Surface-Layer Wind Shear and Momentum Transport From Clear-Sky to Cloudy Weather Regimes Over Land

This study investigates how wind shear and momentum fluxes in the surface- and boundary layer vary across wind and cloud regimes. We use a 9-year-long data set from the Cabauw observatory complemented by (8.2 × 8.2 (Formula presented.)) daily Large Eddy Simulation (LES) hindcasts. An automated algorithm classifies observed and simulated days...

An Investigation of the Eddy-Covariance Flux Imbalance in a Year-Long Large-Eddy Simulation of the Weather at Cabauw

The low-frequency contribution to the systematic and random sampling errors in single-tower eddy-covariance flux measurements is investigated using large-eddy simulation (LES). We use a continuous LES integration that covers a full year of realistic weather conditions over Cabauw, the Netherlands, and emulate eddy-covariance measurements. We...

Stochastic convection parameterization with Markov Chains in an intermediate-complexity GCM

Conditional Markov chain (CMC) models have proven to be promising building blocks for stochastic convection parameterizations. In this paper, it is demonstrated how two different CMC models can be used as mass flux closures in convection parameterizations. More specifically, the CMC models provide a stochastic estimate of the convective area...

Weather Forecasting Using GPU-Based Large-Eddy Simulations

Since the advent of computers midway through the twentieth century, computational resources have increased exponentially. It is likely they will continue to do so, especially when accounting for recent trends in multicore processors. History has shown that such an increase tends to directly lead to weather and climate models that readily exploit...

A Year-Long Large-Eddy Simulation of the Weather over Cabauw: An Overview

Results are presented of two large-eddy simulation (LES) runs of the entire year 2012 centered at the Cabauw observational supersite in the Netherlands. The LES is coupled to a regional weather model that provides the large-scale information. The simulations provide three-dimensional continuous time series of LES-generated turbulence and clouds,...

A mixed-layer model study of the stratocumulus response to changes in large-scale conditions

A mixed-layer model is used to study the response of stratocumulus equilibrium state solutions to perturbations of cloud controlling factors which include the sea surface temperature, the specific humidity and temperature in the free troposphere, as well as the large-scale divergence and horizontal wind speed. In the first set of experiments, we...

On the Deceiving Aspects of Mixing Diagrams of Deep Cumulus Convection

Mixing processes in deep precipitating cumulus clouds are investigated by tracking Lagrangian particles in a large-eddy simulation. The trajectories of particles are reconstructed and the thermodynamic properties of cloud air are studied using mixing diagrams. The trajectory analysis shows that the in-cloud mixing is entirely dominated by...

Simple solutions to steady-state cumulus regimes in the convective boundary layer

A modeling framework is developed that extends the mixed-layer model to steady-state cumulus convection. The aim is to consider the simplest model that retains the essential behavior of cumulus-capped layers. The presented framework allows for the evaluation of stationary states dependent on external parameters. These states are completely...

Detrainment in deep convection

This study explores the mechanisms that determine detrainment in deep cumulus convection. A set of 90 high-resolution Large Eddy Simulations is used to systematically explore the sensitivity of continental deep convection to the relative humidity and stability of the free troposphere. It appears that variations in the mass-flux profiles are...

Influence of the subcloud layer on the development of a deep convective ensemble

The rapid transition from shallow to deep convection is investigated using large-eddy simulations. The role of cold pools, which occur due to the evaporation of rainfall, is explored using a series of experiments in which their formation is suppressed.A positive feedback occurs: the presence of cold pools promotes deeper, wider, and more buoyant...

Stochastic parameterization of convective area fractions with a multicloud model inferred from observational data

Observational data of rainfall from a rain radar in Darwin, Australia, are combined with data defining the large-scale dynamic and thermodynamic state of the atmosphere around Darwin to develop a multicloud model based on a stochastic method using conditional Markov chains. The authors assign the radar data to clear sky, moderate congestus,...