Numerical Simulation of Local Weather for a High Photochemical Oxidant Event Using the WRF Model

Abstract

We evaluated the performance of the newly developed atmospheric mesoscale model, WRF, for the simulation of urban-scale weather in the Tokyo metropolitan area during a high photochemical Oxidant event. The simulation clearly shows that WRF represents the spatial distribution of surface air temperature during the daytime, although the model temperature is lower than the observations in the late afternoon to evening in the urban area. The wind system can be well reproduced in WRF. Simulated convergence zone moves toward the inland areas located to the northwest of the coastal area during the three hours. These results are consistent with the observations of temperature and Photochemical Oxidant, indicating that WRF has enough potential to predict the ongoing Oxidant concentration.