Fog simulation using a mesoscale model in and around the Yodo River Basin,Japan

In this study,fog simulations were conducted using the Fifth-Generation NCAR/Penn State Mesoscale Model (MM5) in and around the Yodo River Basin,Japan.The purpose is to investigate the MM5 performance of fog simulation for long-term periods.The simulations were performed for January,February,March,and July,2005 with a coarse 3-kin and a nested fine 1-km grid domains. Results of the simulations were compared with data from ten meteorological observatories,fog sampling site in Mt.Rokko,and visibility measurem...

Mesoscale meteorological modelling for Hong Kong-application of the MC2 model

This paper describes the set up and application of a non hydrostatic Canadian meteorological numerical model (MC2) for mesoscale simulations of wind field and other meteorological parameters over the complex terrain of Hong Kong. Results of the simulations of one case are presented and compared with the results of radiosonde and aircraft measurements. The model is proved capable of predicting high resolution, three dimensional fields of wind and other meteorological parameters within the Hong Kong territory, using reasonable computer time and memory resources.

A Numerical Study of a TOGA-COARE Squall-Line Using a Coupled Mesoscale Atmosphere-Ocean Model

An atmosphere-ocean coupled mesoscale modeling system is developed and used to investigate the interactions between a squall line and the upper ocean observed over the western Paci?c warm pool during the Tropical Ocean/Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean and Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA-COARE). The modeling system is developed by coupling the Advanced Regional Prediction Sys- tem (ARPS) to the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) through precipitation and two-way exchanges of mo- mentum, heat, and moisture across the air-sea interface. The results indicate that the interaction between the squall-line and the upper ocean produced noticeable di?erences in the sensible and latent heat ?uxes, as compared to the uncoupled cases. Precipitation, which is often ignored in air-sea heat ?ux estimates, played a major role in the coupling between the mesoscale convective system and the ocean. Precipitation a?ected the air-sea interaction through both freshwater ?ux and sensible heat ?ux. The former led to the formation of a thin stable ocean layer underneath and behind the precipitating atmospheric convection. The presence of this stable layer resulted in a more signi?cant convection-induced sea surface temperature (SST) change in and behind the precipitation zone. However, convection-induced SST changes do not seem to play an important role in the intsensi?cation of the existing convective system that resulted in the SST change, as the convection quickly moved away from the region of original SST response.

A Simulating Study on Resolvable-Scale Microphysical Parameterization in a Mesoscale Model

The Penn State/ NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5) is used to simulate the precipitation event that occurred during 1–2 May 1994 to the south of the Yangtze River. In five experiments the Kain–Fritsch scheme is made use of for the subgrid–scale convective precipitation, but five different resolvable–scale microphysical parameterization schemes are employed. They are the simple super-saturation removal scheme, the warm rain scheme of Hsie et al. (1984), the simple ice scheme of Dudhia (1989), the complex mixed–phase scheme developed by Reisner et al. (1993), and the GSFC microphysical scheme with graupel. Our interest is how the various resolvable-scale schemes affect the domain-averaged precipitation, the precipitation distribution, the sea level pressure, the cloud water and the cloud ice. Through a series of experiments about a warm sector rainfall case, results show that although the different resolvable-scale scheme is used, the differences of the precipitation characteristics among all five runs are not very obvious. However, the precipitation is over-predicted and the strong mesoscale low is produced by the simple super-saturation removal scheme. The warm rain scheme with the inclusion of condensation and evaporation under-predicts the precipitation and allows the cloud water to reach the 300 hPa level. The scheme of the addition of graupel increases the resolvable-scale precipitation by about 20%-30%. The inclusion of supercooled liquid water in the grid-scale scheme does not affect significantly the results. Key words Mesoscale model - Precipitation - Resolvable-scale microphysical parameterization

Contrasts of bimodal tropical instability waves(TIWs)-induced wind stress perturbations in the Pacific Ocean among observations,ocean models,and coupled climate models

