Improving a Multilevel Turbulence Closure Model for a Shallow Lake in Comparison With Other 1‐D Models

Abstract Lakes differ from lands in water availability, heat capacity, albedo, and roughness, which affect local surface‐atmospheric interactions. This study modified a multilevel upper ocean model (UOM) for lake applications and evaluated its performance in Lake Taihu (China) with comprehensive mea...

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Main Authors: Lei Sun, Xin‐Zhong Liang, Tiejun Ling, Min Xu, Xuhui Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2020-07-01
Series:Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2019MS001971
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author Lei Sun
Xin‐Zhong Liang
Tiejun Ling
Min Xu
Xuhui Lee
author_facet Lei Sun
Xin‐Zhong Liang
Tiejun Ling
Min Xu
Xuhui Lee
author_sort Lei Sun
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Lakes differ from lands in water availability, heat capacity, albedo, and roughness, which affect local surface‐atmospheric interactions. This study modified a multilevel upper ocean model (UOM) for lake applications and evaluated its performance in Lake Taihu (China) with comprehensive measurements against three popular one‐dimensional (1‐D) lake models. These models were based on different concepts, including the self‐similarity (FLake), the wind‐driven eddy diffusion (LISSS), the k‐ε turbulence closure (SIMSTRAT), and a simplified turbulence closure (UOM). The surface flux scheme in these models was unified to exclude the discrepancies in representing air‐lake exchanges. All models in their default formulations presented obvious cold water temperature biases and largely underestimated the lake surface temperature (LST) diurnal range. For each model, these deficiencies were significantly reduced by incorporating new physics schemes or calibrated tunable parameters based on systematic sensitivity tests. The primary modifications for UOM included (1) a new scheme of decreased surface roughness lengths to better characterize the shallow lake, (2) a solar radiation penetration scheme with increased light extinction coefficient and surface absorption fraction to account for the high water turbidity, and (3) turbulent Prandtl number increased by a factor of 20 to reduce the turbulent vertical mixing. All other models were improved in these three aspects (roughness, extinction, and mixing) within their original formulations. Given these improvements, UOM showed superior performance to other models in capturing LST diurnal cycle and daily to seasonal variations, as well as summer‐autumn vertical stratification changes. The new UOM is well suited for application in shallow lakes.
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spelling doaj.art-3f00ce979b20400ea4410b26216888652022-12-22T01:58:48ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems1942-24662020-07-01127n/an/a10.1029/2019MS001971Improving a Multilevel Turbulence Closure Model for a Shallow Lake in Comparison With Other 1‐D ModelsLei Sun0Xin‐Zhong Liang1Tiejun Ling2Min Xu3Xuhui Lee4Climate, Environment and Sustainability Center, School of Atmosphere Science Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology Nanjing ChinaEarth System Science Interdisciplinary Center University of Maryland College Park MD USAKey Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting National Marine Environmental Center Beijing ChinaClimate Change Science Institute Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN USASchool of Forestry and Environmental Studies Yale University New Haven CT USAAbstract Lakes differ from lands in water availability, heat capacity, albedo, and roughness, which affect local surface‐atmospheric interactions. This study modified a multilevel upper ocean model (UOM) for lake applications and evaluated its performance in Lake Taihu (China) with comprehensive measurements against three popular one‐dimensional (1‐D) lake models. These models were based on different concepts, including the self‐similarity (FLake), the wind‐driven eddy diffusion (LISSS), the k‐ε turbulence closure (SIMSTRAT), and a simplified turbulence closure (UOM). The surface flux scheme in these models was unified to exclude the discrepancies in representing air‐lake exchanges. All models in their default formulations presented obvious cold water temperature biases and largely underestimated the lake surface temperature (LST) diurnal range. For each model, these deficiencies were significantly reduced by incorporating new physics schemes or calibrated tunable parameters based on systematic sensitivity tests. The primary modifications for UOM included (1) a new scheme of decreased surface roughness lengths to better characterize the shallow lake, (2) a solar radiation penetration scheme with increased light extinction coefficient and surface absorption fraction to account for the high water turbidity, and (3) turbulent Prandtl number increased by a factor of 20 to reduce the turbulent vertical mixing. All other models were improved in these three aspects (roughness, extinction, and mixing) within their original formulations. Given these improvements, UOM showed superior performance to other models in capturing LST diurnal cycle and daily to seasonal variations, as well as summer‐autumn vertical stratification changes. The new UOM is well suited for application in shallow lakes.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019MS001971
spellingShingle Lei Sun
Xin‐Zhong Liang
Tiejun Ling
Min Xu
Xuhui Lee
Improving a Multilevel Turbulence Closure Model for a Shallow Lake in Comparison With Other 1‐D Models
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
title Improving a Multilevel Turbulence Closure Model for a Shallow Lake in Comparison With Other 1‐D Models
title_full Improving a Multilevel Turbulence Closure Model for a Shallow Lake in Comparison With Other 1‐D Models
title_fullStr Improving a Multilevel Turbulence Closure Model for a Shallow Lake in Comparison With Other 1‐D Models
title_full_unstemmed Improving a Multilevel Turbulence Closure Model for a Shallow Lake in Comparison With Other 1‐D Models
title_short Improving a Multilevel Turbulence Closure Model for a Shallow Lake in Comparison With Other 1‐D Models
title_sort improving a multilevel turbulence closure model for a shallow lake in comparison with other 1 d models
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2019MS001971
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AT tiejunling improvingamultilevelturbulenceclosuremodelforashallowlakeincomparisonwithother1dmodels
AT minxu improvingamultilevelturbulenceclosuremodelforashallowlakeincomparisonwithother1dmodels
AT xuhuilee improvingamultilevelturbulenceclosuremodelforashallowlakeincomparisonwithother1dmodels