scholarly journals Comparison of the Vertical Distributions of Cloud Properties from Idealized Extratropical Deep Convection Simulations Using Various Horizontal Resolutions

2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (3) ◽  
pp. 833-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Huang ◽  
J.-W. Bao ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
Baode Chen
Keyword(s):  
Deep Convection ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Coarse Graining ◽  
Vertical Flux ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Moist Static Energy ◽  
Grid Spacing ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Static Energy

ABSTRACT The authors coarse-grained and analyzed the output from a large-eddy simulation (LES) of an idealized extratropical supercell storm using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model with various horizontal resolutions (200 m, 400 m, 1 km, and 3 km). The coarse-grained physical properties of the simulated convection were compared with explicit WRF simulations of the same storm at the same resolution of coarse-graining. The differences between the explicit simulations and the coarse-grained LES output increased as the horizontal grid spacing in the explicit simulation coarsened. The vertical transport of the moist static energy and total hydrometeor mixing ratio in the explicit simulations converged to the LES solution at the 200-m grid spacing. Based on the analysis of the coarse-grained subgrid vertical flux of the moist static energy, the authors confirmed that the nondimensional subgrid vertical flux of the moist static energy varied with the subgrid fractional cloudiness according to a function of fractional cloudiness, regardless of the box size. The subgrid mass flux could not account for most of the total subgrid vertical flux of the moist static energy because the eddy-transport component associated with the internal structural inhomogeneity of convective clouds was of a comparable magnitude. This study highlights the ongoing challenge in developing scale-aware parameterizations of subgrid convection.

scholarly journals Impacts of Shallow Convection on MJO Simulation: A Moist Static Energy and Moisture Budget Analysis

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 2417-2431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiongqiong Cai ◽  
Guang J. Zhang ◽  
Tianjun Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Longwave Radiation ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Moist Static Energy ◽  
Shallow Convection ◽  
Budget Analysis ◽  
Static Energy

Abstract The role of shallow convection in Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) simulation is examined in terms of the moist static energy (MSE) and moisture budgets. Two experiments are carried out using the NCAR Community Atmosphere Model, version 3.0 (CAM3.0): a “CTL” run and an “NSC” run that is the same as the CTL except with shallow convection disabled below 700 hPa between 20°S and 20°N. Although the major features in the mean state of outgoing longwave radiation, 850-hPa winds, and vertical structure of specific humidity are reasonably reproduced in both simulations, moisture and clouds are more confined to the planetary boundary layer in the NSC run. While the CTL run gives a better simulation of the MJO life cycle when compared with the reanalysis data, the NSC shows a substantially weaker MJO signal. Both the reanalysis data and simulations show a recharge–discharge mechanism in the MSE evolution that is dominated by the moisture anomalies. However, in the NSC the development of MSE and moisture anomalies is weaker and confined to a shallow layer at the developing phases, which may prevent further development of deep convection. By conducting the budget analysis on both the MSE and moisture, it is found that the major biases in the NSC run are largely attributed to the vertical and horizontal advection. Without shallow convection, the lack of gradual deepening of upward motion during the developing stage of MJO prevents the lower troposphere above the boundary layer from being preconditioned for deep convection.

A Moist Static Energy Budget Analysis of Quasi-2-Day Waves Using Satellite and Reanalysis Data

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 743-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukari Sumi ◽  
Hirohiko Masunaga
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Convective Heating ◽  
Moist Static Energy ◽  
Wave Dynamics ◽  
Vertical Advection ◽  
Budget Analysis ◽  
Static Energy ◽  
Thermodynamic Processes