The coupling between wind stress perturbations and sea surface temperature(SST)perturbations induced by tropical instability waves(TIWs)in the Pacific Ocean has been revealed previously and proven crucial to both the atmosphere and ocean.However,an overlooked fact by previous studies is that the loosely defined“TIWs”actually consist of two modes,including the Yanai wave-based TIW on the equator(hereafter eTIW)and the Rossby wave-based TIW off the equator(hereafter vTIW).Hence,the individual feedbacks of the wind stress to the bimodal TIWs remain unexplored.In this study,individual coupling relationships are established for both eTIW and v TIW,including the relationship between the TIW-induced SST perturbations and two components of wind stress perturbations,and the relationship between the TIW-induced wind stress perturbation divergence(curl)and the downwind(crosswind)TIW-induced SST gradients.Results show that,due to different distributions of eTIW and vTIW,the coupling strength induced by the eTIW is stronger on the equator,and that by the vTIW is stronger off the equator.The results of any of eTIW and vTIW are higher than those of the loosely defined TIWs.We further investigated how well the coupling relationships remained in several widely recognized oceanic general circulation models and fully coupled climate models.However,the coupling relationships cannot be well represented in most numerical models.Finally,we confirmed that higher resolution usually corresponds to more accurate simulation.Therefore,the coupling models established in this study are complementary to previous research and can be used to refine the oceanic and coupled climate models.

Model Simulations of Mesoscale Eddies and Deep Convection in the Labrador Sea

Deep convection in the Labrador Sea is confined within a small region in the southwest part of the basin.The strength of deep convection in this region is related to the local atmospheric and ocean characteristics,which favor processes of deep convection preconditioning and intense air-sea exchange during the winter season.In this study,we explored the effect of eddy-induced flux transport on the stratification of the Labrador Sea and the properties of deep convection.Simulations from an eddy-resolving ocean model are presented for the Labrador Sea.The general circulation was well simulated by the model,including the seasonal cycle of the deep Labrador Current.The simulated distribution of the surface eddy kinetic energy was also close to that derived from Topex-Poseidon satellite altimeter data,but with smaller magnitude.The energy transfer diagnostics indicated that Irminger rings are generated by both baroclinic and barotropic processes; however,when they propagate into the interior basin,the barotropic process also disperses them by converting the eddy energy to the mean flow.In contrast to eddy-permitting simulations,deep convection in the Labrador Sea was better represented in the eddyresolving model regarding their lateral position.Further analysis indicated that the improvement might be due to the lateral eddy flux associated with the resolved Irminger rings in the eddy-resolving model,which contributes to a realistic position of the isopycnal dome in the Labrador Sea and correspondingly a realistic site of deep convection.

An efficient approach for mesoscale fracture modeling of fully-graded hydraulic concrete

Large coarse aggregates used in fully-graded hydraulic concrete necessitate large specimens for numerical modeling.This leads to a high computational cost for mesoscale modeling and thus slows the development of multiscale modeling of hydraulic mass concrete structures.To overcome this obstacle,an efficient approach for mesoscale fracture modeling of fully-graded hydraulic concrete was developed based on the concept of the governing mesostructure.The mesostructure was characterized by a critical aggregate size.Coarse aggregates smaller than the critical size were homogenized into mortar matrices.Key issues in mesostructure generation of fully-graded hydraulic concrete are discussed,as is the development of mesoscale finite element modeling methodology.The basic concept and implementation procedures of the proposed approach are also described in detail.The numerical results indicated that the proposed approach not only significantly improves the compu-tational efficiency of mesoscale modeling but also captures the dominant fracturing mechanism at the mesoscale and reproduces reasonable fracture properties at the macroscale.Therefore,the proposed approach can serve as a basis for multiscale fracture modeling of hydraulic mass concrete structures.

A three-dimensional ocean general circulation model for mesoscale eddies——Ⅱ Diagnostic analysis

A three-dimensional density field associated with mesoscaie unstable waves generated by the 3-D, primitive-equation model (Wang and Ikeda, 1996) is provided to the quasi-geostrophic pressure tendency and ω-equations, and to the (ageostrophic) Q-vector equation. Diagnostic analyses, analogous to the approaches in meteorology: ω-equation and Q-vector method, are for the first time developed to examine the mesoscaie dynamical processes and mechanisms of the unstable waves propagating in the mid-latitude ocean. The weaknesses and strengths of these two diagnostic approaches are evaluated and compared to the model results. The Q-vector method is then recommended to diagnose the vertical motion associated with the mesoscaie dynamics from a hydrographic CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) array, while the quasi-geostrophic equations produce some small-scale features (errors) in the diagnosed fields.

