INFLUENCE OF MODEL HORIZONTAL RESOLUTION ON THE INTENSITY AND STRUCTURE OF RAMMASUN

Abstract

We use the WRF (V3.4) model as the experimental model and select three horizontal resolutions of 15, 9, and 3km to research the influence of the model’s horizontal resolution on the intensity and structure of the super-strong typhoon Rammasun (1409) in 2014. The results indicate that the horizontal resolution has a very large impact on the intensity and structure of Rammasun. The Rammasun intensity increases as the horizontal resolution increases. When the horizontal resolution increases from 9km to 3km, the enhancement of intensity is more obvious, but the strongest intensity simulated by 3km horizontal resolution is still weaker than the observed strongest intensity. Along with the increase of horizontal resolution, the horizontal scale of the Rammasun vortex decreases, and the vortex gradually contracts toward its center. The vortex structure changes from loose to compact and deep. The maximum wind radius, thickness of the eye wall, and outward inclination of the eye wall with height decrease, and the wind in the inner core region, updraft motion along the eye wall, and strength of the warm core become stronger. Additionally, the pressure gradient and temperature gradient of the eye wall region increase, and the vortex intensity becomes stronger. When the horizontal resolution increases from 9km to 3km, the change in the Rammasun structure is much larger than the change when the horizontal resolution increases from 15km to 9km. When the model does not employ the method of convection parameterization, the Rammasun intensity simulated with 3km horizontal resolution is slightly weaker than the intensity simulated with 3km horizontal resolution when the Kain–CFritsch (KF) convection parameterization scheme is adopted, while the intensity simulated with 9km horizontal resolution is much weaker than the intensity simulated with 9km horizontal resolution when the KF scheme is adopted. The influence of the horizontal resolution on the intensity and structure of Rammasun is larger than the influence when the KF scheme is adopted.