WRF Sensitivity Experiments on the Choice of Land Cover Data for an Event of Sea Breeze Over the Yeongdong Region

Abstract

This research focuses on the sensitivity of the WRF(Weather Research and Forecasting) Model according to three different land cover data(USGS(United States Geological Survey), MODIS(Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)30s+USGS, and KLC (Korea Land Cover)) for an event of sea breeze, occurred over the Gangwon Yeongdong region on 13 May 2009. Based on the observation, the easterly into Gangneung, due to the sea-breeze circulation, was identified between 1000 LST and 1640 LST. It did not reach beyond the Taebaek Mountain Range and thus the easterly was not observed near Daegwallyeong. On the other hand, the numerical simulations utilizing land cover data of USGS, MODIS30s+USGS, and KLC showed easterlies beyond the Taebaek Mountain Range up to Daegwallyeong. In addition, rather different penetration distances of each easterly, and different timings of beginning and ending of sea breeze were identified among the simulations. The Bias, MAE(Mean Absolute Error) and RMSE(Root Mean Square Error) of the wind from WRF simulation using MODIS30s+USGS land cover data were the least among the simulations particularly over Gangwon Yeongdong coastal area(Sokcho, Gangneung and Donghae), while those of the wind over the Gangwon Mountain area(Daegwallyeong and Jinbu) from the simulation using KLC land cover data were the least among them. The wind field over Gangwon Yeongdong coastal area from the simulation using USGS land cover data was rather poor among them.