Mesoscale Ensembles of Urban Canopy Parameterizations Applied to the Coastal Environment: Impacts on Urban Dispersion

The application of high-resolution mesoscale ensembles utilizing different urban canopy parameterization (UCP) characterizations is used to investigate the impact on urban dispersion in the coastal environment. Using the Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System* (COAMPS®) developed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), model parameters and urban/land surface morphologies are perturbed within two parameterizations: the multi-level UCP originally developed by Brown and Williams (1998) and the WRF Kusaka UCP. Results will be shown for COAMPS® configured with 5-nests centered on New York City (Manhattan) with highest horizontal resolution of 0.444 km and COAMPS® configured with 4-nests centered on Tokyo, Japan with highest resolution of 1.67 km. The impact of the urban canopy layer on mesoscale plume transport, as well as its development and evolution, will be shown using COAMPS® simulations with the embedded passive tracer model. Model tracer releases occurring both within and above the urban canopy will be compared to assess the impact of coastal urban boundary layer structure on plume transport.