Abstract
The mesoscale weather prediction model ’Lokal-Modell’ (LM) of the Deutscher Wetterdienst is applied to the situation of an Arctic cold air outbreak in the Fram Strait region in April 1998. Observations are available from a flight along 50E carried out during the ARTIST campaign. Initial and time-dependent boundary data for the simulation are taken from a larger scale operational model system.
Using the standard configuration of LM, the simulation reproduced the propagation of cold air and the characteristic structure of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) in fair agreement with the observations. However, a detailed comparison revealed three basic problems. Firstly, there is evidence that the available data on sea-ice conditions were insufficient approximations to the true state for several reasons. A modification of the sea-ice data towards observations revealed that parts of the discrepancies were due to the original sea-ice data. Secondly, a control run with the model in its standard configuration shows an insufficient warming of the ABL downstream of the ice edge due to underestimation of surface heat fluxes. A simple modification of the approach for the scalar roughness length resulted in the strongest benefit, while comparative studies showed only a slight sensitivity to different types of parametrisation of turbulent mixing or the inclusion of an additional moist convection parametrisation. Thirdly, in all the simulations the deepening of the convective ABL downstream of the ice edge is weaker than observed. This may be partly due to the thermal stratification above the ABL in the analysis data, which is more stable than observed; but it may also be a hint to the fact that processes near the inversion are insufficiently parametrised in mesoscale models with resolutions as used in LM. The simulated cloud layer in the convective ABL is similar to that observed with respect to condensate content, a sharply defined cloud top, a diffuse lower bound, and continuous light precipitation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
B. W. Atkinson J. W. Zhang (1996) ArticleTitle‘Mesoscale shallow convection in the atmosphere’ Rev. Geophys. 34 403–432 Occurrence Handle10.1029/96RG02623
G. Birnbaum C. Lüpkes (2002) ArticleTitle‘A new parameterisation of surface drag in the marginal sea ice zone’ Tellus 54A 107–123
J. A. Beesley C. S. Bretherton C. Jakob E. L. Andreas J. M. Intrieri T. A. Uttal (2000) ArticleTitle‘A comparison of cloud and boundary layer variables in the ECMWF forecast model with observations at Surface heat Budget of the Arctic ocean (SHEBA) ice camp’ J. Geophys. Res. 105 IssueIDD10 12337–12349 Occurrence Handle10.1029/2000JD900079
A. C. M. Beljaars (1994) ArticleTitle‘The parameterization of surface fluxes in large-scale models under free convection’ Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 121 255–270
B. Brümmer (1997) ArticleTitle‘Boundary layer mass, water, and heat budgets in wintertime cold-air outbreaks from the Arctic sea ice’ Mon. Wea. Rev. 125 1824–1837
B. Brümmer (1999) ArticleTitle‘Roll and cell convection in wintertime Arctic cold-air outbreaks’ J. Atmos. Sci. 56 2613–2636
W. H. Brutsaert (1979) ArticleTitle‘Heat and mass transfer to and from surfaces with dense vegetation or similar permeable roughness’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 16 365–388 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF02220492
A. Chlond (1992) ArticleTitle‘Three-dimensional simulation of cloud street development during a cold air outbreak’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 58 161–200 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00120757
G. Chrobok S. Raasch D. Etling (1992) ArticleTitle‘A comparison of local and non-local turbulence closure methods for the case of a cold air outbreak’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 58 69–90 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00120752
Doms, G. and Schättler, U.: 1999, The nonhydrostatic limited-area model LM (Lokal-Modell) of DWD. Part I: Scientific documentation. Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Offenbach. http://cosmo-model.cscs.ch/public/documentationVer1.htm#sc_doc.
Doms, G. and Schättler, U.: 2002, A description of the nonhydrostatic regional model LM. Part I: Dynamics and numerics. http://cosmo-model.cscs.ch/cosmoPublic/documentation.htm .
G. Doms U. Schättler J.-P. Schulz (2003) Kurze Beschreibung des Lokal-Modells LM und seiner Datenbanken auf dem Datenserver (DAS) des DWD Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) Offenbach 61
ECMWF: 2004, IFS documentation. Part IV: Physical processes. http://www.ecmwf.int/research/ifsdocs/CY28r1/Physics/index.html .
D. Etling R. A. Brown (1993) ArticleTitle‘Roll vortices in the planetary boundary layer: A review’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 65 215–248 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00705527
J. R. Garratt (1992) The Atmospheric Boundary Layer Cambridge University Press U.K. 316
Hartmann, J., Kottmeier, C. and Wamser, C.: 1992, ‘Radiation and Eddy Flux Experiment 1991 (REFLEX I)’, Reports on Polar Research 105, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, 72 pp.
