[Wrf-users] Variability in water vapour simulations

[Agnes Mika]

Dear all,

 I am engaged in a project where we are evaluating the possibility of
 mitigating atmospheric effects (specifically water vapour) on
 electromagnetic signal propagation delay using NWP. What we are doing
 is to produce integrated water vapour simulations with WRF for
 various areas around the globe (inc. single mountain peaks, complex
 mountains, flat areas) at high (1 km) resolution and verify the
 results against MERIS and InSAR data.

 Our results compare reasonably well with measurements above mountains
 but they are worthless in flat areas (i.e, the water vapour fields
 are just toooo smooth). We are suspecting that WRF can predict
 reasonably well the vertical stratification of water vapour but fails
 to adequately account for turbulence. What we see is that the degree
 of variation in the WRF-predicted water vapour fields is much less
 than that seen in MERIS or InSAR data (all taken at the same
 resolution of course).

 The next step for us is to find a way to increase the degree of
 variation in the WRF water vapour predictions. It is not a
 requirement that the individual features reflect reality closely but
 we should at least capture the proper degree of variation.

 I would welcome any ideas on how to achieve an enhancement of
 variability in the WRF water vapour predictions. Are there some
 physics parameterization options which are more suitable for this? Is
 it worth experimenting with improving the land-use maps? Any other
 suggestions?

Thank you in advance.

Regards,
A'gnes

--
Dr. A'gnes Mika
Advisor, Meteorology and Air Quality

Tel:    +31 (0)527-242299
Fax:    +31 (0)527-242016
Web:    www.bmtargoss.com

BMT ARGOSS
P.O. Box 61, 8325 ZH Vollenhove
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The Netherlands

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