Evaluating WRF Simulations of Planetary Boundary Layer Processes during the Baltimore–Washington, DC DISCOVER-AQ Field Campaign

The accurate representation of processes in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) in meteorological models is of prime importance to weather forecasting and air quality simulations, and greenhouse gas emissions estimations as it governs the depth to which surface fluxes of heat, moisture, and chemical species are vertically mixed, and influences the efficiency by which they are transported downwind.  In this work, we evaluate high resolution (~1 km) WRF simulations of PBL processes in the Baltimore - Washington, DC region during the DISCOVER-AQ field campaign that took place in July of 2011 using MPLNET micro-pulse lidar (MPL), mini-MPL, airborne high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL), and CALIPSO satellite measurements along with complimentary surface and aircraft observations.   We will discuss how well WRF simulates the spatiotemporal variability of the PBL height in the urban area and the development of fine-scale meteorological features, such as the Chesapeake Bay breeze that influences local weather and air quality.  Additionally, we will present an analysis of how the choice of physical parameterizations, including the PBL scheme, urban canopy modeling options, and the sea surface temperature inputs, influenced the WRF simulations.