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Title: Reconciling differences between large-eddy simulations and Doppler-lidar observations of continental shallow cumulus cloud-base vertical velocity

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [6]
  1. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Environmental and Climate Sciences Dept.
  2. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Environmental and Climate Sciences Dept.; Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States). School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
  3. City College of New York, NY (United States). Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
  4. Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States). School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
  5. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Atmospheric Science and Global Change Div. (ASGC)
  6. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

We investigate a significant model-observation difference found between cloud-base vertical velocity for continental shallow cumulus simulated using large-eddy simulations (LES) and observed by Doppler lidar measurements over the U.S. Southern Great Plains ARM Facility. The LES cloud-base vertical velocity is dominated by updrafts that are consistent with a general picture for convective clouds but is inconsistent with Doppler lidar observations that also show the presence of considerable downdrafts. The underestimation of simulated downdrafts is found to be a robust feature, being insensitive to various numerical, physical, or dynamical choices. We find that simulations can more closely reproduce observations only after improving the model physics to use size-resolved microphysics and horizontal longwave radiation, both of which modify the cloud buoyancy and velocity structure near cloud side edges. The results suggest that treatments that capture these structures are needed for the proper simulation and subsequent parameterization development of shallow cumulus vertical transport.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704; AC05-76RL01830; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1569540
Report Number(s):
BNL--212162-2019-JAAM; PNNL-SA--142534
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 20 Vol. 46; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Cloud base
Cumulus
Doppler lidar
Large‐eddy simulation
Shallow convection
Vertical velocity