Assessing the Meteorological Impacts of Time-Varying Land Cover in the Intertidal Zone

Abstract

The meteorological impacts of intertidal land cover variation during summer and winter were simulated using the weather research and forecasting (WRF) meteorological model through two experiments: a TIDE experiment with time-varying land cover by tidal effects in the intertidal zone using a new modeling method used hourly surface boundary conditions obtained using ocean model and satellite data, and a CNTL experiment with fixed land cover in the intertidal zone using a typical WRF modeling method used to fix the surface boundary conditions. The results of the TIDE experiment were more consistent with the recorded observations, especially during high tides. During summer daytime, the sensible heat flux (SHF) became negative (downward exchanging process) in the intertidal zone due to a low sea surface temperature, which decreased the temperature and increased the water vapor mixing ratio in the intertidal zone and inland areas. The wind speeds in intertidal zones and inland areas increased due to strong sea winds at altitudes from 80 m to 1.5 km, thereby increasing the sea breeze intensity and resulting in meteorological changes in inland areas. During winter, land cover changes in the intertidal zone impacted fog formation. During nighttime high tides, the SHF became positive in the intertidal zone and the latent heat flux increased prior to fog formation. During flood tide, the relative humidity increased and wind speed decreased in the intertidal zone and coastal areas coincident with fog occurrence. Overall, meteorological changes due to tidal effects were more pronounced in the summer.