Modeling of mesoscale phenomena using WRF-BEP-BEM-CIM in a complex region

Abstract

Because of the global warming, urban planning strategies must be investigated to reduce building energy consumption and increase thermal comfort in urban areas. It is thus proposed in this study to use a mesoscale meteorological model to study the impact of multiple urban planning scenarios in the Canton of Vaud. The Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model is used to conduct simulations. The urban parameterizations, Building Effect Parameterization + Building Energy Model + Canopy Interface Model (BEP-BEM-CIM), developed in previous studies are already integrated in the WRF model. We demonstrate that the models perform well in plateaued regions (<10% difference) but some important deviations (20%-30% difference) are noted in particularly complex regions with complex topography. Two possible improvements will be addressed in the future: there is a need to improve the topography representation in the model itself and other scenarios including the impact of future climate will also be assessed.