The Effects of Highly Detailed Urban Roughness Parameters on a Sea-Breeze Numerical Simulation

We consider the effects of detailed urban roughness parameters on a sea-breeze simulation. An urban roughness database, constructed using a new aerodynamic parametrization derived from large-eddy simulations, was incorporated as a surface boundary condition in the advanced Weather Research and Forecasting model. The zero-plane displacement and aerodynamic roughness length at several densely built-up urban grids were three times larger than conventional values due to the consideration of building-height variability. A comparison between simulations from the modified model and its default version, which uses uniform roughness parameters within a conventional method, was conducted for a 2-month period during summer. Results showed a significant improvement in the simulation of surface wind speed but not with temperature. From the 2-month study period, a day with an evident sea-breeze penetration was selected and simulated at higher temporal resolution. Sea-breeze penetration weakened and was more delayed over urbanized areas. The slow sea-breeze penetration also lessened heat advection downwind allowing stronger turbulent mixing and a deeper boundary layer above urban areas. Horizontal wind-speed reduction due to the increased urban surface drag reached heights of several hundreds of metres due to the strong convection.