOSCALE EDDY; NUMERICAL MODEL; TURBULENCE; TURBULENT DIFFUSION; WEATHER FORECASTING;

EID: 85027931365     PISSN: 00068314     EISSN: 15731472     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10546-014-9956-9     Document Type: Article

References (89)

1. Andrén A (1995) The structure of stably stratified atmospheric boundary layers: a large-eddy simulation study. Q J R Meteorol Soc 121:961–985
2. Andrén A, Brown AR, Graf J, Mason PJ, Moeng CH, Nieuwstadt FTM, Schumann U (1994) Large eddy simulation of a neutrally stratified boundary layer: a comparison of four codes. Q J R Meteorol Soc 120:1457–1484
3. Araya G, Castillo L, Meneveau C, Jansen K (2011) A dynamic multi-scale approach for turbulent inflow boundary conditions in spatially developing flows. J Fluid Mech 670:581–605
4. Basu S, Foufoula-Georgiou E, Porté-Agel F (2004) Synthetic turbulence, fractal interpolation, and large-eddy simulation. Phys Rev E 70:26310
5. Basu S, Porté-Agel F (2006) Large-eddy simulation of stably stratified atmospheric boundary layer turbulence: a scale-dependent dynamic modeling approach. J Atmos Sci 63:2074–2091
6. Basu S, Vinuesa JF, Swift A (2008a) Dynamic LES modeling of a diurnal cycle. J Appl Meteorol Climatol 47:1156–1174
7. Basu S, Holtslag AAM, van de Wiel BJH, Moene AF, Steeneveld GJ (2008b) An inconvenient “truth” about using sensible heat flux as a surface boundary condition in models under stably stratified regimes. Acta Geophys 56:88–99
8. Beare RJ et al (2006) An intercomparison of large-eddy simulations of the stable boundary layer. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 118:247–272
9. Brost RA, Wyngaard JC (1978) A model study of the stably stratified planetary boundary layer. J Atmos Sci 35:1427–1440
10. Ching J, Rotunno R, LeMone MA, Martilli A, Kosović B, Jiménez P, Dudhia J (2014) Convectively induced secondary circulations in fine-grid mesoscale numerical weather prediction models. Mon Weather Rev. doi:10.1175/MWR-D-13-00318.1
11. Chow FK, Street RL, Xue M, Ferziger JH (2005) Explicit filtering and reconstruction turbulence modeling for large-eddy simulation of neutral boundary layer flow. J Atmos Sci 62:2058–2077
12. Chu CR, Parlangue MB, Katul GG, Albertson JD (1996) Probability density functions of turbulent velocity and temperature in the atmospheric surface layer. Water Resour Res 32:1681–1688
13. Coleman GN, Ferziger JH, Spalart PR (1994) A numerical study of the convective boundary layer. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 70:247–272
14. Deardorff JW (1972) Numerical investigation of neutral and unstable planetary boundary layers. J Atmos Sci 29:91–115
15. Deardorff JW (1980) Stratocummulus-capped mixing layers derived from a three-dimensional model. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 18:495–527
16. Derbyshire SH (1990) Nieuwstadt’s stable boundary layer revisited. Q J R Meteorol Soc 116:127–158
17. de Roode SR, Duynkerke PG, Jonker HJJ (2004) Large-eddy simulation: how large is large enough? J Atmos Sci 61:403–421
18. di Mare L, Klein M, Jones WP, Janicka J (2006) Synthetic turbulence inflow conditions for large-eddy simulation. Phys Fluids 18(025):107
19. Dyer AJ (1974) A review of flux–profile relationships. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 7:363–372
20. Gage KS (1979) Evidence of a k-5/3 law inertial range in mesoscale two-dimensional turbulence. J Atmos Sci 36:1950–1954
21. Glendening JW (1996) Lineal eddy featrues under strong shear conditions. J Atmos Sci 53:3430–3449
22. Grossman RL (1982) An analysis of vertical velocity spectra obtained in the BOMEX fair-weather, trade-wind boundary layer. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 23:323–357
