A Stochastic Parameterization of Organized Tropical Convection Using Cellular Automata for Global Forecasts in NOAA's Unified Forecast System
Abstract In the atmosphere, convection can organize from smaller scale updrafts into more coherent structures on various scales. In bulk‐plume cumulus convection parameterizations, this type of organization has to be represented in terms of how the resolved flow would “feel” convection if more coher...
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Format: | Article |
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American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2021-01-01
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Series: | Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2020MS002260 |
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author | Lisa Bengtsson Juliana Dias Stefan Tulich Maria Gehne Jian‐Wen Bao |
author_facet | Lisa Bengtsson Juliana Dias Stefan Tulich Maria Gehne Jian‐Wen Bao |
author_sort | Lisa Bengtsson |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Abstract In the atmosphere, convection can organize from smaller scale updrafts into more coherent structures on various scales. In bulk‐plume cumulus convection parameterizations, this type of organization has to be represented in terms of how the resolved flow would “feel” convection if more coherent structures were present on the subgrid. This type of subgrid organization acts as building blocks for larger scale tropical convective organization known to modulate local and remote weather. In this work a parameterization for subgrid (and cross‐grid) organization in a bulk‐plume convection scheme is proposed using the stochastic, self‐organizing, properties of cellular automata (CA). We investigate the effects of using a CA which can interact with three different components of the bulk‐plume scheme that modulate convective activity: entrainment, triggering, and closure. The impacts of the revised schemes are studied in terms of the model's ability to organize convectively coupled equatorial waves (CCEWs). The differing impacts of adopting the stochastic CA scheme, as compared to the widely used Stochastically Perturbed Physics Tendency (SPPT) scheme, are also assessed. Results show that with the CA scheme, precipitation is more spatially and temporally organized, and there is a systematic shift in equatorial wave phase speed not seen with SPPT. Previous studies have noted a linear relationship between Gross Moist Stability (GMS) and Kelvin wave phase speed. Analysis of GMS in this study shows an increase in Kelvin wave phase speed and an increase in GMS with the CA scheme, which is tied to a shift from large‐scale precipitation to convective precipitation. |
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institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1942-2466 |
language | English |
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series | Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems |
spelling | doaj.art-a1e7d1fbfa234420b4dbdccd8588df3e2023-10-21T14:51:48ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems1942-24662021-01-01131n/an/a10.1029/2020MS002260A Stochastic Parameterization of Organized Tropical Convection Using Cellular Automata for Global Forecasts in NOAA's Unified Forecast SystemLisa Bengtsson0Juliana Dias1Stefan Tulich2Maria Gehne3Jian‐Wen Bao4CIRES University of Colorado Boulder CO USANOAA ESRL PSL Boulder CO USACIRES University of Colorado Boulder CO USACIRES University of Colorado Boulder CO USANOAA ESRL PSL Boulder CO USAAbstract In the atmosphere, convection can organize from smaller scale updrafts into more coherent structures on various scales. In bulk‐plume cumulus convection parameterizations, this type of organization has to be represented in terms of how the resolved flow would “feel” convection if more coherent structures were present on the subgrid. This type of subgrid organization acts as building blocks for larger scale tropical convective organization known to modulate local and remote weather. In this work a parameterization for subgrid (and cross‐grid) organization in a bulk‐plume convection scheme is proposed using the stochastic, self‐organizing, properties of cellular automata (CA). We investigate the effects of using a CA which can interact with three different components of the bulk‐plume scheme that modulate convective activity: entrainment, triggering, and closure. The impacts of the revised schemes are studied in terms of the model's ability to organize convectively coupled equatorial waves (CCEWs). The differing impacts of adopting the stochastic CA scheme, as compared to the widely used Stochastically Perturbed Physics Tendency (SPPT) scheme, are also assessed. Results show that with the CA scheme, precipitation is more spatially and temporally organized, and there is a systematic shift in equatorial wave phase speed not seen with SPPT. Previous studies have noted a linear relationship between Gross Moist Stability (GMS) and Kelvin wave phase speed. Analysis of GMS in this study shows an increase in Kelvin wave phase speed and an increase in GMS with the CA scheme, which is tied to a shift from large‐scale precipitation to convective precipitation.https://doi.org/10.1029/2020MS002260cellular automatacumulus convectionconvective organizationstochastic physics |
spellingShingle | Lisa Bengtsson Juliana Dias Stefan Tulich Maria Gehne Jian‐Wen Bao A Stochastic Parameterization of Organized Tropical Convection Using Cellular Automata for Global Forecasts in NOAA's Unified Forecast System Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems cellular automata cumulus convection convective organization stochastic physics |
title | A Stochastic Parameterization of Organized Tropical Convection Using Cellular Automata for Global Forecasts in NOAA's Unified Forecast System |
title_full | A Stochastic Parameterization of Organized Tropical Convection Using Cellular Automata for Global Forecasts in NOAA's Unified Forecast System |
title_fullStr | A Stochastic Parameterization of Organized Tropical Convection Using Cellular Automata for Global Forecasts in NOAA's Unified Forecast System |
title_full_unstemmed | A Stochastic Parameterization of Organized Tropical Convection Using Cellular Automata for Global Forecasts in NOAA's Unified Forecast System |
title_short | A Stochastic Parameterization of Organized Tropical Convection Using Cellular Automata for Global Forecasts in NOAA's Unified Forecast System |
title_sort | stochastic parameterization of organized tropical convection using cellular automata for global forecasts in noaa s unified forecast system |
topic | cellular automata cumulus convection convective organization stochastic physics |
url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2020MS002260 |
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