Abstract A moist static energy (MSE) budget analysis is applied to quasi-2-day waves to examine the effects of thermodynamic processes on the wave propagation mechanism. The 2-day waves are defined as westward inertia–gravity (WIG) modes identified with filtered geostationary infrared measurements, and the thermodynamic parameters and MSE budget variables computed from reanalysis data are composited with respect to the WIG peaks. The composite horizontal and vertical MSE structures are overall as theoretically expected from WIG wave dynamics. A prominent horizontal MSE advection is found to exist, although the wave dynamics is mainly regulated by vertical advection. The vertical advection decreases MSE around the times of the convective peak, plausibly resulting from the first baroclinic mode associated with deep convection. Normalized gross moist stability (NGMS) is used to examine the thermodynamic processes involving the large-scale dynamics and convective heating. NGMS gradually decreases to zero before deep convection and reaches a maximum after the convection peak, where low (high) NGMS leads (lags) deep convection. The decrease in NGMS toward zero before the occurrence of active convection suggests an increasingly efficient conversion from convective heating to large-scale dynamics as the wave comes in, while the increase afterward signifies that this linkage swiftly dies out after the peak.

The Dispersion of Silver Iodide Particles from Ground-Based Generators over Complex Terrain. Part II: WRF Large-Eddy Simulations versus Observations

2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 1342-1361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lulin Xue ◽  
Xia Chu ◽  
Roy Rasmussen ◽  
Daniel Breed ◽  
Bruce Boe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Complex Terrain ◽  
Silver Iodide ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Static Stability ◽  
Particle Dispersion ◽  
Grid Spacing ◽  
Medicine Bow Mountains ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Orographic Clouds

AbstractA numerical modeling study has been conducted to explore the ability of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model-based large-eddy simulation (LES) with 100-m grid spacing to reproduce silver iodide (AgI) particle dispersion by comparing the model results with measurements made on 16 February 2011 over the Medicine Bow Mountains in Wyoming. Xue et al.'s recently developed AgI cloud-seeding parameterization was applied in this study to simulate AgI release from ground-based generators. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons between the LES results and observed AgI concentrations were conducted. Analyses of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) features within the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and comparisons between the 100-m LES and simulations with 500-m grid spacing were performed as well. The results showed the following: 1) Despite the moist bias close to the ground and above 4 km AGL, the LES with 100-m grid spacing captured the essential environmental conditions except for a slightly more stable PBL relative to the observed soundings. 2) Wind shear is the dominant TKE production mechanism in wintertime PBL over complex terrain and generates a PBL of about 1000-m depth. The terrain-induced turbulent eddies are primarily responsible for the vertical dispersion of AgI particles. 3) The LES-simulated AgI plumes were shallow and narrow, in agreement with observations. The LES overestimated AgI concentrations close to the ground, which is consistent with the higher static stability in the model than is observed. 4) Non-LES simulations using PBL schemes had difficulty in capturing the shear-dominant turbulent PBL structure over complex terrain in wintertime. Therefore, LES of wintertime orographic clouds with grid spacing close to 500 m or finer are recommended.

scholarly journals A Case Study of Radar Observations and WRF LES Simulations of the Impact of Ground-Based Glaciogenic Seeding on Orographic Clouds and Precipitation. Part II: AgI Dispersion and Seeding Signals Simulated by WRF

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 445-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lulin Xue ◽  
Xia Chu ◽  
Roy Rasmussen ◽  
Daniel Breed ◽  
Bart Geerts
Keyword(s):  
Nucleation Rate ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Grid Spacing ◽  
Medicine Bow Mountains ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Cloud Dynamics ◽  
Vertical Dispersion ◽  
Orographic Clouds ◽  
Glaciogenic Seeding ◽  
The Impact

