CRM intercomparison based on the TWP-ICE field campaign: part I (simulations versus observations) and part II (vertical transport)

 

Authors

Minghua Zhang — Stony Brook University
Wojciech Grabowski — National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
Shaocheng Xie — Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Hugh Clifton Morrison — University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Xiaoqing Wu — Iowa State University
Guosheng Liu — Florida State University
Jon Petch — UK Meteorological Office
Ann M. Fridlind — NASA - Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Andrew Ackerman — NASA - Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Courtney Schumacher — Texas A&M University
Adrian Hill — UK Meteorological Office
Jiwen Fan — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Adam Varble — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Sunwook Park — Iowa State University
Jean-Pierre Chaboureau — University of Toulouse, France/CNRS
Jean-Pierre Pinty — University of Toulouse, France/CNRS

Category

Modeling

Description

Results of an intercomparison study for cloud-resolving models (CRMs) based on the TWP-ICE field campaign are summarized in two parts. Six modeling groups submitted simulations with up to three microphysics schemes, based on either 2D or 3D dynamics, and with an optional sensitivity test to investigate the impact of error accumulation over the 16-day simulation duration. In Part I, simulations are compared with domain-wide observations to establish the degree to which diagnostics agree with measurements within experimental uncertainty. In Part II, simulated vertical mass transport and anvil evolution is investigated, including comparison with more limited point and profile measurements. Results indicate that although all models reproduce observed total surface precipitation rate and timing quite accurately, the cloud structures that deliver precipitation differ systematically from observed structures in a manner that can be traced back in part to the treatment of boundary conditions and large-scale forcing. Results also differ across models in a manner that can be traced to treatments of both microphysics and dynamics, as well as radiation. Differences in predicted cloud properties lead to significant spread in predicted radiative fluxes and vertical transport of mass and moisture to the upper troposphere.