J. Hartmann C. Kottmeier S. Raasch (1997) ArticleTitle‘Roll vortices and boundary layer development during a cold air outbreak’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 84 45–65 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1000392931768
Hartmann, J., Albers, F., Argentini, S., Bochert, A., Bonafé, U., Cohrs, W., Conidi, A., Freese, D., Georgiadis, T., Ippoliti, A., Kaleschke, L., Lüpkes, C., Maixner, U., Mastrantonio, G., Ravegnani, F., Reuter, A., Trivellone, G. and Viola, A. 1999, ‘Arctic radiation and turbulence interaction study’, Reports on Polar Research 305, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, 81 pp.
Kottmeier, C., Hartmann, J., Wamser, C., Bochert, A., Lüpkes, C., Freese, D. and Cohrs, W. 1994, ‘Radiation and Eddy Flux Experiment 1993 (REFLEX II)’, Reports on Polar Research 133, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, 62 pp.
R. P. Lawson B. A. Baker C. G. Schmitt T. L. Jensen (2001) ArticleTitle‘An overview of micropysical properties of Arctic clouds observed in May and July during FIRE ACE’ J. Geophys. Res. 106 IssueIDD14 14989–15014 Occurrence Handle10.1029/2000JD900789
J.-F. Louis (1979) ArticleTitle‘A parametric model of vertical eddy fluxes in the atmosphere’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 17 187–202 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00117978
C. Lüpkes K. H. Schlünzen (1996) ArticleTitle‘Modelling the arctic convective boundary-layer with different turbulence parameterizations’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 79 107–130
G. L. Mellor T. Yamada (1982) ArticleTitle‘Development of a turbulence closure model for geophysical fluid problems’ Rev. Geophys. Space Phys. 20 851–875
Müller, E.: 1981, ‘Turbulent flux parameterization in a regional-scale model’, ECMWF workshop proceedings, 25–27 Nov. 1981, 193–220.
G. Müller B. Brümmer W. Alpers (1999) ArticleTitle‘Roll convection within an Arctic cold-air outbreak: interpretation of in situ aircraft measurements and spaceborne SAR imagery by a three-dimensional atmospheric model’ Mon. Wea. Rev. 127 363–380
P. Q. Olsson J. Y. Harrington (2000) ArticleTitle‘Dynamics and energetics of the cloudy boundary layer in simulations of off-ice flow in the marginal ice zone’ J. Geophys. Res. 105 IssueIDD9 11889–11899 Occurrence Handle10.1029/1999JD901194
M. Pagowski G. W. K. Moore (2001) ArticleTitle‘A numerical study of an extreme cold-air outbreak over the Labrador Sea: Sea ice, air-see interaction, and development of polar lows’ Mon. Wea. Rev. 129 47–72
J. O. Pinto J. A. Curry J. M. Intrieri (2001) ArticleTitle‘Cloud-aerosol interactions during autumn over Beaufort Sea’ J. Geophys. Res. 106 IssueIDD14 15077–15097 Occurrence Handle10.1029/2000JD900267
S. Raasch (1990) ArticleTitle‘Numerical simulation of the development of the convective boundary layer during a cold air outbreak’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 52 349–375 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00119429
Raschke, E.: 2000, ‘Cloud particles and radiation’, Final Report on the Arctic Radiation and Turbulence Interaction Study (ARTIST), 106–113.
I. A. Renfrew G. W. K. Moore (1999) ArticleTitle‘An extreme cold-air outbreak over the Labrador Sea: Roll vortices and air–sea interaction’ Mon. Wea. Rev. 127 2379–2394 Occurrence Handle10.1175/1520-0493(1999)127<2379:AECAOO>2.0.CO;2
J. Steppeler G. Doms U. Schättler H. W. Bitzer A. Gassmann U. Damrath G. Gregoric (2003) ArticleTitle‘Meso-gamma scale forecasts using the nonhydrostatic model LM’ Meteorol. Atmos. Phys. 82 75–96
M. Tiedtke (1989) ArticleTitle‘A comprehensive mass flux scheme for cumulus parameterization in large-scale models’ Mon. Wea. Rev. 117 1779–1800
I. B. Troen L. Mahrt (1986) ArticleTitle‘A simple model of the atmospheric boundary-layer: Sensitivity to surface evaporation’ Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 37 129–148 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00122760
Vihma, T., Lüpkes, C., Hartmann, J. and Sarvijarvi, H.: 2005, ‘Observations and modelling of cold-air advection over Arctic sea ice in winter’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol., in press.
P. Vörsmann B. Friederici A. M. Hoff (1989) ArticleTitle‘Meteopod – ein flugzeuggestütztes Turbulenzmeß system’ Promet 1/2’89 57–64
J. C. Wyngaard R. A. Brost (1984) ArticleTitle‘Top-down and bottom-up diffusion of a scalar in the convective boundary layer’ J. Atmos. Sci. 41 101–112
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wacker, U., Potty, K.V.J., Lüpkes, C. et al. ‘A Case Study on a Polar Cold Air Outbreak over Fram Strait using a Mesoscale Weather Prediction Model’. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 117, 301–336 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-005-2189-1
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-005-2189-1