A Double-Canyon Radiation Scheme for Multi-Layer Urban Canopy Models

Boundary-Layer Meteorology volume 145, pages 439–468 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

We develop a double-canyon radiation scheme (DCEP) for urban canopy models embedded in mesoscale numerical models based on the Building Effect Parametrization (BEP). The new scheme calculates the incoming and outgoing longwave and shortwave radiation for roof, wall and ground surfaces for an urban street canyon characterized by its street and building width, canyon length, and the building height distribution. The scheme introduces the radiative interaction of two neighbouring urban canyons allowing the full inclusion of roofs into the radiation exchange both inside the canyon and with the sky. In contrast to BEP, we also treat direct and diffuse shortwave radiation from the sky independently, thus allowing calculation of the effective parameters representing the urban diffuse and direct shortwave radiation budget inside the mesoscale model. Furthermore, we close the energy balance of incoming longwave and diffuse shortwave radiation from the sky, so that the new scheme is physically more consistent than the BEP scheme. Sensitivity tests show that these modifications are important for urban regions with a large variety of building heights. The evaluation against data from the Basel Urban Boundary Layer Experiment indicates a good performance of the DCEP when coupled with the regional weather and climate model COSMO-CLM.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, P.O. Box 60 12 30, 14412, Potsdam, Germany

    Sebastian Schubert & Susanne Grossman-Clarke

  2. Research Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology, CIEMAT, Edificio 70, P1.5, Avenida Complutense 22, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Alberto Martilli

Authors
  1. Sebastian Schubert
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  2. Susanne Grossman-Clarke
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  3. Alberto Martilli
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Correspondence to Sebastian Schubert.

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Schubert, S., Grossman-Clarke, S. & Martilli, A. A Double-Canyon Radiation Scheme for Multi-Layer Urban Canopy Models. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 145, 439–468 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-012-9728-3

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Keywords

  • Mesoscale modelling
  • Radiation energy balance
  • Urban canopy parametrization