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Title: The Interaction Between Boundary Layer and Convection Schemes in a WRF Simulation of Post Cold Frontal Clouds Over the ARM East North Atlantic Site

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029370· OSTI ID:1600084
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [4]
  1. City College and the Graduate Center City University of New York New York NY USA, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge MA USA
  2. City College and the Graduate Center City University of New York New York NY USA
  3. NASA‐GISS Columbia University New York NY USA
  4. Environmental and Climate Sciences Department Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton NY USA
+ Show Author Affiliations

The correct representation of low-level midlatitude clouds found in the wake of cold fronts strongly relies on the representation of planetary boundary layer (PBL) and convection processes, which are typically parameterized separately in numerical models. Using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF), this study investigates how distinct pairs of PBL and convection parameterization schemes represent cloud fraction in the post-cold-frontal region. The simulations focus on the region of the DOE-ARM Eastern North Atlantic observation site in the Azores Islands in the wake of a cold front that passed on December 25, 2015. Different PBL and convection schemes are combined to create 12 distinct configurations. The main differences between the selected physical parameterizations are the strength of vertical mixing and the entrainment. The simulations produce a wide range of cloud fractions, where some configurations significantly underestimate while others clearly overestimate satellite and surface-based estimates of cloud fraction. A skill score is used to quantitatively assess the performance of each configuration with respect to ground-based radar data. The key processes that are found to significantly impact the cloud fraction distribution are the strength of the PBL decoupling, the vertical wind shear, entrainment and detrainment rates in shallow convection and the occurrence of drizzle. This indicates that to successfully simulate post-cold-frontal clouds, modeled physics must balance strong internal vertical mixing and weak exchange with the free troposphere. For this case study, cloud fraction was more sensitive to the choice of convection scheme than PBL scheme.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
DE‐SC0012704; DE‐SC0016344; SC0012704; SC0016344
OSTI ID:
1600084
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1503224; OSTI ID: 1508887; OSTI ID: 1594072
Report Number(s):
BNL-211454-2019-JAAM
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Vol. 124 Journal Issue: 8; ISSN 2169-897X
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 11 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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