scholarly journals Sensitivities of Summertime Mesoscale Circulations in the Coastal Carolinas to Modifications of the Kain–Fritsch Cumulus Parameterization

2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (11) ◽  
pp. 4381-4399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron P. Sims ◽  
Kiran Alapaty ◽  
Sethu Raman

Two mesoscale circulations, the Sandhills circulation and the sea breeze, influence the initiation of deep convection over the Sandhills and the coast in the Carolinas during the summer months. The interaction of these two circulations causes additional convection in this coastal region. Accurate representation of mesoscale convection is difficult as numerical models have problems with the prediction of the timing, amount, and location of precipitation. To address this issue, the authors have incorporated modifications to the Kain–Fritsch (KF) convective parameterization scheme and evaluated these mesoscale interactions using a high-resolution numerical model. The modifications include changes to the subgrid-scale cloud formulation, the convective turnover time scale, and the formulation of the updraft entrainment rates. The use of a grid-scaling adjustment parameter modulates the impact of the KF scheme as a function of the horizontal grid spacing used in a simulation. Results indicate that the impact of this modified cumulus parameterization scheme is more effective on domains with coarser grid sizes. Other results include a decrease in surface and near-surface temperatures in areas of deep convection (due to the inclusion of the effects of subgrid-scale clouds on the radiation), improvement in the timing of convection, and an increase in the strength of deep convection.

Author(s):  
Aaron J. Hill ◽  
Christopher C. Weiss ◽  
David C. Dowell

AbstractEnsemble forecasts are generated with and without the assimilation of near-surface observations from a portable, mesoscale network of StickNet platforms during the Verification and Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes EXperiment – Southeast (VORTEX-SE). Four VORTEX-SE intensive observing periods are selected to evaluate the impact of StickNet observations on forecasts and predictability of deep convection within the southeast United States. StickNet observations are assimilated with an experimental version of the HighResolution RapidRefresh Ensemble (HRRRE) in one experiment, and withheld in a control forecast experiment. Overall, StickNet observations are found to effectively reduce mesoscale analysis and forecast errors of temperature and dewpoint. Differences in ensemble analyses between the two parallel experiments are maximized near the StickNet array and then either propagate away with the mean low-level flow through the forecast period or remain quasi-stationary, reducing local analysis biases. Forecast errors of temperature and dewpoint exhibit periods of improvement and degradation relative to the control forecast, and error increases are largely driven on the storm scale. Convection predictability, measured through subjective evaluation and objective verification of forecast updraft helicity, is driven more by when forecasts are initialized (i.e., more data assimilation cycles with conventional observations) rather than the inclusion of StickNet observations in data assimilation. It is hypothesized that the full impact of assimilating these data is not realized in part due to poor sampling of forecast sensitive regions by the StickNet platforms, as identified through ensemble sensitivity analysis.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Daniel Caetano Santos ◽  
Ernani de Lima Nascimento

The sensitivity of numerical simulations of the low level jet stream (LLJS) in South America to the choice of parameterization schemes for the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and for cumulus convection using the Advanced Research core of the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model was assessed for two cases in which the development of Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs) was observed in the La Plata Basin at the exit of the LLJS. The MCSs developed under distinct synoptic forcing. Overall, the general area over the La Plata Basin where the wind profiles met LLJS criteria was larger in the situation with stronger frontal forcing. Regarding the impact of the choice of the PBL parameterization scheme upon the simulated LLJS, the nonlocal Yonsei University (YSU) scheme displayed slightly better results for most simulations regardless of the cumulus parameterization scheme utilized. In fact, the characterization of the LLJS in the simulations exhibited no significant sensitivity to the choice of the cumulus parameterization. In situations under stronger [weaker] frontal forcing, less [more] dispersion among the simulations was found regarding the identification of the LLJS.


