The Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model was run over South-east Australia from 1985 through 2008. The model used the following physics schemes: WRF Single Moment 5-class microphysics scheme; Rapid Radiative Transfer Model longwave radiation scheme; Dudhia shortwave radiation scheme; Monin-Obukhov surface layer similarity; Noah land-surface scheme; Yonsei University boundary layer scheme a...

A Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) longwave image of the cold air outbreak (left panel) and snapshots of simulations of five different mesoscale models. Lighter colors correspond to lower longwave radiation (colder temperatures). Overall the large-scale features are well reproduced and most models simulate a transition to a cumulus regime with a cellular structure. See the ...

Introduction to compare calculations from a set of models with operationally observed data. The differences we find will lead to the development of new models to be tested with new data. Similarly. our GCM studies will use existing GCMs to study the radiation sensitivity problem. We anticipate that the outcome of this approach will provide both a better longwave radiative forcing algorithm and ...

We have studied the spatial and temporal variation of the surface longwave radiation (downwelling and net) over a 21-year period in the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean (40 S–40 N, 90 E-75 W). The fluxes were computed using a deterministic model for atmospheric radiation transfer, along with satellite data from the ISCCP-D2 database and reanalysis data from NCEP/NCAR (acronyms explained i...

[1] This paper analyzes the sensitivity of simulated climate and energy balance to changes in soil emissivity over Northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and considers how this information may be used to improve emissivity parameterizations in climate models. Analysis of satellite observations suggests that the soil emissivity in current models is too high over this region. Sensitivity tests...

An intermediate-complexity, quasi–physically based, meteorological model (MicroMet) has been developed to produce high-resolution (e.g., 30-m to 1-km horizontal grid increment) atmospheric forcings required to run spatially distributed terrestrial models over a wide variety of landscapes. The following eight variables, required to run most terrestrial models, are distributed: air temperature, r...

The goal of this study is to transform the Harrington radiation parameterization into a transfer scheme or lookup table, which provides essentially the same output (heating rate profile and shortand longwave fluxes at the surface) at a fraction of the computational cost. The methodology put forth here does not introduce a new parameterization simply derived from the Harrington scheme but, rathe...

Accurate simulation of radiative transfer is a very important aspect in climate modeling. For microclimate models particular, it not only to simulate primary but also secondary fluxes great detail, i.e., emitted longwave and reflected shortwave radiation. As there are always limitations regarding computational effort memory, these commonly implemented using simplified approaches. To overcome si...