Sensitivity to changes in the surface‐layer turbulence parameterization for stable conditions in winter: A case study with a regional climate model over the Arctic
Abstract The modeling of the atmospheric boundary layer over sea ice is still challenging because of the complex interaction between clouds, radiation and turbulence over the often inhomogeneous sea ice cover. There is still much uncertainty concerning sea ice roughness, near‐surface thermal stabili...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Science Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.1066 |
| _version_ | 1819098283042144256 |
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| author | Thea Schneider Christof Lüpkes Wolfgang Dorn Dmitry Chechin Dörthe Handorf Sara Khosravi Vladimir M. Gryanik Irina Makhotina Annette Rinke |
| author_facet | Thea Schneider Christof Lüpkes Wolfgang Dorn Dmitry Chechin Dörthe Handorf Sara Khosravi Vladimir M. Gryanik Irina Makhotina Annette Rinke |
| author_sort | Thea Schneider |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The modeling of the atmospheric boundary layer over sea ice is still challenging because of the complex interaction between clouds, radiation and turbulence over the often inhomogeneous sea ice cover. There is still much uncertainty concerning sea ice roughness, near‐surface thermal stability and related processes, and their accurate parameterization. Here, a regional Arctic climate model forced by ERA‐Interim data was used to test the sensitivity of climate simulations to a modified surface flux parameterization for wintertime conditions over the Arctic. The reference parameterization as well as the modified one is based on Monin–Obukhov similarity theory, but different roughness lengths were prescribed and the stability dependence of the transfer coefficients for momentum, heat and moisture differed from each other. The modified parameterization accounts for the most comprehensive observations that are presently available over sea ice in the inner Arctic. Independent of the parameterization used, the model was able to reproduce the two observed dominant winter states with respect to cloud cover and longwave radiation. A stepwise use of the different parameterization assumptions showed that modifications of both surface roughness and stability dependence had a considerable impact on quantities such as air pressure, wind and near‐surface turbulent fluxes. However, the reduction of surface roughness to values agreeing with those observed during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean campaign led to an improvement in the western Arctic, while the modified stability parameterization had only a minor impact. The latter could be traced back to the model's underestimation of the strength of stability over sea ice. Future work should concentrate on possible reasons for this underestimation and on the question of generality of the results for other climate models. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T00:28:31Z |
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| id | doaj.art-6c9067fff1544f5cb9aba6c3f08a8ae4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1530-261X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T00:28:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmospheric Science Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-6c9067fff1544f5cb9aba6c3f08a8ae42022-12-21T18:44:59ZengWileyAtmospheric Science Letters1530-261X2022-01-01231n/an/a10.1002/asl.1066Sensitivity to changes in the surface‐layer turbulence parameterization for stable conditions in winter: A case study with a regional climate model over the ArcticThea Schneider0Christof Lüpkes1Wolfgang Dorn2Dmitry Chechin3Dörthe Handorf4Sara Khosravi5Vladimir M. Gryanik6Irina Makhotina7Annette Rinke8Institute of Physics and Astronomy University of Potsdam Potsdam GermanyHelmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research Alfred Wegener Institute Bremerhaven GermanyHelmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research Alfred Wegener Institute Potsdam GermanyA.M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics RAS Moscow RussiaHelmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research Alfred Wegener Institute Potsdam GermanyHelmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research Alfred Wegener Institute Potsdam GermanyHelmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research Alfred Wegener Institute Bremerhaven GermanyAtmosphere‐Ocean Interaction Department Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute St.‐Petersburg RussiaHelmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research Alfred Wegener Institute Potsdam GermanyAbstract The modeling of the atmospheric boundary layer over sea ice is still challenging because of the complex interaction between clouds, radiation and turbulence over the often inhomogeneous sea ice cover. There is still much uncertainty concerning sea ice roughness, near‐surface thermal stability and related processes, and their accurate parameterization. Here, a regional Arctic climate model forced by ERA‐Interim data was used to test the sensitivity of climate simulations to a modified surface flux parameterization for wintertime conditions over the Arctic. The reference parameterization as well as the modified one is based on Monin–Obukhov similarity theory, but different roughness lengths were prescribed and the stability dependence of the transfer coefficients for momentum, heat and moisture differed from each other. The modified parameterization accounts for the most comprehensive observations that are presently available over sea ice in the inner Arctic. Independent of the parameterization used, the model was able to reproduce the two observed dominant winter states with respect to cloud cover and longwave radiation. A stepwise use of the different parameterization assumptions showed that modifications of both surface roughness and stability dependence had a considerable impact on quantities such as air pressure, wind and near‐surface turbulent fluxes. However, the reduction of surface roughness to values agreeing with those observed during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean campaign led to an improvement in the western Arctic, while the modified stability parameterization had only a minor impact. The latter could be traced back to the model's underestimation of the strength of stability over sea ice. Future work should concentrate on possible reasons for this underestimation and on the question of generality of the results for other climate models.https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.1066Arcticatmospheric boundary layerregional climate modeling |
| spellingShingle | Thea Schneider Christof Lüpkes Wolfgang Dorn Dmitry Chechin Dörthe Handorf Sara Khosravi Vladimir M. Gryanik Irina Makhotina Annette Rinke Sensitivity to changes in the surface‐layer turbulence parameterization for stable conditions in winter: A case study with a regional climate model over the Arctic Atmospheric Science Letters Arctic atmospheric boundary layer regional climate modeling |
| title | Sensitivity to changes in the surface‐layer turbulence parameterization for stable conditions in winter: A case study with a regional climate model over the Arctic |
| title_full | Sensitivity to changes in the surface‐layer turbulence parameterization for stable conditions in winter: A case study with a regional climate model over the Arctic |
| title_fullStr | Sensitivity to changes in the surface‐layer turbulence parameterization for stable conditions in winter: A case study with a regional climate model over the Arctic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sensitivity to changes in the surface‐layer turbulence parameterization for stable conditions in winter: A case study with a regional climate model over the Arctic |
| title_short | Sensitivity to changes in the surface‐layer turbulence parameterization for stable conditions in winter: A case study with a regional climate model over the Arctic |
| title_sort | sensitivity to changes in the surface layer turbulence parameterization for stable conditions in winter a case study with a regional climate model over the arctic |
| topic | Arctic atmospheric boundary layer regional climate modeling |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.1066 |
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