23. Hunt JC, Shutts GJ, Derbyshire SH (1996) Stably stratified flows in meteorology. Dyn Atmos Oceans 23:63–79
24. Hunt JCR, Stretch DD, Britter RE (1988) Length scales in stabley stratified turbulent flows and their use in turbulence models. In: Puttok JS (ed) Proceedings of I.M.A. conference on “stably stratified flow and dense gas dispersion”. Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp 285–321
25. Jiménez MA, Cuxart J (2005) Large-eddy simulations of the stable boundary layer using the standard Kolmogorov theory: range of applicability. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 115:241–261
26. Kang SL, Davis KJ (2008) The effects of mesoscale surface heterogeneity on the fair-weather convective atmospheric boundary layer. J Atmos Sci 65:3197–3213
27. Kang SL, Davis KJ (2009) Temporal oscillations in the convective boundary layer forced by mesoscale surface heat-flux variations. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 132:59–81
28. Keating A, Piomelli U, Balaras E, Kaltenbach H-J (2004) A priori and a posteriori tests of inflow conditions for large-eddy simulation. Phys Fluids 16:4696–4712
29. Khanna S, Brasseur JG (1998) Three-dimensional buoyancy- and shear-induced local structure of the atmospheric boundary layer. J Atmos Sci 55:710–743
30. Kim J, Moin P, Moser R (1987) Turbulence statistics in fully developed channel flow at low Reynolds number. J Fluid Mech 177:133–166
31. Kirkil G, Mirocha JD, Bou-Zeid E, Chow FK, Kosović B (2012) Implementation and evaluation of dynamic subfilter-scale stress models for large-eddy simulation using WRF. Mon Weather Rev 140:266–284
32. Klein M, Sadiki A, Janicka J (2003) A digital filter based generation of inflow data for spatially developing direct numerical simulation or large eddy simulation. J Comput Phys 186:652–665
33. Klemp JB, Dudhia J, Hassiotis AD (2008) An upper gravity-wave absorbing layer for NWP applications. Mon Weather Rev 136:3987–4004
34. Knievel JC, Bryan GH, Hacker JP (2007) Explicit numerical diffusion in the WRF model. Mon Weather Rev 135:3808–3824
35. Kolmogorov AN (1941) Local structure of turbulence in an incompressible fluid at very high Reynolds numbers. Dokl Akad Nauk SSSR 30:299–303
36. Kosović B (1997) Subgrid-scale modelling for the large-eddy simulation of high-Reynolds-number boundary layers. J Fluid Mech 336:151–182
37. Kosović B, Curry JA (2000) A large eddy simulation study of a quasi-steady, stably stratified atmospheric boundary layer. J Atmos Sci 57:1052–1068
38. Lamballais E, Lesieur M, Métais O (1997) Probability distribution functions and coherent structures in a turbulent channel. Phys Rev E 56:6761–6766
39. Le H, Moin P, Kim J (1997) Direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow over a backward-facing step. J Fluid Mech 330:349–374
40. LeMone MA (1973) The structure and dynamics of horizontal roll vortices in the planetary boundary layer. J Atmos Sci 30:1077–1091
41. Lenschow DH, Sun J (2007) The spectral composition of fluxes and variances over land and sea out to the mesoscale. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 125:63–84
42. Lilly DK (1966) On the application of the eddy viscosity concept in the inertial sub-range of turbulence. NCAR Manuscript No. 123. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, 19 pp
43. Lilly DK (1967) The representation of small-scale turbulence in numerical experiments. IBM scientific computing symposium on environmental sciences, IBM, White Plains, pp 195–210
44. Liu Y et al (2008) The operational mesogamma-scale analysis and forecast system for the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command: overview of the modeling system, the forecast products, and how the products are used. J Appl Meteorol Climatol 47:1077–1092
