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Evaluating Mesoscale Convective Systems Over the US in Conventional and Multiscale Modeling Framework Configurations of E3SMv1

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023jd038740· OSTI ID:2282400
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. University of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
  2. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  3. Stony Brook University, NY (United States)
  4. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States); Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
  5. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, CO (United States); Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Organized mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) contribute a significant amount of precipitation in the Central and Eastern US during spring and summer, which impacts the availability of freshwater and flooding events. However, current global Earth system models cannot capture MCSs well and misrepresent the statistics of precipitation in the region. In this study, we investigate the representation of MCSs in three configurations of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SMv1) by tracking individual storms based on outgoing longwave radiation using a new application of TempestExtremes. Our results indicate that conventional parameterizations of convection, implemented in both low (LR; ~150 km) and high (HR; ~25 km) resolution configurations, fail to capture almost all MCS-like events, in-part because they underestimate high-level cloud ice associated with deep convection. On the other hand, the multiscale modeling framework (MMF; cloud-resolving models embedded in each grid-column of ~150 km resolution E3SMv1) configuration represents MCSs and their annual cycle better. Nevertheless, relative to observations, the E3SMv1-MMF spatial distribution of MCSs and associated precipitation is shifted eastward, and the diurnal timing is lagged. A comparison between the large-scale environment in E3SMv1-MMF and ERA5 reanalysis suggests that the biases during the summer in E3SMv1-MMF are associated with biases in low-level humidity and meridional moisture transport within the low-level jet. The fact that conventional parameterizations of convection, even with high-resolution, cannot capture MCSs over the US suggests that methods with explicit representation of kilometer-scale convective organization, such as the MMF, may be necessary for improving the simulation of these convective systems.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; AC52-07NA27344; SC0019459; SC0021209; SC0022070
OSTI ID:
2282400
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2352759
Report Number(s):
LLNL--JRNL-859313; 1089428
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres Journal Issue: 23 Vol. 128; ISSN 2169-897X
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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