The large population growth has significantly altered the thermal characteristics of the atmosphere, including decreased albedo and increased heat capacity; thus, urban areas experience unique climatic phenomena. We conducted sensitivity experiments using Unified Model Local Data Assimilation and Prediction-Met-Office-Reading Urban Surface Exchange Scheme (LDAPS-MORUSES) to investigate the response of surface energy budget to albedo changes in the Seoul Metropolitan Area. We compared 1.5-m temperature at 56 automatic weather station (AWS) sites and showed underestimations of approximately 0.5–2 K, but the diurnal cycle was well simulated. We changed the wall and road albedo parameters by ±50% from the default values for sensitivity experiments. With increasing albedo, 1.5-m temperature decreased by approximately 0.06 °C and 0.01 °C in urban and suburban areas, respectively. These changes are responses to decreased net radiation and sensible heat during daytime, whereas sensible heat mainly contributes to the surface cooling during nighttime. Furthermore, the decrease in albedo leads to altered vertical structure of potential temperature and atmospheric circulations at altitudes of 300–1000 m. Results show that albedo modification can affect not only surface temperature but also the entire urban boundary layer.
In this study, performance of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is assessed from analysis on air flow pattern which is observed in the artificial street canyon. Field observations focusing on flows were conducted at an artificial street canyon in Magok region. For the observation of three-dimensional airflow structures, twelve three-dimensional wind anemometers (hereafter, CSAT3) were installed inside the street canyon. The street canyon was composed of two rectangular buildings with 35-m length, 4-m width, and 7-m height. The street width (distance between the buildings) is 7 m, making the street aspect ratio (defined by the ratio of building height to street width) of 1. For the observation of above-building wind, a CSAT3 was installed above the northwest-side building. Southwesterly, westerly and northwesterly were dominant in the street canyon during the observations. Because wind direction is parallel to the street canyon in the southwesterly case, westerly and northwesterly were selected as inflow directions in numerical simulations using a computational fluid dynamics model developed through the collaborative research project between National Institute of Meteorological Sciences and Seoul National University (CFD_NIMR_SNU). The observations showed that a well-structured vortex flow (skimming flow) and an evidence of a small eddy at the corner of the downwind building and ground appeared. The CFD_NIMR_SNU reproduced both the observed flow patterns reasonably well, although wind speeds inside the street canyon were underestimated.
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