Fotini Katopodes Chow

New turbulence closures for large-eddy simulation of clouds

Clouds are important to the earth’s energy balance and a regulator of both climate and weather. In global climate models, cloud feedbacks are a leading source of uncertainty. Chow’s research involves performing large-eddy simulations of clouds using the dynamic reconstruction turbulence model (DRM) to help boost numerical models’ capability in simulating clouds and allow for a better understanding of the evolution of clouds and their effects on weather and climate.

Large-eddy simulation for wind energy applications

Wind turbine micrositing, for operational wind power forecasting and for turbine design, requires high-resolution simulations of atmospheric flow over complex terrain. Chow’s research team is developing large-eddy simulations (LES) for wind energy applications using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model.

The immersed boundary method – urban dispersion modeling

A major difficulty in atmospheric modeling is the representation of the steep “terrain” associated with very steep mountains or vertical building surfaces. In collaboration with Katie Lundquist at LLNL, Chow’s research team is developing and implementing an immersed boundary method (IBM) into the Weather and Research Forecasting (WRF) model, allowing simulation over steep terrain surfaces within an atmospheric model.