| The proposed study focuses on investigating the response of atmospheric flows to inhomogeneous surface roughness, patchiness, and fluxes and representing such subgrid-scale forcings in calculating turbulent properties in regional/mesoscale models. The Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) technique will be applied to idealized numerical experiments of atmospheric flow due to heterogeneous surfaces. The turbulent properties obtained from the LES will be used to examine and improve turbulence parameterizations over heterogeneous surfaces in regional/mesoscale models. A significant part of the study also will be directed toward developing a model based on the MacCormack numerical scheme as an alternative approach to solving, in an efficient way, nonlinear, simplified primitive equations on the high resolution horizontal grid with a resolution on the order of a hundred meters. Given that turbulence properties of the atmospheric boundary layer are a critical element in understanding transport and dispersion of atmospheric pollutants, the results of this study will provide important understanding of the turbulence properties of the atmospheric flow over inhomogeneous surfaces. Further, we will use the results of this study to evaluate existing turbulence schemes in mesoscale models. A new efficient numerical model, applicable to field operations, also will be evaluated using the baseline results from the LES. |
 Buoyant bubble in a neutral atmosphere |
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