AbstractSeveral Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model simulations of natural and seeded clouds have been conducted in non-LES and LES (large-eddy simulation) modes to investigate the seeding impact on wintertime orographic clouds for an actual seeding case on 18 February 2009 in the Medicine Bow Mountains of Wyoming. Part I of this two-part series has shown the capability of WRF LES with 100-m grid spacing to capture the essential environmental conditions by comparing the model results with measurements from a variety of instruments. In this paper, the silver iodide (AgI) dispersion features, the AgI impacts on the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), the microphysics, and the precipitation are examined in detail using the model data, which leads to five main results. 1) The vertical dispersion of AgI particles is more efficient in cloudy conditions than in clear conditions. 2) The wind shear and the buoyancy are both important TKE production mechanisms in the wintertime PBL over complex terrain in cloudy conditions. The buoyancy-induced eddies are more responsible for the AgI vertical dispersion than the shear-induced eddies are. 3) Seeding has insignificant effects on the cloud dynamics. 4) AgI particles released from the ground-based generators affect the cloud within the boundary layer below 1 km AGL through nucleating extra ice crystals, converting liquid water into ice, depleting more vapor, and generating more precipitation on the ground. The AgI nucleation rate is inversely related to the natural ice nucleation rate. 5) The seeding effects on the ground precipitation are confined within narrow areas. The relative seeding effect ranges between 5% and 20% for the simulations with different grid spacing.

High-Resolution Simulation of Shallow-to-Deep Convection Transition over Land

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 3421-3436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marat Khairoutdinov ◽  
David Randall
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Water Vapor ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Moist Static Energy ◽  
Cold Pools ◽  
Shallow Clouds ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Static Energy

Results are presented from a high-resolution three-dimensional simulation of shallow-to-deep convection transition based on idealization of observations made during the Large-Scale Biosphere–Atmosphere (LBA) experiment in Amazonia, Brazil, during the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)-LBA mission on 23 February. The doubly periodic grid has 1536 × 1536 × 256 grid cells with horizontal grid spacing of 100 m, thus covering an area of 154 × 154 km2. The vertical resolution varies from 50 m in the boundary layer to 100 m in the free troposphere and gradually coarsens to 250 m near the domain top at 25.4 km. The length of the simulation is 6 h, starting from an early morning sounding corresponding to 0730 local time. Convection is forced by prescribed surface latent and sensible heat fluxes and prescribed horizontally uniform radiative heating Despite a considerable amount of convective available potential energy (CAPE) in the range of 1600–2400 J kg−1, and despite virtually no convective inhibition (CIN) in the mean sounding throughout the simulation, the cumulus convection starts as shallow, gradually developing into congestus, and becomes deep only toward the end of simulation. Analysis shows that the reason is that the shallow clouds generated by the boundary layer turbulence are too small to penetrate deep into the troposphere, as they are quickly diluted by mixing with the environment. Precipitation and the associated cold pools are needed to generate thermals big enough to support the growth of deep clouds. This positive feedback involving precipitation is supported by a sensitivity experiment in which the cold pools are effectively eliminated by artificially switching off the evaporation of precipitation; in the experiment, the convection remains shallow throughout the entire simulation, with a few congestus but no deep clouds. The probability distribution function (PDF) of cloud size during the shallow, congestus, and deep phases is analyzed using a new method. During each of the three phases, the shallow clouds dominate the mode of the PDFs at about 1-km diameter. During the deep phase, the PDFs show cloud bases as wide as 4 km. Analysis of the joint PDFs of cloud size and in-cloud variables demonstrates that, as expected, the bigger clouds are far less diluted above their bases than their smaller counterparts. Also, thermodynamic properties at cloud bases are found to be nearly identical for all cloud sizes, with the moist static energy exceeding the mean value by as much as 4 kJ kg−1. The width of the moist static energy distribution in the boundary layer is mostly due to variability of water vapor; therefore, clouds appear to grow from the air with the highest water vapor content available. No undiluted cloudy parcels are found near the level of neutral buoyancy. It appears that a simple entraining-plume model explains the entrainment rates rather well. The least diluted plumes in the simulation correspond to an entrainment parameter of about 0.1 km−1.

