Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Three-Dimensional Cloud-System Modeling of GATE Convection

Leo J. Donner Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, NOAA, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

Search for other papers by Leo J. Donner in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
Charles J. Seman Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, NOAA, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

Search for other papers by Charles J. Seman in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
, and
Richard S. Hemler Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, NOAA, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

Search for other papers by Richard S. Hemler in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Print Publication:
01 Jun 1999
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1999)056<1885:TDCSMO>2.0.CO;2
Page(s):
1885–1912
Restricted access

We are aware of a technical issue preventing figures and tables from showing in some newly published articles in the full-text HTML view.
While we are resolving the problem, please use the online PDF version of these articles to view figures and tables.

Abstract

Deep convection and its associated mesoscale circulations are modeled using a three-dimensional elastic model with bulk microphysics and interactive radiation for a composite easterly wave from the Global Atmospheric Research Program Atlantic Tropical Experiment. The energy and moisture budgets, large-scale heat sources and moisture sinks, microphysics, and radiation are examined.

The modeled cloud system undergoes a life cycle dominated by deep convection in its early stages, followed by an upper-tropospheric mesoscale circulation. The large-scale heat sources and moisture sinks associated with the convective system agree broadly with diagnoses from field observations. The modeled upper-tropospheric moisture exceeds observed values. Strong radiative cooling at the top of the mesoscale circulation can produce overturning there. Qualitative features of observed changes in large-scale convective available potential energy and convective inhibition are found in the model integrations, although quantitative magnitudes can differ, especially for convective inhibition.

Radiation exerts a strong influence on the microphysical properties of the cloud system. The three-dimensional integrations exhibit considerably less sporadic temporal behavior than corresponding two-dimensional integrations. While the third dimension is less important over timescales longer than the duration of a phase of an easterly wave in the lower and middle troposphere, it enables stronger interactions between radiation and dynamics in the upper-tropospheric mesoscale circulation over a substantial fraction of the life cycle of the convective system.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Leo J. Donner, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, NOAA, Princeton University, P.O. Box 308, Princeton, NJ 08542.

Abstract

Deep convection and its associated mesoscale circulations are modeled using a three-dimensional elastic model with bulk microphysics and interactive radiation for a composite easterly wave from the Global Atmospheric Research Program Atlantic Tropical Experiment. The energy and moisture budgets, large-scale heat sources and moisture sinks, microphysics, and radiation are examined.

The modeled cloud system undergoes a life cycle dominated by deep convection in its early stages, followed by an upper-tropospheric mesoscale circulation. The large-scale heat sources and moisture sinks associated with the convective system agree broadly with diagnoses from field observations. The modeled upper-tropospheric moisture exceeds observed values. Strong radiative cooling at the top of the mesoscale circulation can produce overturning there. Qualitative features of observed changes in large-scale convective available potential energy and convective inhibition are found in the model integrations, although quantitative magnitudes can differ, especially for convective inhibition.

Radiation exerts a strong influence on the microphysical properties of the cloud system. The three-dimensional integrations exhibit considerably less sporadic temporal behavior than corresponding two-dimensional integrations. While the third dimension is less important over timescales longer than the duration of a phase of an easterly wave in the lower and middle troposphere, it enables stronger interactions between radiation and dynamics in the upper-tropospheric mesoscale circulation over a substantial fraction of the life cycle of the convective system.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Leo J. Donner, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, NOAA, Princeton University, P.O. Box 308, Princeton, NJ 08542.

Save
Cover Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

  • Arakawa, A., and W. H. Schubert, 1974: Interaction of a cumulus cloud ensemble with the large-scale environment, Part 1. J. Atmos. Sci.,31, 674–701.

  • Chin, H.-N. S., Q. Fu, M. M. Bradley, and C. R. Molenkamp, 1995:Modeling of a tropical squall line in two dimensions: Sensitivity to radiation and comparison with a midlatitude case. J. Atmos. Sci.,52, 3172–3193.

