Title: Micrometeorological simulations over a complex terrain with SUBMESO: a model study using a novel pre-processor

Authors: T. Penelon, I. Calmet, D.V. Mironov

Addresses: Laboratoire de Mecanique des Fluides UMR CNRS 6598, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, 1 Rue de la Noe, B.P. 92101, F-44321, Nantes Cedex 3, France. Laboratoire de Mecanique des Fluides UMR CNRS 6598, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, 1 Rue de la Noe, B.P. 92101, F-44321, Nantes Cedex 3, France. Deutscher Wetterdienst, Abteilung Meteorologische Analyse und Modellierung, Referat FE14, Postfach 100465, Frankfurter Str. 135, D-63067 Offenbach am Main, Germany

Abstract: Effects of topography on micrometeorological fields may have a great impact on noise propagation. Consequently, we discuss some preliminary results from a modelling study of short-term evolution of wind and temperature over a smooth, non-flat terrain. The study is performed using the 3-D model SUBMESO. A new meteorological pre-processor (MPP) has been implemented to specify vertical profiles of wind, temperature and other scalar quantities, which can be used to drive the flow and set the model reference state. Numerical simulations have been performed in strongly convective and neutral shear-driven conditions. We obtain results similar to those from reference simulations over flat terrain and ascertain that the small-scale topography modifies the mean flow and the structure of the instantaneous velocity field in both cases. Unlike what is expected for stable stratification, no channelling effect is visible for the atmospheric conditions considered here. This study is a first validation of the MPP device.

Keywords: convective boundary layer; meteorological pre-processing; shear-driven boundary layer; topography conditioned flow.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2001.000652

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2001 Vol.16 No.1/2/3/4/5/6, pp.583-602

Published online: 09 Jul 2003 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article