After
development of the idea at NCAR and community discussion and feedback, physics
suites for WRF have been established. In
WRF a physics suite is a set of physics options that performs well for a given
application and that is supported by a sponsoring group. Suites may offer guidance to users in applying WRF, improve
understanding of model performance, and facilitate model advancement. This page provides information on the
officially-recognized suites in WRF and links to their documentation.
Those
in the WRF user community may propose suites for recognition and
sponsorship. In this process, the group
nominating a suite must first provide results of the suite's testing and use as
well as initial documentation to the WRF Physics Review Panel. The suite sponsor may determine the testing
performed, but it should reflect WRF simulations of cases or periods germane to
the intended application(s) of the suite.
The documentation should include a list of the physics options selected
and references on them, the application(s) of the suite, and information on the
configuration(s) in which the suite has been applied (e.g., WRF grid sizes,
number of vertical levels, relevant dynamics options).
The
WRF Physics Review Panel reviews the information and materials in support of
proposed suites, including the testing results and documentation. If the panel approves a suite, the sponsoring
group will subsequently be responsible for testing the suite in major WRF
releases to demonstrate that the suite does not have problems in the new model
version. Also, upon suite approval,
suite information and documentation will be posted on these WRF users' pages. If a suite is not approved, the prospective
sponsor may resubmit amended materials to address the issues cited. Those interested in nominating a suite may
contact the panel at wprp@ucar.edu to begin the process.
When
running WRF, a suite’s set of physics can be set all at once using the “physics_suite” namelist option. The physics options covered by this suite
specification are: mp_physics, cu_physics, bl_pbl_physics, sf_sfclay_physics, sf_surface_physics,
ra_sw_physics, and ra_lw_physics. Designating physics_suite
to the appropriate name sets them all, and the names of the current physics
suites are listed below. The WRF Users’
Guide for WRF versions 3.9 and later describes the use of physics suites within
Chapter 5, “WRF Model”.
Current
Suites
Name: NCAR Convection-Permitting Suite
Application: Real-time forecasting focused on convective
weather over the contiguous U.S.
Namelist selector: physics_suite= CONUS
Packages:
Microphysics:
Thompson mp_physics= 8
Cumulus:
Tiedtke cu_physics= 6
Longwave
radiation: RRTMG ra_sw_physics=
4
Shortwave
radiation: RRTMG ra_lw_physics= 4
Boundary
layer: MYJ bl_pbl_physics= 2
Surface
layer: MYJ sf_sfclay_physics= 2
Land
surface: Noah LSM sf_surface_physics= 2
Documentation: NCAR Convection-Permitting
Physics Suite for WRF
Name: NCAR Tropical Suite
Application: Real-Time forecasting focused on tropical storms and tropical convection
Namelist selector: physics_suite = 'tropical' (same as "mesoscale_reference" suite in MPAS)
Packages:
Microphysics: WSM6 mp_physics = 6
Cumulus: new Tiedtke cu_physics = 16
Longwave radiation: RRTMG ra_lw_physics = 4
Shortwave radiation: RRTMG ra_sw_physics = 4
Boundary layer: YSU bl_pbl_physics = 1
Surface layer: MM5 sf_sfclay_physics = 91
Land surface: Noah sf_surface_physics = 2
Documentation: NCAR Tropical Physics Suite