45. Liu Y et al (2011) Simultaneous nested modeling from the synoptic scale to the LES scale for wind energy applications. J Wind Eng Ind Aerodyn 99:308–319
46. Lothon M, Lenschow DH, Mayor SD (2006) Coherence and scale of vertical velocity in the convective boundary layer from a Doppler lidar. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 121:521–536
47. Lu H, Porté-Agel F (2011) Large-eddy simulation of a very large wind farm in a stable atmospheric boundary layer. Phys Fluids 23:65101
48. Lund TS, Wu X, Squires KD (1998) Generation of turbulent inflow data for spatially developing boundary layer simulations. J Comput Phys 140:233–258
49. Mahrt L (1998) Stratified atmospheric boundary layers and breakdown of models. J Theor Comput Fluid Dyn 11:263–279
50. Mayor SD, Spalart PR, Tripoli GJ (2002) Application of a perturbation recycling method in the large-eddy simulation of a mesoscale convective internal boundary layer. J Atmos Sci 59:2385–2395
51. Mirocha JD, Kosović B (2010) A large-eddy simulation study of the influence of subsidence on the stably stratified atmospheric boundary layer. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 134:1–21
52. Mirocha JD, Lundquist JK, Kosović B (2010) Implementation of a nonlinear subfilter turbulence stress model for large-eddy simulation in the Advanced Research WRF model. Mon Weather Rev 138:4212–4228
53. Mirocha JD, Kirkil G, Bou-Zeid E, Chow FK, Kosović B (2013) Transition and equilibration of neutral atmospheric boundary layer flow in one-way nested large-eddy simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting model. Mon Weather Rev 141:918–940
54. Mirocha JD, Kosović B, Kirkil G (2014) Resolved turbulence charactersitics in large-eddy simulations nested within mesoscale simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting model. Mon Weather Rev 142:806–831
55. Moeng CH (1988) A large-eddy-simulation model for the study of planetary boundary-layer turbulence. J Atmos Sci 41:2052–2062
56. Monin AS, Obukhov AM (1954) Basic turbulence mixing laws in the atmospheric surface layer. Tr Inst Teor Geofiz Akad SSSR 24:163–187 (English translation available in Bespalyi VN (ed) (2001) Turbulence and Atmospheric Dynamics, JL Lumley, 164–194)
57. Muñoz-Esparza D, Cañadillas B, Neumann T, van Beeck J (2012) Turbulent fluxes, stability and shear in the offshore environment: mesoscale modelling and field observations at FINO1. J Renew Sustain Energy 4:63136
58. Muñoz-Esparza D (2013) Multiscale modelling of atmospheric flows: towards improving the representation of boundary layer physics. Ph.D. thesis, von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics and Université Libre de Bruxelles, 188 pp
59. Muñoz-Esparza D, Kosović B, García-Sánchez C, van Beeck J (2014) Nesting turbulence in an offshore convective boundary layer using large-eddy simulations. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 151:453–478
60. Muschinski A, Frehlich RG, Balsley BB (2004) Small-scale and large-scale intermittency in the nocturnal boundary layer and the residual layer. J Fluid Mech 515:319–351
61. Nakanishi M (2001) Improvement of the Mellor–Yamada turbulence closure model based on Large-Eddy Simulation data. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 99:349–378
62. Nakayama H, Takemi T, Nagai H (2012) Large-eddy simulation of urban boundary-layer flows by generating turbulent inflows from mesoscale meteorological simulations. Atmos Sci Lett 13:180–186
63. Nastrom GD, Gage KS (1985) A climatology of atmospheric wavenumber spectra of wind and temperature observed by commercial aircraft. J Atmos Sci 42:950–960
64. Nunalee CG, Basu S (2014) Mesoscale modeling of coastal low-level jets: implications for offshore wind resource estimation. Wind Energy. 17:1199–1216
