Evaluation of Different WRF Parametrizations over the Region of Iasi with Remote Sensing Techniques

This article aims to present an evaluation of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with multiple instruments when applied to a humid continental region, in this case, the region around the city of Iași, Romania. A series of output parameters are compared with observed data, obtained on-site, with a focus on the Planetary Boundary Layer Height (PBLH) and on PBLH-related parametrizations used by the WRF model. The impact of each different parametrization on physical quantities is highlighted during the two chosen measurement intervals, both of them in the warm season of 2016 and 2017, respectively. The instruments used to obtain real data to compare to the WRF simulations are: a lidar platform, a photometer, and ground-level (GL) meteorological instrumentation for the measurement of temperature, average wind speed, and pressure. Maps of PBLH and 2 above ground-level (AGL) atmospheric temperature are also presented, compared to a topological and relief map of the inner nest of the WRF simulation. Finally, a comprehensive simulation performance evaluation of PBLH, temperature, wind speed and pressure at the surface and total precipitable water vapor is performed.