2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 9127-9168 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Marécal ◽  
E. D. Rivière ◽  
G. Held ◽  
S. Cautenet ◽  
S. Freitas

Abstract. The aim of this work is to study the local impact of deep convection on the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere air composition. For this purpose, we performed a 42-h simulation of a severe convective event near Bauru, in the central State of São Paulo (Brazil), with the 3-D mesoscale model RAMS coupled on-line with a chemistry model. The meteorological results of the simulation are evaluated using comparisons with near surface measurements of wind and temperature and with surface rainfall rates derived from radar observations. These comparisons show that the model produces meteorological fields consistent with the observations. This present paper (Part I) is devoted to the analysis of the ozone precursors in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere: CO, NOx (=NO+NO2) and non-methane volatile organic compounds. The simulation results show that the distribution of CO with altitude is closely related to the upward convective motions and consecutive outflow at the top of the convective cells leading to a bulge of CO between 7 km altitude and the cold point tropopause (around 17km altitude). The model results for CO are consistent with satellite-borne measurements in the 700–500 hPa layer. The simulation also indicates enhanced amounts of NOx up to 2 ppbv in the 7–17 km altitude layer. These NOx concentrations are mainly produced by the lightning associated with the intense convective activity. Stratospheric NOx are not affected by the tropospheric NOx since there is, on average, no significant upward NOx flux through the tropopause. For non-methane volatile organic compounds, the convective activity tends to significantly increase the amount of ozone precursors in the 7–17 km layer by dynamical effects as for CO. During daytime, this bulge is largely reduced in the upper part of the layer for reactive species, such as isoprene, ethene and propene, since they undergo chemical loss. This loss is mainly due to their reactions with OH, OH mixing ratio being significantly increased during the daytime by the production of NOx by lightning. The bulges of ozone precursors in the upper troposphere are likely to be of importance in the ozone budget in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. This issue is discussed in Part II of this series of papers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 409-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. K. Berg ◽  
M. Shrivastava ◽  
R. C. Easter ◽  
J. D. Fast ◽  
E. G. Chapman ◽  
...  

Abstract. A new treatment of cloud effects on aerosol and trace gases within parameterized shallow and deep convection, and aerosol effects on cloud droplet number, has been implemented in the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) version 3.2.1 that can be used to better understand the aerosol life cycle over regional to synoptic scales. The modifications to the model include treatment of the cloud droplet number mixing ratio; key cloud microphysical and macrophysical parameters (including the updraft fractional area, updraft and downdraft mass fluxes, and entrainment) averaged over the population of shallow clouds, or a single deep convective cloud; and vertical transport, activation/resuspension, aqueous chemistry, and wet removal of aerosol and trace gases in warm clouds. These changes have been implemented in both the WRF-Chem chemistry packages as well as the Kain–Fritsch (KF) cumulus parameterization that has been modified to better represent shallow convective clouds. Testing of the modified WRF-Chem has been completed using observations from the Cumulus Humilis Aerosol Processing Study (CHAPS). The simulation results are used to investigate the impact of cloud–aerosol interactions on regional-scale transport of black carbon (BC), organic aerosol (OA), and sulfate aerosol. Based on the simulations presented here, changes in the column-integrated BC can be as large as −50% when cloud–aerosol interactions are considered (due largely to wet removal), or as large as +40% for sulfate under non-precipitating conditions due to sulfate production in the parameterized clouds. The modifications to WRF-Chem are found to account for changes in the cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) and changes in the chemical composition of cloud droplet residuals in a way that is consistent with observations collected during CHAPS. Efforts are currently underway to port the changes described here to the latest version of WRF-Chem, and it is anticipated that they will be included in a future public release of WRF-Chem.


2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélanie C. Rochoux ◽  
Stéphane Bélair ◽  
Maria Abrahamowicz ◽  
Pierre Pellerin

