THE DESIGN OF A LIMITED AREA MESOSCALE MODEL AND PREDICTION EXPERIMENTS

Based on the dynamic frame of a 6-layer primitive equations model, a mesoscale primitive equations model is designed that includes larger range of physical processes. It is run in (x, y, σ) system with the model atmosphere topping at 10 hPa and availability of multiple conditions of horizontal boundaries, both horizontal and vertical resolution are adjustable; the precipitation scheme includes large scale and deep cumulus convective precipitation; the ground temperature is computed using surface heat budget equations; exchanges between land atmosphere and between ocean and atmosphere are considered, the Liouis format is used in the computation of vertical exchange budget; a scheme that combines the second and fourth order is employed in horizontal diffusion in which the coefficient is the function of the location of grid points and wind fields; the integration scheme is in the form of economic central difference.With the resolution that horizontal grids are spaced at intervals of 80 km and vertical length is unequally spaced into 16 layers, the model is experimented with 26 cases of forecast. The result has shown stable model computation, good prediction of major synoptic patterns and close reproduction of real precipitation. Statistics for a number of assessment indexes are given in this paper and comparisons are made to the original 6-layer model in respect of the forecasting ability and model properties.