skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Toward low‐cloud‐permitting cloud superparameterization with explicit boundary layer turbulence

Journal Article · · Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2017MS000968· OSTI ID:1619830
 [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3]
  1. Department of Earth System Science University of California Irvine California USA
  2. Department of Atmospheric Sciences University of Washington Seattle Washington USA
  3. School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Stony Brook University Stony Brook New York USA
+ Show Author Affiliations

Abstract Systematic biases in the representation of boundary layer (BL) clouds are a leading source of uncertainty in climate projections. A variation on superparameterization (SP) called “ultraparameterization” (UP) is developed, in which the grid spacing of the cloud‐resolving models (CRMs) is fine enough (250 × 20 m) to explicitly capture the BL turbulence, associated clouds, and entrainment in a global climate model capable of multiyear simulations. UP is implemented within the Community Atmosphere Model using 2° resolution (∼14,000 embedded CRMs) with one‐moment microphysics. By using a small domain and mean‐state acceleration, UP is computationally feasible today and promising for exascale computers. Short‐duration global UP hindcasts are compared with SP and satellite observations of top‐of‐atmosphere radiation and cloud vertical structure. The most encouraging improvement is a deeper BL and more realistic vertical structure of subtropical stratocumulus (Sc) clouds, due to stronger vertical eddy motions that promote entrainment. Results from 90 day integrations show climatological errors that are competitive with SP, with a significant improvement in the diurnal cycle of offshore Sc liquid water. Ongoing concerns with the current UP implementation include a dim bias for near‐coastal Sc that also occurs less prominently in SP and a bright bias over tropical continental deep convection zones. Nevertheless, UP makes global eddy‐permitting simulation a feasible and interesting alternative to conventionally parameterized GCMs or SP‐GCMs with turbulence parameterizations for studying BL cloud‐climate and cloud‐aerosol feedback.

Research Organization:
Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States); Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012548; SC0012451; SC0012488; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1619830
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1425466
Journal Information:
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Journal Name: Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems Vol. 9 Journal Issue: 3; ISSN 1942-2466
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 33 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (65)

