Predictability of turbulent flow in street canyons

Although predictability is a subject of great importance in atmospheric modelling, there has been little research on the predictability of urban boundary-layer flows. In the present work the predictability of street-canyon flow is examined numerically with an LES model. Predictability times are quantified with error spectra of the relative kinetic energy; the influence of turbulent organized structures is elucidated with standard diagnostics for the shear layer. The sensitivity to initial conditions is contrasted with that to different model configurations (or physics). Differences with respect to the predictability of homogeneous isotropic turbulence and NWP models will be discussed.