THREE-DIMENSIONAL VARIABLES ALLOCATION IN MESOSCALE MODELS

Forecasts and simulations are varied owing to different allocation of 3-dimensional variables in mesoscale models. No attempts have been made to address the issue of optimizing the simulation with a 3-dimensional variables distribution that should come to be. On the basis of linear nonhydrostatic anelastic equations, the paper hereby compares, mainly graphically, the computational dispersion with analytical solutions for four kinds of 3-dimensional meshes commonly found in mesoscale models, in terms of frequency, horizontal and vertical group velocities. The result indicates that the 3-D mesh C/CP has the best computational dispersion, followed by Z/LZ and Z/LY, with the C/L having the worst performance. It is then known that the C/CP mesh is the most desirable allocation in the design of nonhydrostatic baroclinic models. The mesh has, however, larger errors when dealing with shorter horizontal wavelengths. For the simulation of smaller horizontal scales, the horizontal grid intervals have to be shortened to reduce the errors. Additionally, in view of the dominant use of C/CP mesh in finite-difference models, it should be used in conjunction with the Z/LZ or Z/LY mesh if variables are allocated in spectral models.

Study on a Mesoscale Convective Vortex Causing Heavy Rainfall during the Mei-yu Season in 2003

The strong heavy rainfall on 3–5 July 2003 causing the severe flooding in Huaihe River basin （HRB）, China is studied. It is noted that there are sometimes mesoscale convective vortex （MCV） in East Asia during the mei-yu season. Simulation results from the ARPS （Advanced Regional Prediction） data analysis system （ADAS） and WRF model were used to study the development of the mesoscale convective system （MCS） and mesoscale convective vortex （MCV）. It is confirmed that the MCV formed during the development of a previous severe MCS. A closed vortex circulation can be found below 600 hPa with a vorticity maximum in the middle troposphere. The evolution process of the MCV can be divided into three stages： initiation, maturation, and dissipation. During the mature stage of the MCV, a downdraft occurred in the center of the MCV and new convection developed in southeast of the MCV. The convergence and the tilting in the lower troposphere convergence and vertical advection in the middle troposphere were the main vorticity sources in the MCV initiation stage. Finally, a conceptual model between the mei-yu front and the embedded MCS and MCV is proposed. The mei-yu front was the background condition for the development of the MCS and MCV. A low level jet （LLJ） transported moisture and the weak cold air invasion via a trough aloft in the middle troposphere and triggering the severe convection. Furthermore, the intensified jet was able to result in the initiation of new ＂secondary＂ areas of convection in the eastern part of the MCV.

Influence of mesoscale eddies on primary production in the South China Sea during spring inter-monsoon period

Mesoscale eddies have been suggested to have an impact on biological carbon fixation in the South China Sea （SCS）. However, their overall contribution to primary production during the spring inter-monsoon pe riod is still unknown. Based on large-scale biological and environmental in situ observations and synchro nous remote sensing data, the distribution patterns of phytoplankton biomass and the primary production, and the role of mesoscale eddies in regulating primary production in different eddy-controlled waters were investigated. The results suggested that the surface chlorophyll a concentrations and water column inte grated primary production （IPP） are significantly higher in cyclonic eddies and lower in the anticyclonic eddies as compared to that in non-eddy waters. Although eddies could affect various environmental factors, such as nutrients, temperature and light availability, nutrient supply is suggested to be the most important one through which mesoscale eddies regulated the distribution patterns of phytoplankton biomass and pri mary production. The estimated IPP in cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies are about 29.5% higher and 16.6% lower than the total average in the whole study area, respectively, indicating that the promotion effect of mesoscale cold eddies on the primary production was much stronger than the inhibition effect of the warm eddies per unit area. Overall, mesoscale eddies are crucial physical processes that affect the biological car bon fixation and the distribution pattern of primary production in the SCS open sea, especially during the spring inter-monsoon period.

