The Total Energy - Mass Flux PBL scheme in WRF: Experience in real-time forecasts for California

A new boundary-layer parameterization scheme, the Total Energy - Mass Flux (TEMF) scheme, has been implemented in WRF. In spring and summer 2010 the scheme will be run every day. For the CalNex field study, a configuration including TEMF will run on a 4-km grid covering all of California. A standard WRF configuration will be run in parallel for comparison. In the presentation, we will show the performance of TEMF with respect to measurements and to the standard WRF configuration. We will discuss whether the expected improvements in stable boundary layers and boundary layers with shallow cumulus and stratocumulus are realized. We will also discuss how the performance of the BL scheme is constrained by errors and uncertainties in other parameterizations, particularly the land surface model.