Understanding the effects of model resolution on winds and surface fluxes for an easterly tip jet during the Greenland Flow Distortion Experiment

Two types of tip jets, westerly and easterly, are commonly observed off Cape Farewell, Greenland and occur when synoptic scale atmospheric features interact with the topography of Greenland. Tip jets are short-lived events of high wind speeds extending from Cape Farewell over the ocean. Few observations have been made of tip jets, and the first in-situ observations of an easterly tip jet off Cape Farewell were made on 21 February 2007 during the Greenland Flow Distortion Experiment (GFDX). These aircraft based observations yielded maximum wind speeds in the core of the easterly tip jet as well as fluxes associated with the air-ocean interaction during the event that can help constrain these mesoscale features in models. This research presents output from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model driven with the ECMWF ERA-Interim reanalysis product at three resolutions (50km, 25km, 10km). This study uses 21 February 2007 to examine the three modeled outputs for the tip jet wind speed and direction, as well as surface fluxes of latent and sensible heat. These model outputs will also be compared with the in-situ fluxes and wind speed values measured during GFDX.