Articles | Volume 26, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-13721-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-13721-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Impact of model resolution and turbulence scheme on the representation of mountain waves and turbulence
Roshny Siri Jagan
Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Juerg Schmidli
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Hemanth Kumar Alladi, Julian Quimbayo-Duarte, Luca Bugliaro, Johanna Mayer, Shweta Singh, and Juerg Schmidli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 8617–8635, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-8617-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-8617-2026, 2026
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Thunderstorms can transport moisture into the lower stratosphere, affecting climate. Over mountains, models fail to represent them due to underrepresentation of turbulent mixing and cloud microphysics. This study evaluates the operational and new turbulence schemes, with single and double moment microphysics, in the ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic (ICON) model against observations. The operational turbulence scheme enhances mixing, while double moment produces taller storms with more ice transport.
Ivan Basic, Harshwardhan Jadhav, Jaydeep Singh, and Juerg Schmidli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 2007–2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-2007-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-2007-2026, 2026
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We studied how small mountains shape the daily growth of the lower atmosphere over the Tibetan Plateau, one of the highest regions on Earth. Using computer simulations, we compared flat terrain with realistic terrain and with added winds. We found that even modest hills make the air mix more quickly and rise higher, and winds further strengthen this effect. Our results show that overlooking small terrain features can lead to underestimating how strongly the atmosphere mixes over high plateaus.
Noviana Dewani, Mirjana Sakradzija, Linda Schlemmer, Ronny Leinweber, and Juerg Schmidli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4045–4058, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4045-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4045-2023, 2023
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A high daily variability of the normalized vertical velocity variance profiles in the convective boundary layer is observed using Doppler lidar data during the FESSTVaL campaign 2020–2021. The dependency of the normalized vertical velocity variance on several meteorological parameters explains that the moisture processes in the boundary layer contribute to the remaining variability. The finding suggests that a new vertical velocity scale that takes moist processes into account has to be defined.
Julian Quimbayo-Duarte, Johannes Wagner, Norman Wildmann, Thomas Gerz, and Juerg Schmidli
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 5195–5209, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5195-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5195-2022, 2022
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The ultimate objective of this model evaluation is to improve boundary layer flow representation over complex terrain. The numerical model is tested against observations retrieved during the Perdigão 2017 field campaign (moderate complex terrain). We observed that the inclusion of a forest parameterization in the numerical model significantly improves the representation of the wind field in the atmospheric boundary layer.
Ian Boutle, Wayne Angevine, Jian-Wen Bao, Thierry Bergot, Ritthik Bhattacharya, Andreas Bott, Leo Ducongé, Richard Forbes, Tobias Goecke, Evelyn Grell, Adrian Hill, Adele L. Igel, Innocent Kudzotsa, Christine Lac, Bjorn Maronga, Sami Romakkaniemi, Juerg Schmidli, Johannes Schwenkel, Gert-Jan Steeneveld, and Benoît Vié
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 319–333, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-319-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-319-2022, 2022
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Fog forecasting is one of the biggest problems for numerical weather prediction. By comparing many models used for fog forecasting with others used for fog research, we hoped to help guide forecast improvements. We show some key processes that, if improved, will help improve fog forecasting, such as how water is deposited on the ground. We also showed that research models were not themselves a suitable baseline for comparison, and we discuss what future observations are required to improve them.
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Short summary
Air flowing over mountains generates waves reaching high into the atmosphere, sometimes producing turbulence relevant to aircraft safety and forecasting. Using simulations tested against aircraft observations, we found that fine detail is needed to capture small-scale features realistically, while overall wave patterns emerge at coarser resolution regardless of turbulence scheme. This work can help improve flight safety and weather predictions by making turbulence forecasts more reliable.
Air flowing over mountains generates waves reaching high into the atmosphere, sometimes...
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