The Sensitivity of Wind Forecasts with a Mesoscale Meteorological Model at the Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara

ABSTRACT: The sensitivity of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) parameterizations is investigated using the hybrid Fifth Generation Penn State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Mesoscale Model (MM5) and its results were compared with observations from two field campaigns held during the dry and wet seasons at the Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara (CLA). The comparisons were made using the integrated zonal and meridional components of observed and forecasted winds. Initially, three boundary layer parameterizations, in addition to the current parameterization, were selected for evaluation: Blackadar (BLK), Medium Range Forecast (MRF), Janjic (ETA) and Burk-Thompson (BT). The MRF and BLK schemes produced better results than the ETA and BT schemes. Nevertheless, MRF and BLK underestimate the zonal and meridional wind components by around 16% in the rainy season and overestimate them by on average 18% in the dry season.