CFD analysis of mesoscale climate in the Greater Tokyo area

Abstract

The results of CFD analyses of mesoscale climate in the Tokyo area are presented. Here, the model for geophysical flow problems developed by Mellor and Yamada is used for turbulence closure. In the first half of the paper, the accuracy of CFD analyses is examined by comparing their results with the measured data. The topography and present land-use situation in Japan are incorporated into the predictions by using the numerical data-base provided by the National Land Agency of Japan. For comparison, a computation which does not consider the effects of the distribution of land-use conditions at the present is also carried out. In the latter part, urban climates during the 1930s and the 1990s are analysed by the CFD method developed here. By comparing the results of these analyses, the effects of urbanization on heat island circulations over the Tokyo area are investigated.