WRF Model Update
WRF model tar file has been updated to Version
3.3.1 on Sept 21, 2011. For known problems in V3.3.1, please click here.
WRF Pre-Processing System (WPS) has been updated to Version 3.3.1.
Note: The V3.3.1 WRF can use V3.3 and V3.2 (and V3.1) wrfinput and wrfbdy files. However there are fixes in V3.3.1 program real (see below), and one may benefit from the change if wrfinput and wrfbdy files are regenerated.
As always, be cautious when using new options.
If you are interested in seeing
how V3 has been tested, click here.
Improvements and Bug fixes: (with the significant ones highlighted in bold font)
Physics:
Microphysics:
- Thompson scheme: modified fall speed, change in graupel size distribution (small effect); fix for processor-count-dependent result (thanks to A. Lenzen)
- WDM5 / 6 scheme: missing density term in auto conversoin from cloud to rain, resulting in reduction of cloud water mixing ratio (thanks to M. Gilmore)
- SBU scheme: unit correction (small effect)
- Morrison scheme: a number of fixes (see detail in phys/module_mp_morrison.F)
* replaced kinematic with dynamic viscosity
* replaced scaling by air density for cloud droplet sedimentation with viscosity-dependent Stokes expression
* use Ikawa and Saito (1991) air-density scaling for cloud ice
* corrected typo in 2nd digit of ventilation constant F2R
* temperature for accelerated melting due to collision of snow and graupel with rain should use Celsius, not Kelvin (reported by K. Van Weverburg)
* NPRACS is not subtracted from snow number concentration, since decrease in snow number is already accounted for by NSMLTS
* fix for switch for running w/o graupel/hail (cloud ice and snow only)
Cumulus:
- GD / G3 schemes: fix for cloud water conservation. Will result in reduction of surface rainfall.
- GD scheme: prevention of possible division by zero (no effect on results, thanks to E. Kemp)
- NSAS scheme: fix for cloud water and cloud ice tendency output for Ferrier and Kessler schemes
Planetary boundary layer physics:
- YSU: minor change to allow the scheme to work with thin surface layer
-
ACM2: larger dimension for message
Surface physics:
- PX LSM: preventing use of landuse categories other than 24 cat USGS (modis support to come in next release)
- RUC LSM: un-initialized variable (reported by C. Chen of Fujisu America). An important correction to 2m T diagnostic when RUC LSM is used with MM5 surface layer option (or sf_sfclay_physics = 1)
-
sst_update: fix a problem with two-way nesting when sst field itself is masked.
- Ocean mixed layer :if tml < tmoml, tml is set to tmoml. There was no change to tml before under this condition
Wind-farm (drag): fix a bug to find wind turbine location (thanks to Yulong Ma)
Nudging:
- obs-nudging: Fix for obs nudging to actually use user-defined obs_max_sndng_gap, and the new surface obs spreading scheme (obs_sfc_scheme_horiz = 1) (thanks to B. Reen)
Adaptive Time Stepping:
- Fix for physics call control in adaptive time stepping runs for nest: affect all radiation calls, and some of cumulus calls (if cudt is not set to 0). The bug would result in occasionally skipped physics calls, and in the worse scenario the period could last for several hours in particular for radiation physics. The problem may be worse for fine time steps. (Thanks to Yubao Liu, Badri Nagarajan, and Shanhong Gao for the report)
Dynamics:
- SKEB: bug fix, and allow users to specify which domain to use the option.
- DFI: fix for resetting BC initialization for negative dt.
- option to use vertical motion in the wrfinput file (use_input_w=1)
- Add an alternative way (log(p) dependent) to diagnose geopotential height in program real, and (inverse) density in wrf model. This option is controlled by namelist hypsometric_opt: = 1 is the original method, and = 2 is the new method (thanks to T. K. Wee).
Initialization/IO/others:
- Program real:
1. interpolation of pressure is linear, and of temp is log p, independent of the user set option, interp_type.
2. option to vertically interpolate temperature instead of potential temperature (interp_theta = .false. will interpolate temperature).
3.
psfc on output of program real (wrfinput_d0X) is consistent with the surface pressure used in other calculations in the program.
4. Bug fix for not processing data in the middle of the domain in program real. (Posted 5/27/2011)
- fix for NO_LEAP_CALENDAR compile for possible failure when running real (thanks to T. Otte).
- grib1: remove un-initialized variable (reported by C. Chen)
- tc bogus: remove un-initialized variable (reported by C. Chen)
-
Add diagnostics for max/min, time of max/min, mean and standard deviation values of surface variables: T2, Q2, U10, V10, skin temperature, time-step rainc (raincv and rainncv). The option is controled by namelist output_diagnostics = 1, and output goes to auxiliary output stream 3 by default (thanks to L. Fita, J. Fernández, and M. García-Díez of Spain):
&time_control
...
output_diagnostics = 1
auxhist3_outname = "wrfxtrm_d<domain>"
io_form_auxhist3 = 2
auxhist3_interval = 1440
frame_per_auxhist3 = 1
Software:
- ESMF updated to 5.2.0r
- p-netCDF support for io quilting: modified to reduce the size of storage needed. This helps to reduce the wrf executable size on some IBMs by a factor of 10 (thanks to A. Porter of UK).
- bug fix for configuring on a ubuntu or openSUSE system (posted 4/8/2011)
- fix for serial build with nesting (revealed by gfortran)