HAO 2010 PROFILES IN SCIENCE: Dr. Hanli Liu
Contact
303-494-1564
liuh@ucar.edu
Dr. Hanli Liu is a Scientist III at the High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research. He received a B.S. in Fluid Mechanics from the University of Science and Technology of China, and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Space Physics from the University of Michigan. He came to the Observatory in 1997 as a postdoctoral researcher, and joined the scientific staff in 1999. His research includes: theoretical, numerical, and interpretive studies of the dynamics, structure, and solar/terrestrial responses of the Earth's middle and upper atmosphere; coupling of different atmospheric regions on global and regional scales; atmospheric waves; geophysical turbulence and self-organized critical phenomena. He is leading the thermosphere/ionosphere extension of the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM).
Dr. Hanli Liu has a personal webpage at http://people.hao.ucar.edu/liuh/.
Publications:
(1) Thermosphere extension of the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model
Liu, H.-L. B. T. Foster, M. E. Hagan, J. M. McInerney, A. Maute, L. Qian, A. D. Richmond, R. G. Roble, S. C. Solomon, R. R. Garcia, D. Kinnison, D. R. Marsh, A. K. Smith, J. Richter, F. Sassi, and J. Oberheide (2010), J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2010JA015586.
Abstract:
In atmospheric and space environment studies it is key to understand and to quantify the coupling of atmospheric regions and the solar impacts on the whole atmosphere system. There is thus a need for a numerical model that encompasses the whole atmosphere and can self-consistently simulate the dynamic, physical, chemical, radiative and electrodynamic processes that are important for the Sun-Earth system.
This is the goal for developing the NCAR Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). Liu et al. report the development and preliminary validation of the thermospheric extension of WACCM (WACCM-X), which extends from the Earth’s surface to the upper thermosphere. The WACCM-X uses the finite volume dynamical core from the NCAR Community Atmosphere Model, includes an interactive chemistry module resolving most known neutral chemistry and major ion chemistry in the middle and upper atmosphere, and photolysis and photo-ionization. Upper atmosphere processes, such as non-local thermodynamic equilibrium, radiative transfer, auroral processes, ion drag, and molecular diffusion of major and minor species have been included in the model. The model performance was evaluated by examining the quantities essential for the climate and weather of the upper atmosphere: the mean compositional, thermal, and wind structures from the troposphere to the upper thermosphere and their variability on inter-annual, seasonal, and daily scales. WACCM-X developments are part of the Community Earth System Modeling (CESM) program.