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http://dx.doi.org/10.5532/KJAFM.2013.15.1.017

Simulations of Changes in Wind Field Over Mountainous Terrains Using WRF and ENVI-met Numerical Models  

Won, Myoungsoo (Division of Forest Disaster Management, Korea Forest Research Institute)
Han, Seonho (Korea Meteorological Industry Promotion Agency)
Publication Information
Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology / v.15, no.1, 2013 , pp. 17-25 More about this Journal
Abstract
In this paper we interpreted the changes in wind field over complex mountainous terrains. The results of our study can be applied for predicting the direction of fire spread and for establishing strategies for fire prevention. The study area is bounded by $12{\times}12$ km domains of the Samcheok's long-term ecological research (LTER) site located in the east coast, in which a large-fire had occurred from 7 to 13 April 2000. Because of the area's complex topography, we compared the result of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) mesoscale model with those observed by four automated weather stations. The WRF simulation overestimated the wind speed by 5 to 8 m/s (~200%) in comparison with those from four automated weather stations. The wind directions observed by the AWSs were from various directions whereas those from WRF model were mostly west wind at all stations. Overall, the simulations by the WRF mesoscale models were not appropriate for the estimation of microscale wind fields over complex mountainous areas. To overcome such inadequacy of reproducing the wind fields, we employed the ENVI-met model over Samcheok's LTER site. In order to test the model's sensitivity with the terrain effects, experimental simulations were conducted with various initial conditions. The simulation results of the ENVI-met model showed a reasonable agreement in wind speeds (about 70% accuracy) with those of the four AWSs. Also, that the variations in wind directions agreed reasonably well with changes in terrain effect. We concluded that the ENVI-met model is more appropriate in representing the microscale wind field over complex mountain terrains, which is required to predict fire spread and to establish strategies for forest fire prevention.
Keywords
Forest fire; Mountainous terrain; Microscale wind field; AWS; WRF; ENVI-met;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 3  (Citation Analysis)
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