Mesoscale SST perturbation-induced impacts on climatological precipitation in the Kuroshio-Oyashio extension region,as revealed by the WRF simulations

Mesoscale coupling between perturbations of mesoscale sea surface temperature (SST) and lowlevel winds has been extensively studied using available high-resolution satellite observations. However, the climatological impacts of mesoscale SST perturbations (SST meso ) on the free atmosphere have not been fully understood. In this study, the rectified eff ect of SSTmeso on local climatological precipitation in the Kuroshio- Oyashio Extension (KOE) region is investigated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model;two runs are performed, one forced by low-resolution SST fields (almost no mesoscale signals) and another by additional high-resolution SSTmeso fields extracted from satellite observations. Climatological precipitation response to SST meso is characterized mainly by enhanced precipitation on the warmer flank of three oceanic SST fronts in this region. The results show that the positive correlation between the 10-m wind speed perturbations and SSTmeso is well captured by the WRF model with a reasonable spatial pattern but relatively weak strength. The addition of SSTmeso improves the climatological precipitation simulated by WRF with a better representation of fine-scale structures compared with satellite observations. A closer examination on the underlying mechanism suggests that while the pressure adjustment mechanism can explain the climatological precipitation enhancement along the fronts and the relatively high contribution of the convective precipitation, other factors such as synoptic events should also be taken into consideration to account for the seasonality of the precipitation response.

Roles of Mesoscale Terrain and Latent Heat Release in Typhoon Precipitation: A Numerical Case Study

The mesoscale orographic effects on typhoon Aere＇s precipitation are simulated using an Advanced Regional Eta-coordinate Model （AREM） version 3.0. In particular, the effects of the latent heat release are studied by two comparable experiments： with and without condensational heating. The results show that the typhoon rainfall is tripled by the southeastern China mesoscale terrain, and the condensational heating is responsible for at least half of the increase. One role of the latent heat release is to warm the atmosphere, leading to a depression of the surface pressure, which then causes a larger pressure difference in the zonal direction. This pressure gradient guides the water vapour to flow into the foothills, which in turn amplifies the water vapour flux divergence amplified, causing the typhoon rainfall to increase eventually. The other role of the latent heat release is to make the convection more organized, resulting in a relatively smaller rain area and stronger precipitation.

Simulation of Quasi-Linear Mesoscale Convective Systems in Northern China：Lightning Activities and Storm Structure

Two intense quasi-linear mesoscale convective systems（QLMCSs） in northern China were simulated using the WRF（Weather Research and Forecasting） model and the 3D-Var（three-dimensional variational） analysis system of the ARPS（Advanced Regional Prediction System） model.A new method in which the lightning density is calculated using both the precipitation and non-precipitation ice mass was developed to reveal the relationship between the lightning activities and QLMCS structures.Results indicate that,compared with calculating the results using two previous methods,the lightning density calculated using the new method presented in this study is in better accordance with observations.Based on the calculated lightning densities using the new method,it was found that most lightning activity was initiated on the right side and at the front of the QLMCSs,where the surface wind field converged intensely.The CAPE was much stronger ahead of the southeastward progressing QLMCS than to the back it,and their lightning events mainly occurred in regions with a large gradient of CAPE.Comparisons between lightning and non-lightning regions indicated that lightning regions featured more intense ascending motion than non-lightning regions;the vertical ranges of maximum reflectivity between lightning and non-lightning regions were very different;and the ice mixing ratio featured no significant differences between the lightning and non-lightning regions.

VARYING SEASONS' MESOSCALE WIND FIELD CIRCULATION IN HAINAN ISLAND

Using a one-level numerical diagnostic model, the features of surface wind fields in Hainan Island and Leizhou Peninsula and maritime area around it are studied. In the experiments with prevailing synoptic situation for varying seasons there are obvious deflection flows, terrain slope drafts, convergence lines, sea/land breeze and mountain/valley breeze, and difference in season accounts for the features found in the mesoscale distribution.The complex terrain and seatland distribution in the area is shown to be the important cause for the formation of varying mesoscale circulation, and close relationships between local climatic distribution feature and mesoscale circulation are then revealed.

