Parameterization of the Interaction between the Atmosphere and the Urban Surface: Current State and Prospects

• Published in: Izvestiya. Atmospheric and oceanic physics 2023-04, Vol.59 (2), p.111-130
• Main Authors: Tarasova, M. A., Varentsov, M. I., Stepanenko, V. M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthropogenic factors; Atmosphere; Atmospheric models; Climatology; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Energy balance; Environmental impact; Fluxes; Geophysics/Geodesy; Heat exchange; Heat transfer; Human influences; Laboratory experimentation; Laboratory experiments; Large eddy simulation; Large eddy simulations; Mathematical models; Modelling; Moisture; Moisture effects; Numerical models; Oceanic eddies; Parameterization; Radiation; Surface energy; Surface energy balance; Surface properties; Temperature; Three dimensional models; Turbulent fluxes; Urban areas; Urban environments; Urban heat islands; Vegetation
• ISSN: 0001-4338; 1555-628X
• DOI: 10.1134/S0001433823020068

Cities have a significant impact on the environment, forming microclimatic features such as urban heat island, an increase in the intensity of convective weather events, etc. Numerical models of the atmosphere with an integrated block that describes the interaction between the urbanized surface and the atmosphere—urban parameterization—are good at reproducing the meteorological features of the urban environment. Reviews of urban parameterizations are mostly outdated, and recent ones do not fully cover aspects of the methods used in the models to describe physical processes. This paper is dedicated to updating information on urban parameterizations, comparing the approaches used in them to describe physical processes, and forming proposals for their improvement. Based on the most common urban parameterizations of various levels of complexity, the main groups of physical processes describing “urban surface-atmosphere” interaction are identified. They are the surface energy balance, radiation heat transfer, surface moisture balance, turbulent heat and moisture exchange in the urban canopy, anthropogenic influence on heat and moisture fluxes, radiation, and turbulent interaction with urban vegetation. The main approaches to the parameterization of physical processes are defined within each block. Modern trends in the development of urban parameterizations are highlighted: (1) over the past 10 years, parameterizations have become more complicated due to the addition of the building energy model, a three-dimensional structure of urban vegetation, and vertical resolution when calculating turbulent fluxes; (2) at the same time, not much attention is paid to revising the original empirical formulas, often obtained on the basis of single field or laboratory experiments. Ways to improve urban parameterizations are proposed by clarifying the basic dependencies used mainly in the calculation of turbulent fluxes, particularly using the results of highly detailed large-eddy simulation modeling, which, with growing computational power, is increasingly used to simulate explicit heat transfer between the atmosphere and individual elements of the urban environment.