Intercomparison of methods of coupling between convection and large‐scale circulation: 2. Comparison over nonuniform surface conditions

As part of an international intercomparison project, the weak temperature gradient (WTG) and damped gravity wave (DGW) methods are used to parameterize large‐scale dynamics in a set of cloud‐resolving models (CRMs) and single column models (SCMs). The WTG or DGW method is implemented using a configuration that couples a model to a reference state defined with profiles obtained from the same model in radiative‐convective equilibrium. We investigated the sensitivity of each model to changes in SST, given a fixed reference state. We performed a systematic comparison of the WTG and DGW methods in different models, and a systematic comparison of the behavior of those models using the WTG method and the DGW method. The sensitivity to the SST depends on both the large‐scale parameterization method and the choice of the cloud model. In general, SCMs display a wider range of behaviors than CRMs. All CRMs using either the WTG or DGW method show an increase of precipitation with SST, while SCMs show sensitivities which are not always monotonic. CRMs using either the WTG or DGW method show a similar relationship between mean precipitation rate and column‐relative humidity, while SCMs exhibit a much wider range of behaviors. DGW simulations produce large‐scale velocity profiles which are smoother and less top‐heavy compared to those produced by the WTG simulations. These large‐scale parameterization methods provide a useful tool to identify the impact of parameterization differences on model behavior in the presence of two‐way feedback between convection and the large‐scale circulation.

[1]  M. J. Herman,et al.  Intercomparison of methods of coupling between convection and large‐scale circulation: 1. Comparison over uniform surface conditions , 2015, Journal of advances in modeling earth systems.

[2]  M. J. Herman,et al.  Convective response to changes in the thermodynamic environment in idealized weak temperature gradient simulations , 2015 .

[3]  D. Romps,et al.  Self‐consistency tests of large‐scale dynamics parameterizations for single‐column modeling , 2015 .

[4]  R. Plant,et al.  Transition from Suppressed to Active Convection Modulated by a Weak Temperature Gradient–Derived Large-Scale Circulation , 2015 .

[5]  S. Woolnough.  Intercomparison of methods of coupling between convection and large-scale circulation , 2014 .

[6]  M. J. Herman,et al.  WTG cloud modeling with spectral decomposition of heating , 2014 .

[7]  William M. Putman,et al.  Configuration and assessment of the GISS ModelE2 contributions to the CMIP5 archive , 2014 .

[8]  A. Sobel,et al.  Cloud‐resolving simulation of TOGA‐COARE using parameterized large‐scale dynamics , 2013 .

[9]  H. Douville,et al.  The CNRM-CM5.1 global climate model: description and basic evaluation , 2013, Climate Dynamics.

[10]  S. Bony,et al.  Climate change projections using the IPSL-CM5 Earth System Model: from CMIP3 to CMIP5 , 2013, Climate Dynamics.

[11]  R. Plant,et al.  Cloud-Resolving Model Simulations with One- and Two-Way Couplings via the Weak Temperature Gradient Approximation , 2012 .

[12]  Steven J. Woolnough,et al.  Precipitation distributions for explicit versus parametrized convection in a large‐domain high‐resolution tropical case study , 2012 .

[13]  D. Romps.  Numerical Tests of the Weak Pressure Gradient Approximation , 2012 .

[14]  D. Romps.  Weak Pressure Gradient Approximation and Its Analytical Solutions , 2012 .

[15]  A. Sobel,et al.  Impact of imposed drying on deep convection in a cloud‐resolving model , 2012 .

[16]  H. Masunaga.  A Satellite Study of the Atmospheric Forcing and Response to Moist Convection over Tropical and Subtropical Oceans , 2012 .

[17]  A. Sobel,et al.  Response of convection to relative sea surface temperature: Cloud‐resolving simulations in two and three dimensions , 2011 .

[18]  A. Sterl,et al.  EC-Earth A Seamless earth-System Prediction Approach in Action , 2010 .

[19]  Satomi Sugaya,et al.  Multiple equilibria in a cloud-resolving model using the weak temperature gradient approximation , 2010 .

[20]  J. David Neelin,et al.  Temporal Relations of Column Water Vapor and Tropical Precipitation , 2010 .

[21]  J. David Neelin,et al.  Moisture Vertical Structure, Column Water Vapor, and Tropical Deep Convection , 2009 .

[22]  A. Sobel,et al.  The Mechanics of Gross Moist Stability , 2009 .

[23]  Z. Kuang.  Modeling the Interaction between Cumulus Convection and Linear Gravity Waves Using a Limited-Domain Cloud System–Resolving Model , 2008 .

[24]  A. Sobel,et al.  Multiple equilibria in a single‐column model of the tropical atmosphere , 2007, 0707.2750.

[25]  Hiroaki Miura,et al.  A climate sensitivity test using a global cloud resolving model under an aqua planet condition , 2005 .

[26]  A. Staniforth,et al.  A new dynamical core for the Met Office's global and regional modelling of the atmosphere , 2005 .

[27]  D. Raymond,et al.  Modelling tropical atmospheric convection in the context of the weak temperature gradient approximation , 2005 .

[28]  Pedro M. M. Soares,et al.  Sensitivity of moist convection to environmental humidity , 2004 .

[29]  Matthew E. Peters,et al.  Relationships between Water Vapor Path and Precipitation over the Tropical Oceans , 2004 .

[30]  Sandra E. Yuter,et al.  Large-Scale Meteorology and Deep Convection during TRMM KWAJEX* , 2004 .

[31]  A. Brown,et al.  The impact of horizontal resolution on the simulations of convective development over land , 2002 .

[32]  Jon Petch,et al.  Sensitivity studies using a cloud‐resolving model simulation of the tropical west Pacific , 2001 .

[33]  Adrian M. Tompkins,et al.  Organization of Tropical Convection in Low Vertical Wind Shears: The Role of Water Vapor , 2001 .

[34]  Christopher S. Bretherton,et al.  Modeling Tropical Precipitation in a Single Column , 2000 .

[35]  Adrian M. Tompkins,et al.  The Impact of Dimensionality on Long-Term Cloud-Resolving Model Simulations , 2000 .

[36]  Véronique Ducrocq,et al.  The Meso-NH Atmospheric Simulation System. Part I: adiabatic formulation and control simulations , 1997 .

[37]  G. Shutts,et al.  A numerical modelling study of the geostrophic adjustment process following deep convection , 1994 .

[38]  Z. Kuang.  The Wavelength Dependence of the Gross Moist Stability and the Scale Selection in the Instability of Column-Integrated Moist Static Energy , 2011 .

[39]  A. Sobel,et al.  Effects of Relative and Absolute Sea Surface Temperature on Tropical Cyclone Potential Intensity Using a Single-Column Model , 2011 .

[40]  G. Powers,et al.  A Description of the Advanced Research WRF Version 3 , 2008 .

[41]  Kuan-Man Xu,et al.  Simulation of shallow cumuli and their transition to deep convective clouds by cloud‐resolving models with different third‐order turbulence closures , 2006 .

[42]  Minghua Zhang,et al.  An intercomparison of cloud‐resolving models with the atmospheric radiation measurement summer 1997 intensive observation period data , 2002 .

[43]  B. Mapes.  Equilibrium Vs. Activation Control of Large-Scale Variations of Tropical Deep Convection , 1997 .