Abstract This study presents a numerical analysis of the impact of the horizontal resolution on the forecast capability of the Canadian offline land surface prediction system (SPS; formerly known as GEM-Surf) forced by the 15-km Global Environmental Multiscale (GEM) atmospheric model. This system is used to quantify on a statistical basis the subgrid-scale variability of (near-)surface variables for 25-km grid spacing based on the 2.5- or 10-km SPS run at regional scale over the 2012 summer season. The model bias and the distributions characterizing the subgrid-scale variability drastically depend on the geographic areas as well as on the diurnal cycle. These results show the benefits of high-resolution land surface simulations to account for length scales that are more consistent with the scales at which the actual land surface balance is affected by the heterogeneous geophysical fields (i.e., roughness length, land–water mask, glacier mask, and soil texture). The model bias results highlight the potential of an SPS–GEM two-way coupling strategy for refining predictions near the surface through the upscaling of high-resolution surface heat fluxes to the coarser atmospheric grid spacing, with these fluxes being significantly different from those explicitly resolved at 25 km and featuring nonlinear behavior with respect to the horizontal resolution. Since the computational power of meteorological operational centers progressively increases, making it possible to run high-resolution limited-area models, solving the surface at high resolution in a surface–atmosphere fully coupled system becomes a key aspect for improving numerical weather and environmental forecast performance.


2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-430
Author(s):  
V. Spiridonov ◽  
M. Curic

Abstract. A three-dimensional compressible cloud model was used to simulate the processes related to dynamics, microphysics and chemistry of continental non-polluted and continental polluted clouds. The chemical components are formulated in terms of continuity equations for different chemical species in the aqueous phase within the cloud. Their evolution in this model came from not only by the processes of advection and turbulence transport, but also the chemical reactions and microphysical transfers. The model includes a method of kinetic uptake limitations. Gases with low solubility H* < 103 mol dm-3 atm-1 are in Henry's law equilibrium with temperature dependence of Henry's law coefficients. Seven pollutant groups are currently included in the chemistry parameterization scheme: S(IV), S(VI), (H2O2), (O3), N(V), (NH3), (CO2). The present model contains explicit treatment of SO2 and O3, a kinetic method of gas uptake as well as an improved microphysical parameterization scheme. The primary objective of this model is to study the impact of the deep convection on the pollutant transport, redistribution and deposition. It is done through chemical reactions, oxidation, scavenging of aerosol particles and transfer via microphysical transitions among water categories. Two base run simulation parameters are used to initialize the model. The first model run is for the 6 July 1995 event, characterized by intensive convective cloud activity and a large amount of precipitation, manifested as a flashflood. The second one is related to transboundary dust transport and sulfate wet deposition. The chemical field initialization is based on the vertical distribution profiles of gases and aerosols for continental non-polluted and continental polluted background. The study has revealed the importance of considering interactions between dynamics, microphysics and cloud chemistry. Deep convection in the first analyzed case generates rapid upward and downward transport of pollutants. It stimulates the impact of scavenging processes and microphysical conversions, pollutant redistribution and wet deposition. We find good agreement between calculated and observed rainfall, pH, sulfate concentration and wet deposition, in the second simulated case. Aerosol particles partially dissolved in precipitation changed their qualitative and quantitative features, acidity and increment of all chemical components. A lot of sensitivity tests of the terms included in the chemistry parameterization scheme indicate that assumption of Henry's law equilibrium leads to a factor 2 to 3 underestimate of a soluble gas in cloud water and 3 to 5 in rainwater, respectively. Our calculations demonstrate that assumption of Henry's law leads to a factor of about 1.0 to 1.3 overestimation of the integrated sulfur mass removed by wet deposition. Analysis of the relative contribution of some parameters implies that 20% - 24% of total sulfur mass deposited belongs to both nucleation and impact scavenging. Liquid phase oxidation contributed 22% and 28% of the total sulfur mass deposited for continental non-polluted and continental polluted background, respectively. Neglecting liquid-ice phase chemical reactions leads to underestimation of the total sulfur mass deposited by about a factor of 1.0 to 1.2 for continental non-polluted and continental polluted distributions, relative to the base run.


