WUDAPT, an efficient land use producing data tool for mesoscale models? Integration of urban LCZ in WRF over Madrid

Abstract

Nowadays, the absence of suitable data that describes the urban landscape in climate relevant terms for climatic models is a significant impediment to progress, even if the physics that underpins these models is universal. To address this data gap the World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools (WUDAPT) project focuses on creating a global database on cities suited for urban climate studies. The first phase of WUDAPT has established a protocol using the Local Climate Zones classification system to partition the urban landscape of cities into neighbourhood types that can inform parameter selection in model applications. In this paper, we explore the potential of these data for use in the application of the Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model, which incorporates Building Effect Parameterization and Building Energy Model (BEP-BEM) schemes. The test is conducted for Madrid (Spain) during winter and summer and the results of using LCZ derived data are compared with those using CORINE land-cover data. The results are indicative but show that the LCZ scheme improves model performance. The paper emphasizes the need for further work to extend the value of these models for decisions on urban planning. However, such work will need useful urban data to make progress.