  • Churchill, D. D., and R. A. Houze Jr., 1984: Mesoscale updraft magnitude and cloud-ice content deduced from the ice budget of the stratiform region of a tropical cloud cluster. J. Atmos. Sci.,41, 1717–1725.

  • Cotton, W. R., M. A. Stephens, T. Nehrkorn, and G. J. Tripoli, 1982:The Colorado State University three-dimensional cloud/mesoscale model-1982. Part II. An ice phase parameterization. J. Rech. Atmos.,16, 295–320.

  • Donner, L., 1993: A cumulus parameterization including mass fluxes, vertical momentum dynamics, and mesoscale effects. J. Atmos. Sci.,50, 889–906.

  • ——, 1996: Conditional and convective instability. Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate, S. H. Schneider, Ed., Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, 186–191.

  • ——, H. L. Kuo, and E. J. Pitcher, 1982: The significance of thermodynamic forcing by cumulus convection in a general circulation model. J. Atmos. Sci.,39, 2159–2181.

  • Dudhia, J., and M. W. Moncrieff, 1987: A numerical simulation of quasi-stationary tropical convective bands. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,113, 929–967.

  • Emanuel, K. A., 1994: Atmospheric Convection. Oxford University Press, 580 pp.

  • Esbensen, S. K., and M. J. McPhaden, 1996: Enhancement of tropical ocean evaporation and sensible heat flux by atmospheric mesoscale systems. J. Climate,9, 2307–2325.

  • Fritsch, J. M., and C. F. Chappell, 1980: Numerical prediction of convectively driven mesoscale pressure systems. Part I: Convective parameterization. J. Atmos. Sci.,37, 1722–1733.

  • Fu, Q., S. K. Krueger, and K.-N. Liou, 1995: Interactions of radiation and convection in simulated tropical cloud clusters. J. Atmos. Sci.,52, 1310–1328.

  • Golding, B. W., 1993: A numerical investigation of tropical island thunderstorms. Mon. Wea. Rev.,121, 1417–1433.

  • Grabowski, W. W., M. W. Moncrieff, and J. T. Kiehl, 1996a: Long-term behaviour of precipitating tropical cloud systems: A numerical study. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,122, 1019–1042.

  • ——, X. Wu, and M. W. Moncrieff, 1996b: Cloud-resolving modeling of tropical cloud systems during Phase III of GATE. Part I: Two-dimensional experiments. J. Atmos. Sci.,53, 3684–3709.

  • Gregory, D., and M. J. Miller, 1989: A numerical study of the parameterization of deep tropical convection. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,115, 1209–1241.

  • Griffith, K. T., S. K. Cox, and R. G. Knollenberg, 1980: Infrared radiative properties of tropical cirrus clouds inferred from aircraft measurements. J. Atmos. Sci.,37, 1077–1087.

  • Guichard, F., J.-L. Redelsperger, and J.-P. LaFore, 1996: The behaviour of a cloud ensemble in response to external forcings. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,122, 1043–1073.

  • Hack, J. J., 1994: Parameterization of moist convection in the National Center for Atmospheric Research community climate model (CCM2). J. Geophys. Res.,99, 5551–5568.

  • Harrison, E. F., P. Minnis, B. R. Barkstrom, V. Ramanathan, R. D. Cess, and G. G. Gibson, 1990: Seasonal variation of cloud radiative forcing derived from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment. J. Geophys. Res.,95, 18 687–18 703.

  • Haywood, J. M., V. Ramaswamy, and L. J. Donner, 1997: A limited-area-model case study of the effects of sub-grid scale variations in relative humidity and cloud upon the direct radiative forcing of sulfate aerosol. Geophys. Res. Lett.,24, 143–146.

  • Held, I. M., R. S. Hemler, and V. Ramaswamy, 1993: Radiative–convective equilibrium with explicit two-dimensional moist convection. J. Atmos. Sci.,50, 3909–3927.