2008 ◽  
Vol 136 (10) ◽  
pp. 3714-3741 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. K. Deb ◽  
C. M. Kishtawal ◽  
P. K. Pal ◽  
P. C. Joshi

In this study the simulation of a severe rainfall episode over Mumbai on 26 July 2005 has been attempted with two different mesoscale models. The numerical models used in this study are the Brazilian Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (BRAMS) developed originally by Colorado State University and the Advanced Research Weather Research Forecast (WRF-ARW) Model, version 2.0.1, developed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The simulations carried out in this study use the Grell–Devenyi Ensemble cumulus parameterization scheme. Apart from using climatological sea surface temperature (SST) for the control simulations, the impact of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) SST on the simulation of rainfall is evaluated using these two models. The performances of the models are compared by examining the predicted parameters like upper- and lower-level circulations, moisture, temperature, and rainfall. The strength of convective instability is also derived by calculating the convective available potential energy. The intensity of maximum rainfall around Mumbai is significantly improved with TMI SST as the surface boundary condition in both the models. The large-scale circulation features, moisture, and temperature are compared with those in the National Centers for Environmental Prediction analyses. The rainfall prediction is assessed quantitatively by comparing the simulated rainfall with the rainfall from TRMM products and the observed station values reported in Indian Daily Weather Reports from the India Meteorological Department.


2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (8) ◽  
pp. 2520-2536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xun Zhu ◽  
Jeng-Hwa Yee ◽  
William H. Swartz ◽  
Elsayed R. Talaat ◽  
Lawrence Coy

Abstract There are three distinct processes by which upward-propagating gravity waves influence the large-scale dynamics and energetics of the middle atmosphere: (i) nonlocalized transport of momentum through wave propagation in three dimensions that remotely redistributes atmospheric momentum in both zonal and meridional directions from wave generation to wave dissipation regions; (ii) localized diffusive transport of momentum, heat, and tracers due to mixing induced by wave breaking; and (iii) localized transport of heat by perturbing wave structures due to dissipation that redistributes the thermal energy within a finite domain. These effects become most significant for breaking waves when momentum drag, eddy diffusion, and wave heating— the “breaking trinity”—are all imposed on the background state. This paper develops a 3D parameterization scheme that self-consistently includes the breaking trinity in large-scale numerical models. The 3D parameterization scheme is developed based on the general relationship between the wave action flux and the subgrid-scale momentum and heat fluxes developed by Zhu in 1987 and a mapping approximation between the wave source spectrum and momentum deposition distribution developed by Alexander and Dunkerton in 1999. For a set of given input wind and temperature profiles at each model grid, the parameterization scheme outputs the vertical profiles of the subgrid-scale force terms together with the eddy diffusion coefficients in the momentum and energy equations for a 3D background flow.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 2651-2704 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. K. Berg ◽  
M. Shrivastava ◽  
R. C. Easter ◽  
J. D. Fast ◽  
E. G. Chapman ◽  
...  

Abstract. A new treatment of cloud-aerosol interactions within parameterized shallow and deep convection has been implemented in WRF-Chem that can be used to better understand the aerosol lifecycle over regional to synoptic scales. The modifications to the model to represent cloud-aerosol interactions include treatment of the cloud droplet number mixing ratio; key cloud microphysical and macrophysical parameters (including the updraft fractional area, updraft and downdraft mass fluxes, and entrainment) averaged over the population of shallow clouds, or a single deep convective cloud; and vertical transport, activation/resuspension, aqueous chemistry, and wet removal of aerosol and trace gases in warm clouds. These changes have been implemented in both the WRF-Chem chemistry packages as well as the Kain–Fritsch cumulus parameterization that has been modified to better represent shallow convective clouds. Preliminary testing of the modified WRF-Chem has been completed using observations from the Cumulus Humilis Aerosol Processing Study (CHAPS) as well as a high-resolution simulation that does not include parameterized convection. The simulation results are used to investigate the impact of cloud-aerosol interactions on regional scale transport of black carbon (BC), organic aerosol (OA), and sulfate aerosol. Based on the simulations presented here, changes in the column integrated BC can be as large as −50% when cloud-aerosol interactions are considered (due largely to wet removal), or as large as +40% for sulfate in non-precipitating conditions due to the sulfate production in the parameterized clouds. The modifications to WRF-Chem version 3.2.1 are found to account for changes in the cloud drop number concentration (CDNC) and changes in the chemical composition of cloud-drop residuals in a way that is consistent with observations collected during CHAPS. Efforts are currently underway to port the changes described here to WRF-Chem version 3.5, and it is anticipated that they will be included in a future public release of WRF-Chem.


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