65. Overholt MR, Pope SB (1998) A deterministic forcing scheme for direct numerical simulations of turbulence. Comput Fluids 27:11–28
66. Park J, Basu S, Manuel L (2014) Large-eddy simulation of stable boundary layer turbulence and estimation of associated wind turbine loads. Wind Energy 17:359–384
67. Perret L, Deville J, Manceu R, Bonnet JP (2008) Turbulent inflow conditions for large-eddy simulation based on low order empirical model. Phys Fluids 20:75107
68. Pope SB (2000) Turbulent flows. University Press, Cambridge, 771 pp
69. Saiki EM, Moeng CH, Sullivan PP (2000) Large-eddy simulation of the stably stratified planetary boundary layer. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 95:1–30
70. Scotti A, Menveau C (1999) A fractal model for large eddy simulation of turbulent flow. Phys D 127:198–232
71. Shin HH, Hong SY (2012) Impacts of the lowest model level height on the performance of planetary boundary layer parameterizations. Mon Weather Rev 140:664–682
72. Skamarock W et al (2008) A description of the advanced research WRF version 3. NCAR Technical Note NCAR/TN-475+STR, 113 pp
73. Skamarock WC (2004) Evaluating mesoscale NWP models using kinetic energy spectra. Mon Weather Rev 132:3019–3032
74. Stull RB (1988) An introduction to boundary layer meteorology. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 666 pp
75. Sullivan PP, Horst TW, Lenschow DH, Moeng CH, Weil JC (2003) Structure of subfilter-scale fluxes in the atmospheric surface layer with application to LES modeling. J Fluid Mech 482:101–139
76. Sullivan PP, McWilliams JC, Moeng CH (1994) A subgrid-scale model for large-eddy simulation of planetary boundary-layer flows. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 71:247–276
77. Sullivan PP, Patton EG (2011) The effect of mesh resolution on convective boundary layer statistics and structures generated by large-eddy simulation. J Atmos Sci 68:2395–2415
78. Sykes RI, Henn DS (1989) Large-eddy simulation of turbulent sheared convection. J Atmos Sci 46:1006–1018
79. Tabor GR, Baba-Ahmadi MH (2010) Inlet conditions for large eddy simulation: a review. Comput Fluids 39:553–567
80. Talbot C, Bou-Zeid E, Smith J (2012) Nested mesoscale large-eddy simulations with WRF: performance in real test cases. J Hydrometeorol 13:1421–1441
81. Van der Hoven I (1957) Power spectrum of horizontal wind speed in the frequency range from 0.0007 to 900 cycles per hour. J Meteorol 14:160–164
82. Weckwerth TM, Horst TW, Wilson JW (1998) An observational study of the evolution of horizontal convective rolls. Mon Weather Rev 127:2160–2179
83. Weston KM (1980) An observational study of convective cloud streets. Tellus 32:433–438
84. Wyngaard JC (2004) Toward numerical modelling in the “terra incognita”. J Atmos Sci 61:1816–1826
85. Wyszogrodzki AA, Miao S, Chen F (2012) Evaluation of the coupling between mesoscale-WRF and LES-EULAG models for simulating fine-scale urban dispersion. Atmos Res 118:324–345
86. Xie ZT, Castro IP (2008) Efficient generation of inflow conditions for large eddy simulations of street-scale flows. Flow Turbul Combust 81:449–470
87. Young GS, Kristovich DAR, Hjelmfelt MR, Foster RC (2002) Rolls, streets, waves, and more: a review of quasi-two-dimensional structures in the atmospheric boundary layer. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 83:997–1001
88. Zajaczkowski FJ, Haupt SE, Schmehl KJ (2011) A preliminary study of assimilating numerical weather prediction data into computational fluid dynamics models for wind prediction. J Wind Eng Ind Aerodyn 99:320–329
89. Zhou B, Chow FK (2011) Large-eddy simulation of the stable boundary layer with explicit filtering and reconstruction turbulence modeling. J Atmos Sci 68:2142–2155