Evaluation of scale-aware convection schemes at the kilometer-scale resolution

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu Zhang ◽  
Jian-Wen Bao ◽  
Baode Chen
Keyword(s):  
Deep Convection ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Great Effort ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Direct Evaluation ◽  
Deep Moist Convection ◽  
Convection Schemes

<p>Numerical weather predictions (NWP) models are increasingly run using kilometer-scale horizontal grid spacing at which convection is partially resolved and the use of a subgrid convection parameterization scheme is still required. Traditionally, subgrid deep convection has been represented by mass flux-based convection parameterizations based on the ensemble-mean closure concept. Recently, a great effort has been made to develop scale-aware subgrid convection schemes that can be used in kilometer-scale NWP models. However, direct evaluation of these schemes is rarely done using coarse-grained large-eddy simulation (LES).</p><p>In this study, an idealized LES of deep moist convection is performed to assess the performance of three widely-used scale-aware subgrid convection schemes in the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model that is run at 3-km horizontal resolution. It is found that the simulations using the three schemes not only differ from each other but also do not converge to the coarse-grained LES, indicating that further investigation is required as to what “scale-awareness” means in theory and practice.</p>

scholarly journals Investigating the Impacts of Saharan Dust on Tropical Deep Convection Using Spectral Bin Microphysics, Part 1: Ice Formation and Cloud Properties

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Gibbons ◽  
Qilong Min ◽  
Jiwen Fan
Keyword(s):  
Deep Convection ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Vertical Motion ◽  
Convective Cloud ◽  
Saharan Dust ◽  
Ice Formation ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Ice Particles ◽  
Heterogeneous Formation ◽  
Bin Microphysics

Abstract. To better understand the impacts of dust aerosols on deep convective cloud (DCC) systems revealed by previous observational studies, a case study in the tropical eastern Atlantic was investigated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with a Spectral Bin Microphysics (SBM) model as a two-part study. A detailed set of ice nucleation parameterizations linking ice formation with aerosol particles have been implemented in the SBM for this study. It is found that, dust, transported from the Sahara desert and acting as ice nuclei (IN), increases heterogeneous formation of ice particles at temperatures above −38 °C by approximately a factor of four per IN magnitude increase from 0.12 cm−3. Homogeneous ice formation is reduced below −38 °C by up to 79 %, due to greater conversion of liquid drops to ice at warmer temperatures. The ice particle size distribution (PSD) is shifted towards smaller sizes at heterogeneous temperatures and median sizes at colder temperatures due to increased vapor competition and crystal aggregation. Graupel sizes are reduced due to increased riming of more numerous, but smaller, ice particles. Liquid mass is reduced by up to 85 % at midlevels due to increased riming, drop freezing and Bergeron process evaporation. Despite the enhanced vertical motion in the dust cases (up to 30 %), average cloud top height was found to be lowered by up to 3.29 km in comparison with the background aerosol (Clean) case, which is consistent with observations. This is due to increased sedimentation rates resulting from earlier formation of precipitation sized particles.

A Mechanism of Tropical Convection Inferred from Observed Variability in the Moist Static Energy Budget

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (10) ◽  
pp. 3747-3766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hirohiko Masunaga ◽  
Tristan S. L’Ecuyer
Keyword(s):  
Energy Budget ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Vertical Motion ◽  
Tropical Convection ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Baroclinic Mode ◽  
Moist Static Energy ◽  
Static Energy

Abstract Temporal variability in the moist static energy (MSE) budget is studied with measurements from a combination of different satellites including the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and A-Train platforms. A composite time series before and after the development of moist convection is obtained from the observations to delineate the evolution of MSE and moisture convergences and, in their combination, gross moist stability (GMS). A new algorithm is then applied to estimate large-scale vertical motion from energy budget constraints through vertical-mode decomposition into first and second baroclinic modes and a background shallow mode. The findings are indicative of a possible mechanism of tropical convection. A gradual destabilization is brought about by the MSE convergence intrinsic to the positive second baroclinic mode (congestus mode) that increasingly counteracts a weak MSE divergence in the background state. GMS is driven to nearly zero as the first baroclinic mode begins to intensify, accelerating the growth of vigorous large-scale updrafts and deep convection. As the convective burst peaks, the positive second mode switches to the negative mode (stratiform mode) and introduces an abrupt rise in MSE divergence that likely discourages further maintenance of deep convection. The first mode quickly dissipates and GMS increases away from zero, eventually returning to the background shallow-mode state. A notable caveat to this scenario is that GMS serves as a more reliable metric when defined with a radiative heating rate included to offset MSE convergence.

