Highlights will be written for high-level accomplishments and published journal articles of ASR research. Each ASR principal investigator (PI) is expected to submit at least one highlight per fiscal year.
Research Highlights
Recent Highlights
Continental shallow cumulus cloud detection using GOES-16 satellite and ground-based stereo cameras
29 June 2022
Zhang, Yunyan
Supported by:
Research area: Cloud Processes
To advance our understanding of the formation of continental shallow cumulus clouds (ShCu) and their coupling with the underlying surface, continuous ShCu observations are greatly needed, especially those that can resolve the daytime variation in cloud life cycles and cloud sizes over vast areas with heterogenous land types. However, such [...]
How do land cover and its heterogeneity length scales affect formation of shallow cumulus?
29 June 2022
Zhang, Yunyan
Supported by:
Research area: Cloud Processes
Continental shallow cumulus (ShCu) clouds are tightly coupled with the underlying heterogenous land surface. In most climate models, systematic biases in the surface energy balance and precipitation are often attributed to the parameterized processes associated with ShCu, e.g., the interactions among land surface, atmospheric boundary layer, and clouds. Observational studies [...]
What determines the number and the timing of pulses in afternoon precipitation over the Amazon?
28 June 2022
Zhang, Yunyan
Supported by:
Research area: Cloud Processes
Diurnal cycle, one of the dominant modes of tropical convective variability, is closely tied to the global energy budget and water cycle. Using data from the GoAmazon field campaign, we focus on double pulses of the afternoon precipitation produced by surface-forced local convection. This work reveals that 1) free troposphere [...]
Better calibration leads to a significant improvement in model fidelity
17 June 2022
Ma, Po-Lun
Supported by:
Research area: Cloud Processes
Realistically simulating the Earth’s base state climate, today’s standard climate, remains a major challenge. Model errors and biases can lead to unrealistic climate projections as well as incorrect attributions of the physical processes that govern past and future climate changes. New research shows that significantly improved global atmospheric simulation can [...]
A better understanding of how storms form and grow over complex terrain
9 June 2022
Fast, Jerome D
Supported by:
Research area: Cloud Processes
Around the world, major mountain ranges significantly influence the birth and growth of large, intense thunderstorms. These storms generate substantial rainfall and severe weather. Prior efforts to link storm development and the nearby atmospheric environment used only a handful of events or simulations. A new study used radar observations collected [...]