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Modeling Arctic Boundary Layer Cloud Streets at Grey-zone Resolutions

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Abstract

To better understand how model resolution affects the formation of Arctic boundary layer clouds, we investigated the influence of grid spacing on simulating cloud streets that occurred near Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska, on 2 May 2013 and were observed by MODIS (the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer). The Weather Research and Forecasting model was used to simulate the clouds using nested domains with increasingly fine resolution ranging from a horizontal grid spacing of 27 km in the boundary-layer-parameterized mesoscale domain to a grid spacing of 0.111 km in the large-eddy-permitting domain. We investigated the model-simulated mesoscale environment, horizontal and vertical cloud structures, boundary layer stability, and cloud properties, all of which were subsequently used to interpret the observed roll-cloud case. Increasing model resolution led to a transition from a more buoyant boundary layer to a more shear-driven turbulent boundary layer. The clouds were stratiform-like in the mesoscale domain, but as the model resolution increased, roll-like structures, aligned along the wind field, appeared with ever smaller wavelengths. A stronger vertical water vapor gradient occurred above the cloud layers with decreasing grid spacing. With fixed model grid spacing at 0.333 km, changing the model configuration from a boundary layer parameterization to a large-eddy-permitting scheme produced a more shear-driven and less unstable environment, a stronger vertical water vapor gradient below the cloud layers, and the wavelengths of the rolls decreased slightly. In this study, only the large-eddy-permitting simulation with gird spacing of 0.111 km was sufficient to model the observed roll clouds.

摘要

为了更好地了解模型分辨率如何影响北极边界层云的形成,我们以MODIS(中分辨率成像光谱仪)的观测为参考研究了网格间距对模拟 2013 年 5 月 2 日发生在阿拉斯加 Utqiaġvik(原巴罗)附近的云街道的影响。天气研究和预报模型WRF被用于用嵌套区域模拟云,其分辨率从边界层参数化中尺度区域的水平网格间距27公里到大涡允许区域的网格间距0.111公里不等。我们研究了模型模拟的中尺度环境、水平和垂直云结构、边界层稳定性和云属性,所有这些特性后来都用于解释观察到的卷云案例。模型分辨率的提高导致从浮力驱动为主的边界层过渡到剪切驱动主导的湍流边界层。云在中尺度域中以层云出现,但随着模型分辨率的提高,向风场看齐的卷状结构呈越来越短的波长。伴随着网格间距的减小,云层上方出现更强的垂直水汽梯度。当模型网格间距固定在0.333km时,将模型配置从边界层参数化改为大涡允许方案时,产生了更大的切变驱动和更少的不稳定环境,云层下方的垂直水汽梯度更强,卷波波长略有减小。在本研究中,只有网格间距为0.111km的大涡模拟才足以模拟观测到的卷云。

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the U.S. DOE ASR (Atmospheric Systems Research) program (Grant No. DE-SC0013953). The measurements used in this study were obtained from the U.S. DOE ARM user facility and NASA LAADS (Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive & Distribution System) DAAC (Distributed Active Archive Center). The computing was performed at the Texas Advanced Computing Center. We would like to thank Dr. Jerry HARRINGTON for fruitful discussions.

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Correspondence to Eugene E. Clothiaux.

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Article Highlights

• How changes in model resolution affected boundary layer conditions was investigated in a case study of Arctic boundary layer cloud streets.

• Increasing model resolution resulted in a transition from a more buoyant to a more shear-driven turbulent boundary layer.

• A grid spacing of 0.111 km was sufficient to model observed roll clouds with wavelengths of 2.5–2.8 km.

Deceased 19 July 2019

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Lai, HW., Zhang, F., Clothiaux, E.E. et al. Modeling Arctic Boundary Layer Cloud Streets at Grey-zone Resolutions. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 37, 42–56 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-019-9105-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-019-9105-y

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