Turbulence Evaluation in Complex Terrain using TEAMx Observations (TECTTO)

Picture rights: Helen Dacre.

Mountain regions have complex terrain that causes weather conditions to change quickly over short distances. This makes it difficult to both observe and accurately simulate mountain weather. Although weather models have improved in recent years, with better resolution and representation of the physics, there has not been a recent assessment of how well these models perform in mountainous areas. Older studies revealed issues like temperature biases, fog underestimation, and errors in rainfall totals. The TECTTO project, part of the TEAMx observation campaign, will investigate how weather models perform in the Alps. TECTTO focuses on how turbulence is represented in the UK Met Office weather model. Most weather models use turbulence schemes designed for flat land, which don't fully account for the three-dimensional nature of airflows in mountains. TECTTO will compare standard 1D turbulence schemes with newer 3D versions, including Smagorinsky-based methods that may better represent local wind patterns. We will test these schemes using TEAMx data from a network of Doppler lidars, which can observe turbulence in the atmosphere. We aim to understand whether better turbulence representation can reduce forecast errors, improving temperature and air quality forecasts in mountain regions.