  • Heymsfield, A. J., and L. J. Donner, 1990: A scheme for parameterizing ice-cloud water content in general circulation models. J. Atmos. Sci.,47, 1865–1877.

  • Jabouille, P., J. L. Redelsperger, and J. P. Lafore, 1996: Modification of surface fluxes by atmospheric convection in the TOGA COARE region. Mon. Wea. Rev.,124, 816–837.

  • Jorgensen, D. P., and M. A. LeMone, 1989: Vertical velocity characteristics of oceanic convection. J. Atmos. Sci.,46, 621–640.

  • Kuo, H.-L., 1974: Further studies of the parameterization of the influence of cumulus convection on large-scale flow. J. Atmos. Sci.,31, 1232–1240.

  • Leary, C. A., and R. A. Houze Jr., 1980: The contribution of mesoscale motions to the mass and heat fluxes of an intense tropical convective system. J. Atmos. Sci.,37, 784–796.

  • Lelieveld, J., and P. J. Crutzen, 1994: Role of deep convection in the ozone budget of the troposphere. Science,264, 1759–1761.

  • Lipps, F. B., and R. S. Hemler, 1986: Numerical simulation of deep tropical convection associated with large-scale convergence. J. Atmos. Sci.,43, 1796–1816.

  • ——, and ——, 1988: Numerical modeling of a line of towering cumulus on day 226 of GATE. J. Atmos. Sci.,45, 2428–2444.

  • Paradis, D., J. P. Lafore, J. L. Redelsperger, and V. Balaji, 1995: African easterly waves and convection. Part I: Linear simulations. J. Atmos. Sci.,52, 1657–1679.

  • Petch, J. C., G. C. Craig, and K. P. Shine, 1997: A comparison of two bulk microphysical schemes and their effects on radiative transfer using a single-column model. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,123, 1561–1580.

  • Redelsperger, J. L., and G. Sommeria, 1986: Three-dimensional simulation of a convective storm: Sensitivity studies on subgrid parameterization and spatial resolution. J. Atmos. Sci.,43, 2619–2635.

  • Slingo, J. M., and Coauthors, 1994: Mean climate and transience in the tropics of the UGAMP GCM: Sensitivity to convective parameterization. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,120, 881–922.

  • Soden, B. J., and R. Fu, 1995: A satellite analysis of deep convection, upper-tropospheric humidity, and the greenhouse effect. J. Climate,8, 2233–2351.

  • Stenchikov, G., R. Dickerson, K. Pickering, W. Ellis Jr., B. Doddridge, S. Kondragunta, and O. Poulida, 1996: Stratosphere–troposphere exchange in a midlatitude mesoscale convective complex. 2. Numerical simulations. J. Geophys. Res.,101, 6837–6851.

  • Sui, C. H., K. M. Lau, W. K. Tao, and J. Simpson, 1994: The tropical water and energy cycles in a cumulus ensemble model. Part. I:Equilibrium climate. J. Atmos. Sci.,51, 711–728.

  • Tao, W.-K., and S.-T. Soong, 1986: A study of the response of deep tropical clouds to mesoscale processes: Three-dimensional numerical experiments. J. Atmos. Sci.,43, 2653–2676.

  • ——, J. Simpson, C.-H. Sui, B. Ferrier, S. Lang, J. Scala, M.-D. Chou, and K. Pickering, 1993: Heating, moisture, and water budgets of tropical and midlatitude squall lines: Comparisons and sensitivity to longwave radiation. J. Atmos. Sci.,50, 673–690.

  • Thompson, R. M., S. W. Payne, E. E. Recker, and R. J. Reed, 1979:Structure and properties of synoptic-scale wave disturbances in the intertropical convergence zone of the eastern Atlantic. J. Atmos. Sci.,36, 53–72.

  • Xu, K.-M., and S. K. Krueger, 1991: Evaluation of cloudiness parameterization using a cumulus ensemble model. Mon. Wea. Rev.,119, 342–367.

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 330 149 26
PDF Downloads 108 42 0