High-Resolution Flow Simulations Around a Steep Mountainous Island in Korea Using a CFD Model with One-way Nested Grid System

High-resolution flows around a steep mountainous island (Ulleungdo) in Korea were simulated by a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. To cover entire Ulleungdo and to resolve the topography around the Ulleungdo automatic synoptic observing system (ASOS) with high resolution, one-way nested grid system with large (60 m), and small (20 m) grid sizes was applied in the CFD model simulations. We conducted the numerical simulations for 16 inflow directions, and, for each inflow direction, we considered six different wind velocities(5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 m s^-1) at the reference height (1,000 m). The effects of topography on surface wind observations were well reflected in the observed wind roses for the period of January 01, 2012 ~ December 31, 2016 at the Ulleungdo ASOS and marine buoy. Wind roses at the Ulleungdo ASOS was reproduced based on the CFD simulations. The changes in surface winds at the Ulleungdo ASOS caused by surrounding topography were relatively well simulated by the CFD model. The simulated wind-rose indicated that south-southwesterly and northeasterly were the dominant wind directions, which were also observed at the Ulleungdo ASOS. We investigated the flow characteristics around the Ulleungdo ASOS for northwesterly, south-southwesterly, and northeasterly winds in detail.