J. Thielen et al., The possible influence of urban surfaces on rainfall development: a sensitivity study in 2D in the meso-gamma-scale, ATMOS RES, 54(1), 2000, pp. 15-39
Urban areas can represent a considerable part of the model domain in meso-s
cale numerical simulations with typical horizontal domain lengths of 20-200
km. This paper addresses the question of the extent of the influence of ur
ban surfaces on the development of convective precipitation in meso-gamma-s
cale numerical models. For this purpose, a spatially variable parameterizat
ion scheme for surface sensible heat flux, surface latent heat flux, and ro
ughness is introduced into a meso-scale numerical model. A sensitivity stud
y in 2D is performed to assess the impact of variations of the individual p
arameters on the development of precipitation. The results indicate that su
rface conditions should not be neglected and can have considerable influenc
e on convective rainfall. It appears that within a time frame of 4 h it is
particularly the sensible heat flux variations that have the most significa
nt impact. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.