Abstract
This article addresses modeling of the atmospheric boundary layer of the city of Almaty (Kazakhstan) in stagnant, environmentally unfavorable conditions using WRF Model. The city is located on the northern slope of Trans-Ili Alatau, where the rate of recurrence of calm and low-wind (1–2 m/sec) days reaches about 80%. All simulations were made for a period from 28.11.2016 to 05.12.2016, covering main synoptic situations of the stagnant atmosphere: the extent of Asian anticyclone, higher and lower pressure gradient fields. The model integrated three nested domains with grid sizes 9, 3 and 1 km, respectively. The initial boundary conditions were formed based on ERA5-reanalysis. Subject to the WRF model requirements, the land-use map with a standard USGS set (24 categories) was developed, to which 3 categories of the urban areas were added. The most relevant configuration of parameterization methods was selected: short-wave and long-wave radiation (Mlawer), surface layer (Monin-Obukhov similarity theory), urban area (BEP), boundary layer (Bougeault-Lacarrere), turbulence (Smagorinsky). The article demonstrates that the WRF model adequately reflects fundamental urban atmosphere patterns in the most unfavorable anticyclone periods of the autumn-winter season. It was established that the accuracy of estimates decreases with the transition to weak cyclonic activity. Based on the simulation results and remote sensing data, the territory in question is divided into four climatic zones to which a comparative method was applied; however for a detailed correlative analysis a denser network of meteorological stations is required. Calculations showed that the wind along the Ili river valley prevails in the northern part, regularly changing its western direction to eastern. Near the mountain area mountain-valley wind circulation prevails. The blocking inversion layer has a strong impact. The urban heat islands strongly depend on wind conditions. For example, a nocturnal heat island is cooled by the cold wind flow from the mountains.
Article PDF
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Akhmetzhanov, H.A., Shver, I.A. (1986) The climate of Alma-Ata. Hydrometizdat.
Anthes, R.A., Kuo, Y.H., Baumhefner, D.P., Errico, R.M., Bettge, T.W. (1985) Predictability of Mesoscale Atmospheric Motions. Advances in Geophysics, 28(PB), 159–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2687(08)60188-0
Arnold, D., Morton, D., Schicker, I., Seibert, P., Rotach, M.W., Horvath, K., Dudhia, J., Satomura, T., Müller, M., Zängl, G., Takemi, T., Serafin, S., Schmidli, J., Schneider, S. (2012) High Resolution Modelling in Complex Terrain. Report on the HiRCoT 2012 Workshop, Vienna, 21–23 February 2012.
Baklanov, A., Grimmond, C.S.B., Carlson, D., Terblanche, D., Tang, X., Bouchet, V., Lee, B., Langendijk, G., Kolli, R.K., Hovsepyan, A. (2018) From urban meteorology, climate and environment research to integrated city services. Urban Climate, 23, 330–341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2017.05.004
Bande, L., Afshari, A., al Masri, D., Jha, M., Norford, L., Tsoupos, A., Marpu, P., Pasha, Y., Armstrong, P. (2019) Validation of UWG and ENVI-met models in an Abu Dhabi District, based on site measurements. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(16), 4378. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11164378
Bao, J.-W., Michelson, S.A., Persson, P.O.G., Djalalova, I.v., Wilczak, J.M. (2008) Observed and WRF-Simulated Low-Level Winds in a High-Ozone Episode during the Central California Ozone Study. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 47(9), 2372–2394. https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JAMC1822.1
Bougeault, P., Lacarrere, P. (1989) Parameterization of orography-induced turbulence in a mesobeta-scale model. Monthly Weather Review, 117(8), 1872–1890. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1989)117<1872:POOITI>2.0.CO;2
Brousse, O., Martilli, A., Foley, M., Mills, G., Bechtel, B. (2016) WUDAPT, an efficient land use producing data tool for mesoscale models? Integration of urban LCZ in WRF over Madrid. Urban Climate, 17, 116–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2016.04.001
Chen, F., Kusaka, H., Bornstein, R., Ching, J., Grimmond, C.S.B., Grossman-Clarke, S., Loridan, T., Manning, K.W., Martilli, A., Miao, S., Sailor, D., Salamanca, F.P., Taha, H., Tewari, M., Wang, X., Wyszogrodzki, A.A., Zhang, C. (2011) The integrated WRF/urban modelling system: development, evaluation, and applications to urban environmental problems. International Journal of Climatology, 31(2), 273–288. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.2158
Diáz-Fernández, J., Quitián-Hernández, L., Bolgiani, P., Santos-Munõz, D., Garciá Gago, Á., Fernández-González, S., Valero, F., Merino, A., Garciá-Ortega, E., Sánchez, J.L., Sastre, M., Martín, M.L. (2020) Mountain Waves Analysis in the Vicinity of the Madrid-Barajas Airport Using the WRF Model. Advances in Meteorology, 2020, 887156. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8871546
Helmholtz, N.F. (1963) Mountain-valley circulation of the Tien Shan northern slopes. Hydrometizdat.
Iacono, M.J., Delamere, J.S., Mlawer, E.J., Shephard, M.W., Clough, S.A., Collins, W.D. (2008) Radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases: Calculations with the AER radiative transfer models. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, 113(D13). https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD009944
Isaev, E.K., Aniskina, O.G. (2015) The influence of parametrization schemes of microphysical processes on the quality of the forecast of atmospheric processes in an area with a complex relief by the example of the territory of Kyrgyzstan. Uchenye Zapiski RGGMU, 38, 118–125.
