New publication Evaluation of high-resolution WRF simulation in urban areas
A new paper highligfhting the effect of different physics schemes on WRF simulation performance in the Rhine-Main-Neckar area has been published in Atmospheric Research.
A new study published in Atmospheric Research evaluates the performance of high-resolution WRF simulations in urban environments. Focusing on the Rhine–Main–Neckar metropolitan region, the research investigates how different physics schemes affect 1-km resolution simulations over four representative months.
The study, led by Lukas Pilz together with Christopher Lüken-Winkels, Sanam Vardag and colleagues, represents the first WRF setup within the group and was carried out in the framework of the German Integrated Treibhausgas Monitoring System (ITMS).
Results show that the choice of urban canopy and planetary boundary layer schemes has the largest impact on model performance, while station-specific characteristics also strongly influence the outcome. The team identified the best overall configuration of physics schemes for urban areas.
By improving transport accuracy in complex urban settings, the study addresses a critical challenge for greenhouse gas monitoring. Small reductions in transport errors can significantly enhance the reliability of emission estimates, making this work highly relevant for urban climate applications and for national monitoring frameworks such as ITMS.
The publication highlights the importance of targeted physics selection in mesoscale modeling and provides a benchmark for future studies aiming to reconcile atmospheric observations with bottom-up emission inventories.
Building on the findings of the papers, the group has also simulated CO2 over German metropolitan areas, which is beautiful and useful for network design at the same time.
