Application of the MEMO and MM5 mesoscale models in the context of urban energy budget studies for the greater Athens area

Abstract

In this paper, two mesoscale meteorological models, MM5 and MEMO, were applied over the Greater Area of Athens, Greece, during the period between the 16-19 of July 2002, using the model simulations as a tool for understanding the characteristics of the Urban Heat Island. Both models can capture fairly well the diurnal variations of the observed wind speed, direction and temperature during the simulation period, recognising the weak summer urban heat island. The intercomparison between the two models also revealed that in most cases they generated very similar predictions. However, MM5 significantly overestimates the cloud cover during the last few days resulting in the underestimation of temperature values.