A dynamic adaptive grid MPDATA scheme: application to the computational solution of atmospheric tracer transport problems

Abstract

This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer.The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction.In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overiaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Oversize materials

Tracer Advection Using Dynamic Grid Adaptation and MM5

“…In order to assess the applicability of DGA on more realistic atmospheric flows, this work extends Iselin et al (2002) to model three-dimensional passive tracer transport. The flow fields used to drive the DGA tracer transport model were produced by the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research (Penn State-NCAR) Mesoscale Model (MM5) (Dudhia 1993).…”

“…Alternatively, DGA needs only a quarter of the grid points in a uniform grid to produce comparable results. In order to put this work into context, a very brief review of the MPDATA scheme and the work in Iselin et al (2002) follows.…”

“…The motivation in Iselin et al (2002) and this work was to develop modeling techniques that would capture fine details in atmospheric moisture transport. Iselin et al (2002) used DGA in combination with the multidimensional positive definite advection transport algorithm (MPDATA) scheme of Smolarkiewicz and Margolin (1998) to investigate the feasibility and characteristics of this combination for tracer transport.…”

“…Iselin et al (2002) used DGA in combination with the multidimensional positive definite advection transport algorithm (MPDATA) scheme of Smolarkiewicz and Margolin (1998) to investigate the feasibility and characteristics of this combination for tracer transport. The grid redistribution scheme of Brackbill and Saltzman (1982) was used to automate the movement of the grid points.…”

“…One technique for addressing this issue is to utilize dynamic grid adaptation (DGA), which involves automatically adjusting the computational grid in response to flow changes. DGA can assume several forms (Iselin et al 2002), including automatically moving nested grids, gridpoint insertion techniques that add and remove grid points according to resolution needs, and gridpoint redistribution schemes that adjust the coordinates of a constant number of grid points. Both gridpoint insertion and redistribution schemes have been used extensively in highspeed aerospace applications that have discontinuities in the flow (Hawken et al 1991).…”