GHGs comparisons between WRF-VPRM and tower observations in urban scale
Qingyu Wang is a PhD student at the University of Oklahoma. She works with Dr. Sean Crowell on CO2 flux and transport and helps evaluate a coupled mesoscale atmospheric and biospheric Model (WRF-VPRM) by Dr. Xiao-Ming Hu. She attained her bachelor’s degree at Nanjing University, China in 2016, where she participated in research on Observation of Particle Structures and Variations inside Precipitation System by Using C-band Dual-Polarimetric Radar Data. In 2019, she earned her MS at OU, working on Atmospheric Variations in Column Integrated CO 2 over the U.S.
Abstract
Cities are responsible for the majority of anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emissions and their contributions vary with urbanization as stated in past studies. To develop and assess methods of quantifying GHGs emissions at urban scale, and their role in larger-scale GHGs transport, we compare simulations from WRF-VPRM (Vegetation Photosynthesis and Respiration Model) and in situ observations collected near the surface. We find that WRF-VPRM nocturnal carbon dioxide (CO2) simulations are not as good as those in daytime, probably due to shallow boundary layer, and also compare in terms of biogenic and anthropogenic emissions. In this way, we quantify the accuracy of simulations from WRF-VPRM with tower observations to quantify uncertainties in the model. Understanding the uncertainty present in these simulations is an important first step towards using this tool to constrain GHGs from urban areas.