Mesoscale oceanic eddies in the South China Sea from 1992 to 2012:evolution processes and statistical analysis

Automated identification and tracking of mesoscale ocean eddies has recently become one research hotspot in physical oceanography. Several methods have been developed and applied to survey the general kinetic and geometric characteristics of the ocean eddies in the South China Sea（SCS）. However, very few studies attempt to examine eddies＇ internal evolution processes. In this study, we reported a hybrid method to trace eddies＇ propagation in the SCS based on their internal structures, which are characterized by eddy centers, footprint borders, and composite borders. Eddy identification and tracking results were represented by a GIS-based spatiotemporal model. Information on instant states, dynamic evolution processes, and events of disappearance, reappearance, split, and mergence is stored in a GIS database. Results were validated by comparing against the ten Dongsha Cyclonic Eddies（DCEs） and the three long-lived anticyclonic eddies（ACEs） in the northern SCS, which were reported in previous literature. Our study confirmed the development of these eddies. Furthermore, we found more DCE-like and ACE-like eddies in these areas from 2005 to 2012 in our database. Spatial distribution analysis of disappearing, reappearing, splitting, and merging activities shows that eddies in the SCS tend to cluster to the northwest of Luzon Island, southwest of Luzon Strait, and around the marginal sea of Vietnam. Kuroshio intrusions and the complex sea floor topography in these areas are the possible factors that lead to these spatial clusters.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION AND MESOSCALE ANALYSIS OF A TORRENTIAL RAIN CAUSED BY TYPHOON

A heavy storm rainfall caused by Typhoon Aere (No.0418) when landing at Fujian has been successfully simulated by using AREM model. The simulation result is scale-separated by spatial band-pass filtering, which reveals the mesoscale low pressure and convergence line that has direct impact on this rainfall process. The physical characteristics of the two mesoscale systems and their relation with rainfall are also analyzed. Study shows that there exists a well corresponding relationship between the storm rainfall and mesoscale divergence and strong updraft arising from the convergence, which is caused by the interactions between the mesoscale systems and topographic features, and is directly responsible for the rainfall.

The Effect of Mesoscale Flows on Regional Atmospheric Transport in a Complex Terrain

Model results simulated over a complex terrain under a synoptically calm condition, using a three-dimensional (3-D) regional-scale meteorological acid deposition model (RMADM), show that thermally induced mesoscale circulations (MCs): sea-and land-breeze circulations and up- and down-slope flow circulations play a fundamental role in determining how the pollutants being dispersed . Analysis showed that under synoptically calm condition, the role played by the MC would dilute the smoke released during the early stage of the emission; the accumulation, however, would become important if the synoptically calm condition lasts long. Since the structure and intensity of the MCs depend on geography and topographical allocation, land surface coverage, incoming solar radiation intensity and so on, it makes the estimates of source-reception relationship and long-range atmospheric dispersion more difficulty. It concluded that it is impossible for a pollution model to correctly simulate smokes transport using only the synoptic station data, since the mesoscale information can not be resolved from these datasets.

Mesoscale Vegetation-Breeze Circulations and Their Impact on Boundary Layer Structures at Night

The impact of well watered mesoscale wheat over mid-latitude arid areas on mesoscale boundary layer structures (MBLS) and climate has been investigated in the study .using a mesoscale biophysical, meteorological model (BM) developed in the current study. The BM is composed of six modules:mesoscale atmospheric module, soil module, vegetation module, snow-atmosphere interaction module, underlying surface meteorology module and subgrid scale flux parameterization module. The six modules constitute an interacting system by supplying boundary conditions to each other.The investigation indicates that a horizontal pressure gradient associated with mesoscale perturbations in temperature and humidity is created during the day, which results from more water transpired from the vegetation canopy (VC) and evaporated from underlying wet soil. Non-classical mesoscale circulations (called as vegetation-breeze) are forced by the pressure perturbations with wind speeds about 5 m / s, flowing from the VC to the adjacent bare soil in the low boundary layer.Specific attention in the study is given to study the MBLS at night caused by the interactions between these mesoscale vegetation-breezes.The impacts of the VC's scale and atmospheric background thermal stability (ABTS) on these thermally forced mesoscale vegetation-breezes are also investigated.