GoAmazon2014/5 campaign points to deep-inflow approach to deep convection across scales

Journal Article · 16 April 2018 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1719842115 · OSTI ID:1433405

Schiro, Kathleen A. ^[1]; Ahmed, Fiaz ^[2]; Giangrande, Scott E. ^[3]; Neelin, J. David  ^[2]

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1. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095,, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109,
2. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095,
3. Environmental and Climate Sciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11967

Significance Representations of strongly precipitating deep-convective systems in climate models are among the most important factors in their simulation. Parameterizations of these motions face the dual challenge of unclear pathways to including mesoscale organization and high sensitivity of convection to approximations of turbulent entrainment of environmental air. Ill-constrained entrainment processes can even affect global average climate sensitivity under global warming. Multiinstrument observations from the Department of Energy GoAmazon2014/5 field campaign suggest that an alternative formulation from radar-derived dominant updraft structure yields a strong relationship of precipitation to buoyancy in both mesoscale and smaller-scale convective systems. This simultaneously provides a key step toward representing the influence of mesoscale convection in climate models and sidesteps a problematic dependence on traditional entrainment rates.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0011074; SC0012704
• OSTI ID: 1433405
• Report Number(s): BNL--205762-2018-JAAM
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 18 Vol. 115; ISSN 0027-8424
• Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English