Isaev, E.K., Aniskina, O.G., Mostamandi, S.v. (2017) Evaluation of the effect of planetary boundary layer parametrizations in the WRF hydrodynamic model on the forecast quality of atmospheric processes in an area with a complex topography. Trudy GGO, 584, 123–141.
Isaev, E.K., Mostamandi, S.v., Aniskina, O.G. (2015) Evaluation of the influence of the parameterization of physical processes in the WRF hydrodynamic model on the quality of the forecast of atmospheric processes in an area with a complex topography using the example of the territory of Kyrgyzstan. Uchenye Zapiski RGGMU, 40, 30–41.
Jiménez, P.A., Dudhia, J. (2013) On the Ability of the WRF Model to Reproduce the Surface Wind Direction over Complex Terrain. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 52(7), 1610–1617. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-12-0266.1
Kain, J.S., Kain, J. (2004) The Kain - Fritsch convective parameterization: An update. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 43(1), 170–181. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(2004)043<0170:TKCPAU>2.0.CO;2
Kusaka, H., Kimura, F. (2004) Coupling a single-layer urban canopy model with a simple atmospheric model: Impact on urban heat island simulation for an idealized case. Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, 82(1), 67–80. https://doi.org/10.2151/jmsj.82.67
Lim, J.O.J., Hong, S.Y., Dudhia, J. (2004) The WRF-single-moment-microphysics scheme and its evaluation of the simulation of mesoscale convective systems. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
Martilli, A., Clappier, A., Rotach, M.W. (2002) An urban surface exchange parameterisation for mesoscale models. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 104, 261–304. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016099921195
Martilli, A., Clarke, S.G., Tewari, M., Manning, K.W. (2009) Description of the modification s made in WRF.3.1 and short user’s manual of BEP. In NCAR.
Mauree, D., Blond, N., Clappier, A. (2018) Multi-scale modeling of the urban meteorology: Integration of a new canopy model in the WRF model. Urban Climate, 26, 60–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2018.08.002
Michelson, S.A., Bao, J.W. (2008) Sensitivity of low-level winds simulated by the WRF model in California’s Central Valley to uncertainties in the large-scale forcing and soil initialization. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 47(12), 3131–3149. https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JAMC1782.1
Monin, A.S., Obukhov, A.M. (1954) Basic laws of turbulent mixing in the surface layer of the atmosphere. Contributions of the Geophysical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
Nehrkorn, T., Henderson, J., Leidner, M., Mountain, M., Eluszkiewicz, J., McKain, K., Wofsy, S. (2013) WRF Simulations of the Urban Circulation in the Salt Lake City Area for CO2 Modeling. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 52(2), 323–340. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-12-061.1
Oke, T.R., Mills, G., Christen, A., Voogt, J.A. (2017) Urban climates. In Urban Climates. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139016476
Segura, R., Badia, A., Ventura, S., Gilabert, J., Martilli, A., Villalba, G. (2021) Sensitivity study of PBL schemes and soil initialization using the WRF-BEP-BEM model over a Mediterranean coastal city. Urban Climate, 39, 100982. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2021.100982
Siuta, D., West, G., Stull, R. (2017) WRF Hub-Height Wind Forecast Sensitivity to PBL Scheme, Grid Length, and Initial Condition Choice in Complex Terrain. Weather and Forecasting, 32(2), 493–509. https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-16-0120.1
Skamarock, W.C., Klemp, J.B., Dudhia, J., Gill, D.O., Liu, Z., Berner, J., Wang, W., Powers, J.G., Duda, M.G., Barker, D.M., Huang, X.-Y. (2019) A Description of the Advanced Research WRF Model Version 4. https://library.ucar.edu/research/publish-technote
Vilesov, E.N. (2010) Climatic conditions of Almaty. Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Press.
Wilks, D.S. (2011) Time Series. International Geophysics, 100, 395–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-385022-5.00009-9
WMO (World Meteorological Organization) (2019) Guidance on Integrated Urban Hydro-Meteorological, Climate and Environmental Services. In Urban Climate Science for Planning Healthy Cities: Vol. I (Issue 1234). https://library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?explnum_id=9903
Yáñez-Morroni, G., Gironás, J., Caneo, M., Delgado, R., Garreaud, R. (2018) Using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for precipitation forecasting in an Andean region with complex topography. Atmosphere, 9(8), 304. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9080304
Zakarin, E.A., Baklanov, A.A., Balakay, L.A., Dedova, T.V., Bostanbekov, K.A. (2021) Simulation of Air Pollution in Almaty City under Adverse Weather Conditions. Russian Meteorology and Hydrology, 46(2), 121–128. https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068373921020072
Zakarin, E.A., Balakay, L.A., Bostanbekov, K.A., Dedova, T.V., Zhetpissov, R.A. (2019) Mathematical Modeling of the City Air Pollution Risks. Gidrometeorologiya i Ekologiya, 2(93), 50–62.
Zakarin, E.A., Dedova, T.V., Balakay, L.A., Bostanbekov, K.A. (2021) The technology of mapping the risks of atmospheric pollution by heat and power enterprises on the example of the city of Almaty. Ecology and Industry of Russia, 25(4). https://doi.org/10.18412/1816-0395-2021-4-21-27
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://doi.org/creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
About this article
Cite this article
Zakarin, E., Baklanov, A., Balakay, L. et al. Modeling of the Calm Situations in the Atmosphere of Almaty. Asian J. Atmos. Environ 16, 2022007 (2022). https://doi.org/10.5572/ajae.2022.007
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5572/ajae.2022.007