Relationships among cloud occurrence frequency, overlap, and effective thickness derived from CALIPSO and CloudSat merged cloud vertical profiles journal January 2010
The multi-scale aerosol-climate model PNNL-MMF: model description and evaluation journal January 2011
Marine boundary layer clouds at the heart of tropical cloud feedback uncertainties in climate models journal January 2005
Southeast Pacific stratocumulus clouds, precipitation and boundary layer structure sampled along 20° S during VOCALS-REx journal January 2010
Simulation of Boundary-Layer Cumulus and Stratocumulus Clouds Using a Cloud-Resolving Model with Low-and Third-order Turbulence Closures journal January 2008
Structure of the Madden–Julian Oscillation in the Superparameterized CAM journal November 2009
Observed and modeled patterns of covariability between low-level cloudiness and the structure of the trade-wind layer: PATTERNS OF COVARIABILITY journal November 2015
Mean-state acceleration of cloud-resolving models and large eddy simulations: CRM AND LES MEAN-STATE ACCELERATION journal October 2015
Large-eddy simulation of the transient and near-equilibrium behavior of precipitating shallow convection: LES OF PRECIPITATING SHALLOW CONVECTION journal December 2015
Coupled vs. decoupled boundary layers in VOCALS-REx journal January 2011
A Cloud-Resolving Model with an Adaptive Vertical Grid for Boundary Layer Clouds journal May 2011
Clouds at Barbados are representative of clouds across the trade wind regions in observations and climate models journal May 2016
Organization of Tropical Convection in Low Vertical Wind Shears: The Role of Cold Pools journal July 2001
Restricting 32-128 km horizontal scales hardly affects the MJO in the Superparameterized Community Atmosphere Model v.3.0 but the number of cloud-resolving grid columns constrains vertical mixing journal August 2014
Improved Low-Cloud Simulation from the Community Atmosphere Model with an Advanced Third-Order Turbulence Closure journal July 2015
A Comparison of Semi-Lagrangian and Eulerian Tropical Climate Simulations journal April 1998
Moisture Transport, Lower-Tropospheric Stability, and Decoupling of Cloud-Topped Boundary Layers journal January 1997
Ship-Based Observations of the Diurnal Cycle of Southeast Pacific Marine Stratocumulus Clouds and Precipitation journal December 2013
Processes Responsible for Cloud Feedback journal October 2016
Evaluating Low-Cloud Simulation from an Upgraded Multiscale Modeling Framework Model. Part I: Sensitivity to Spatial Resolution and Climatology journal August 2013
Orogenic Propagating Precipitation Systems over the United States in a Global Climate Model with Embedded Explicit Convection journal August 2011
A Large Eddy Simulation Intercomparison Study of Shallow Cumulus Convection journal May 2003
A comparison of simulated cloud radar output from the multiscale modeling framework global climate model with CloudSat cloud radar observations journal January 2009
Towards Global Large Eddy Simulation: Super-Parameterization Revisited journal January 2016
Simulations of the Atmospheric General Circulation Using a Cloud-Resolving Model as a Superparameterization of Physical Processes journal July 2005
The distribution and variability of low-level cloud in the North Atlantic trades: Distribution and Variability of Low-level Cloud in the Trades journal February 2014
Empirical orthogonal function analysis of the diurnal cycle of precipitation in a multi-scale climate model journal January 2009
Improvements of top-of-atmosphere and surface irradiance computations with CALIPSO-, CloudSat-, and MODIS-derived cloud and aerosol properties journal January 2011
Historical (1850–2000) gridded anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions of reactive gases and aerosols: methodology and application journal January 2010
On entrainment rates in nocturnal marine stratocumulus journal October 2003
Evaluating Low-Cloud Simulation from an Upgraded Multiscale Modeling Framework Model. Part II: Seasonal Variations over the Eastern Pacific journal August 2013
Cloud-Top Entrainment in Stratocumulus Clouds journal January 2017
Modeling Mesoscale Cellular Structures and Drizzle in Marine Stratocumulus. Part II: The Microphysics and Dynamics of the Boundary Region between Open and Closed Cells journal November 2009
A multiscale modeling framework model (superparameterized CAM5) with a higher‐order turbulence closure: Model description and low‐cloud simulations journal April 2015
An intercomparison of radiatively driven entrainment and turbulence in a smoke cloud, as simulated by different numerical models journal January 1999
The dynamics of stratocumulus: Aircraft observations and comparisons with a mixed layer model journal October 1984
A simplified PDF parameterization of subgrid-scale clouds and turbulence for cloud-resolving models: TURBULENCE SCHEME FOR CLOUD-RESOLVING MODELS journal April 2013
Cloud Resolving Modeling of the ARM Summer 1997 IOP: Model Formulation, Results, Uncertainties, and Sensitivities journal February 2003
Exposing Global Cloud Biases in the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) Using Satellite Observations and Their Corresponding Instrument Simulators journal August 2012
An analysis of cloud cover in multiscale modeling framework global climate model simulations using 4 and 1 km horizontal grids journal January 2010
Mean Structure and Diurnal Cycle of Southeast Atlantic Boundary Layer Clouds: Insights from Satellite Observations and Multiscale Modeling Framework Simulations journal January 2015
Evaluating Low-Cloud Simulation from an Upgraded Multiscale Modeling Framework Model. Part III: Tropical and Subtropical Cloud Transitions over the Northern Pacific journal August 2013
Higher-Order Turbulence Closure and Its Impact on Climate Simulations in the Community Atmosphere Model journal December 2013
On the diurnal cycle of deep convection, high-level cloud, and upper troposphere water vapor in the Multiscale Modeling Framework journal January 2008
Large-eddy simulation of mesoscale dynamics and entrainment around a pocket of open cells observed in VOCALS-REx RF06 journal January 2011
Stratocumulus Clouds journal August 2012
Evaluation of the Simulated Interannual and Subseasonal Variability in an AMIP-Style Simulation Using the CSU Multiscale Modeling Framework journal February 2008
Evaluation of Large-Eddy Simulations via Observations of Nocturnal Marine Stratocumulus journal June 2005
Assessing the diurnal cycle of precipitation in a multi-scale climate model journal October 2009
Physical Processes within the Nocturnal Stratus-topped Boundary Layer journal December 1992
A cloud resolving model as a cloud parameterization in the NCAR Community Climate System Model: Preliminary results journal September 2001
Improved low-cloud simulation from a multiscale modeling framework with a third-order turbulence closure in its cloud-resolving model component journal January 2011
Coupling Cloud Processes with the Large-Scale Dynamics Using the Cloud-Resolving Convection Parameterization (CRCP) journal May 2001
Robust effects of cloud superparameterization on simulated daily rainfall intensity statistics across multiple versions of the C ommunity E arth S ystem M odel journal February 2016
The “Year” of Tropical Convection (May 2008–April 2010): Climate Variability and Weather Highlights journal August 2012
Convective Precipitation Variability as a Tool for General Circulation Model Analysis journal January 2007
Enhancement of cloud cover and suppression of nocturnal drizzle in stratocumulus polluted by haze: STRATOCUMULUS CLOUD COVER AND NOCTURNAL DRIZZLE journal April 2003
The GASS/EUCLIPSE model intercomparison of the stratocumulus transition as observed during ASTEX: LES results: Astex SCU Transition-LES Results journal July 2013
Cloud Modeling Tests of the ULTIMATE–MACHO Scalar Advection Scheme journal October 2011
The University of Washington Shallow Convection and Moist Turbulence Schemes and Their Impact on Climate Simulations with the Community Atmosphere Model journal June 2009
The Explicit-Cloud Parameterized-Pollutant hybrid approach for aerosol–cloud interactions in multiscale modeling framework models: tracer transport results journal April 2008
Assessment of Global Cloud Datasets from Satellites: Project and Database Initiated by the GEWEX Radiation Panel journal July 2013
Observations of Stratocumulus Clouds and Their Effect on the Eastern Pacific Surface Heat Budget along 20°S journal December 2012
Diurnal variability of low clouds in the Southeast Pacific simulated by a multiscale modeling framework model: DIURNAL VARIABILITY OF LOW CLOUDS IN MMF journal August 2013
Effects of resolution on the simulation of boundary-layer clouds and the partition of kinetic energy to subgrid scales journal January 2010

Similar Records

Expanding the computational frontier of multi-scale atmospheric simulation to advance understanding of low cloud / climate feedbacks: Final Technical Report
Technical Report · Tue Feb 05 00:00:00 EST 2019 · OSTI ID:1619830
Mean-state acceleration of cloud-resolving models and large eddy simulations: CRM AND LES MEAN-STATE ACCELERATION
Journal Article · Thu Oct 29 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems · OSTI ID:1619830
Sensitivity of summer ensembles of fledgling superparameterized U.S. mesoscale convective systems to cloud resolving model microphysics and grid configuration
Journal Article · Sun May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems · OSTI ID:1619830
+3 more

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ultraparameterization
superparameterization
cloud-resolving model
shallow clouds
marine boundary layer
general circulation model