(Urban) Boundary Layer Processes in Complex Terrain

In this talk, various topics regarding (urban) boundary simulations for a city situated in the alps will be discussed. First of all, we will present novel parameterization adopted to take into account the effect of mitigation strategies, such as rooftop Photovoltaic Panels and Green Roofs, on urban environment, and their effect on average temperature and energy consumption by buildings. 

Secondly, a new turbulence closure, that adopt a diagnostic equation for dissipation rate, and then independent on mixing length scales, will be introduced.  The new turbulence closure, implemented into the WRF model, has been coupled with multi-layer urban parameterization schemes, and compared with high-resolution CFD and LES  simulations.   Finally, we will go through the problem of defining soil initial conditions in complex terrain, due to the lack of a sufficiently fine resolution of reanalysis input data.   For a better reproduction of boundary layer variables, we adopted an offline land-surface model, to correcly define initial values for soil properties.