arXiv subjects

Igor Esau

Publications and source records attributed to Igor Esau.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Using Clustering to Understand Intra-city Warming in Heatwaves: Insights into Paris, Montreal, and Zurich

We introduce a novel methodological advancement by clustering paired near-surface air temperature with the planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) to characterize intra-city clusters for analytics. To illustrate this approach, we analyze three heatwaves (HW): the 2019 HW in Paris, the 2018 HW in Montreal, and the 2017 HW in Zurich. We assess cluster-based characteristics before, during, and after heatwave events. Using the objective hysteresis model, we determine the overall strength coefficient of the hysteresis loop between ground storage flux and all-wave downward radiative flux, ranging from 0.414 to 0.457 for urban clusters and from 0.126 to 0.157 for rural clusters during the heatwave periods. Across all cities, we observe a consistent refueling-restoration mode in the cumulative ground heat flux as the heatwaves progress. Future developments of this proposed two-component clustering approach, with the integration of more influential physics, will offer a more comprehensive characterization of cities for urban climate analytics.

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2012

Surface air temperature variability in global climate models

New results from the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) and multiple global reanalysis datasets are used to investigate the relationship between the mean and standard deviation in the surface air temperature. A combination of a land-sea mask and orographic filter were used to investigate the geographic region with the strongest correlation and in all cases this was found to be for low-lying over-land locations. This result is consistent with the expectation that differences in the effective heat capacity of the atmosphere are an important factor in determining the surface air temperature response to forcing.

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2010

Analysis of the planetary boundary layer with a database of large-eddy simulation experiments

Observational studies of a planetary boundary layer (PBL) are difficult. Ground-born measurements usually characterize only a small portion of the PBL immediately above the surface. Air-born measurements cannot be obtained close to the surface and therefore cannot capture any significant portion of the PBL interior. Moreover, observations are limited in choice of instrumentation, time, duration, location of measurements and occasional weather conditions. Although turbulence-resolving simulations with a large-eddy simulation (LES) code do not supplant observational studies, they provide valuable complementary information on different aspect of the PBL dynamics, which otherwise difficult to acquire. These circumstances motivated development of a medium-resolution database (DATABASE64) of turbulence-resolving simulations, which is available on ftp://ftp.nersc.no/igor/. DATABASE64 covers a range of physical parameters typical for the barotropic SBL over a homogeneous rough surface. LES runs in DATABASE64 simulate 16 hours' evolution of the PBL turbulence. They are utilized to study both transition and equilibrium SBL cases as well as to calibrate turbulence parameterizations of meteorological models. The data can be also used to falsify theoretical constructions with regards to the PBL.

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2010

Numerical experiments with assimilation of the mean and unresolved meteorological conditions into large-eddy simulation model

Micrometeorology, city comfort, land use management and air quality monitoring increasingly become important environmental issues. To serve the needs, meteorology needs to achieve a serious advance in representation and forecast on micro-scales (meters to 100 km) called meteorological terra incognita. There is a suitable numerical tool, namely, the large-eddy simulation modelling (LES) to support the development. However, at present, the LES is of limited utility for applications. The study addresses two problems. First, the data assimilation problem on micro-scales is investigated as a possibility to recover the turbulent fields consistent with the mean meteorological profiles. Second, the methods to incorporate of the unresolved surface structures are investigated in a priopi numerical experiments. The numerical experiments demonstrated that the simplest nudging or Newtonian relaxation technique for the data assimilation is applicable on the turbulence scales. It is also shown that the filtering property of the three layers artificial neural network (ANN) can be used for formulation of the surface stress from the unresolved surface features.

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2009

Large-eddy simulations of geophysical turbulent flows with applications to planetary boundary layer research

The present study gives an overview and emphasizes principal moments of the applications of the turbulence-resolving modeling with large-eddy simulation (LES) numerical technique to planetary boundary layer (PBL) research and climate studies. LES proved to be very useful in understanding of the atmospheric and ocean turbulent exchange and ultimately in parameterization improvement in traditional meteorological models. LES have played a key role in recognizing the importance of previously ignored self-organized structures in the geophysical turbulence. LES assisted theoreticians and weather/climate modelers with reliable information about the averaged vertical structure of the PBL in convection and shear regimes as well as with better estimations of key PBL parameters, e.g. an entrainment rate, for model calibrations. At present, LES are an essential, indispensible part of geosciences, while the mainstream of the LES research still deals with idealized case studies with rather simple micro-physics.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2006

Similarity theory and calculation of turbulent fluxes at the surface for the stably stratified atmospheric boundary layers

In this paper we revise the similarity theory for the stably stratified atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), formulate analytical approximations for the wind velocity and potential temperature profiles over the entire ABL, validate them against large-eddy simulation and observational data, and develop an improved surface flux calculation technique for use in operational models.

physics.ao-ph↗