Easterly waves in the East Pacific during the OTREC 2019 field campaign

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidia Huaman ◽  
Eric D. Maloney ◽  
Courtney Schumacher ◽  
George N. Kiladis
Keyword(s):  
Deep Convection ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Moist Static Energy ◽  
Shallow Convection ◽  
Field Campaign ◽  
Easterly Waves ◽  
East Pacific ◽  
Static Energy

AbstractEasterly waves (EWs) are off-equatorial tropical synoptic disturbances with a westward phase speed between 11-14 m s−1. Over the East Pacific in boreal summer, the combination of EWs and other synoptic disturbances, plus local mechanisms associated with sea surface temperature (SST) gradients, define the climatological structure of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The East Pacific ITCZ has both deep and shallow convection that is linked to deep and shallow meridional circulations, respectively. The deep convection is located around 9°N over warm SSTs. The shallow convection is located around 6°N and is driven by the meridional SST gradient south of the ITCZ. This study aims to document the interaction between East Pacific EWs and the deep and shallow meridional circulations during the Organization of Tropical East Pacific Convection (OTREC) field campaign in 2019 using field campaign observations, ERA5 reanalysis, and satellite precipitation. We identified three EWs during the OTREC period using precipitation and dynamical fields. Composite analysis shows that the convectively active part of the EW enhances ITCZ deep convection and is associated with an export of column-integrated moist static energy (MSE) by vertical advection. The subsequent convectively suppressed, anticyclonic part of the EW produces an increase of moisture and column-integrated MSE by horizontal advection that likely enhances shallow convection and the shallow overturning flow at 850 hPa over the southern part of the ITCZ. Therefore, EWs appear to strongly modulate shallow and deep circulations in the East Pacific ITCZ.

scholarly journals Regional simulation of Indian summer monsoon intraseasonal oscillations at gray-zone resolution

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 1003-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingchao Chen ◽  
Olivier M. Pauluis ◽  
Fuqing Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Summer Monsoon ◽  
Indian Summer Monsoon ◽  
Monsoon Rainfall ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Central India ◽  
Precipitable Water ◽  
Gray Zone ◽  
Grid Spacing ◽  
Intraseasonal Oscillations

Abstract. Simulations of the Indian summer monsoon by the cloud-permitting Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model at gray-zone resolution are described in this study, with a particular emphasis on the model ability to capture the monsoon intraseasonal oscillations  (MISOs). Five boreal summers are simulated from 2007 to 2011 using the ERA-Interim reanalysis as the lateral boundary forcing data. Our experimental setup relies on a horizontal grid spacing of 9 km to explicitly simulate deep convection without the use of cumulus parameterizations. When compared to simulations with coarser grid spacing (27 km) and using a cumulus scheme, the 9 km simulations reduce the biases in mean precipitation and produce more realistic low-frequency variability associated with MISOs. Results show that the model at the 9 km gray-zone resolution captures the salient features of the summer monsoon. The spatial distributions and temporal evolutions of monsoon rainfall in the WRF simulations verify qualitatively well against observations from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM), with regional maxima located over Western Ghats, central India, Himalaya foothills, and the west coast of Myanmar. The onset, breaks, and withdrawal of the summer monsoon in each year are also realistically captured by the model. The MISO-phase composites of monsoon rainfall, low-level wind, and precipitable water anomalies in the simulations also agree qualitatively with the observations. Both the simulations and observations show a northeastward propagation of the MISOs, with the intensification and weakening of the Somali Jet over the Arabian Sea during the active and break phases of the Indian summer monsoon.

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