Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/Z50399X/1
TEAMx-FLOW: Flow Dynamics, Scale Interactions and Mountain Waves for TEAMx-UK
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr A Orr, NERC British Antarctic Survey, Science Programmes
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor C Wright, University of Bath, Electronic and Electrical Engineering
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr AN Ross, University of Leeds, School of Earth and Environment
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr N Hindley, University of Bath, Electronic and Electrical Engineering
- Grant held at:
- NERC British Antarctic Survey, Science Programmes
- Science Area:
- None
- Overall Classification:
- Unknown
- ENRIs:
- None
- Science Topics:
- None
- Abstract:
- Mountains and hills (or "orography") disturb the regional and global atmospheric circulation. These disturbances affect the development of weather systems and the global atmospheric circulation. For example, they play a key role in determining the wintertime northern hemisphere circulation. Consequently, it is vital that the effects of orography are represented accurately in weather and climate models for improved predictions. This includes the Unified Model (UM) and the Momentum Unified Earth Prediction Framework (Momentum) - the current and next-generation models used by the Met Office. Orography disturbs the atmospheric circulation by exerting a frictional drag force in a variety of ways. These include drag induced by blocking of the near-surface flow by the orography. Additionally, flow that goes over the orography generates waves in the atmosphere known as orographic gravity waves (GWs). These propagate upwards until the GWs become unstable and break down, resulting in a drag at upper-levels known as orographic GW drag, as well as the cause of severe clear-air turbulence. As orography spans multiple scales, some of the smaller mountains are often smaller than the grid-spacing used by models, resulting in the drag they exert being poorly represented. These drag effects therefore have to be "parameterised" in models, i.e. represented in a simplified way in terms of the large-scale flow. However, despite the importance of orographic drag parameterisation schemes, their representation in weather and climate models is highly uncertain and a major impediment to improving the accuracy of predictions. Addressing this lack of understanding is an urgent scientific need. Tackling these problems is where our understanding of how drag is generated and partitioned over complex mountainous regions is pushed to its limits - and often falls short. For example, a major uncertainty is a lack of understanding of how the partitioning of orographic drag between its parameterised and resolved components differs between high-resolution weather models and coarse-resolution climate models. Additionally, a significant simplification made by parameterisation schemes is that they neglect the effects that changes in horizontal wind direction with height have on the breakdown of orographic GWs. This results in a misrepresentation of the altitude and magnitude of orographic GW drag. Both these deficiencies cause large and systematic errors in atmospheric circulation in weather and climate models. In TeamX-FLOW, we will provide the fundamental scientific knowledge needed to address both these critical knowledge gaps. We will deliver: A comprehensive evaluation of the representation of orographic drag (parameterised and resolved) in the UM and Momentum. Improved understanding of how changes in horizontal wind direction with altitude affect orographic GW drag, including representation of this in the UM and Momentum. To do so, we will exploit the uniquely dense and sophisticated network of measurements made as part of TEAMx over the Alps, including observations from the FAAM airborne and NCAS radiosonde campaigns. This will be supported by analysis of UM and Momentum simulations across multiple spatial scales. Our project is ideally timed to take advantage of the TEAMx observational campaign and feed into the Met Office's development of Momentum. We will work with Met Office partners to translate the results of this work to improve the representation of orographic drag in their weather and climate predictions, which are vital for public safety, agriculture, the economy, and climate adaptation plans. Our work is also important for aviation and forecasting turbulence.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/Z50399X/1
- Grant Stage:
- Awaiting Grant Amendments
- Scheme:
- Research Grants
- Grant Status:
- Approved
- Programme:
- TEAMxUK
This grant award has a total value of £618,101
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DI - Staff | DA - Estate Costs | DI - T&S | DA - Other Directly Allocated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,588 | £252,688 | £56,078 | £184,612 | £85,583 | £31,764 | £5,789 |
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