Yihui Zhou, Rucong Yu, Yi Zhang, Jian Li, Haoming Chen. 2024: Sensitivity of a Kilometer-Scale Variable-Resolution Global Nonhydrostatic Model to Microphysics Schemes in Simulating a Mesoscale Convective System. Adv. Atmos. Sci., https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-024-4246-z
Citation: Yihui Zhou, Rucong Yu, Yi Zhang, Jian Li, Haoming Chen. 2024: Sensitivity of a Kilometer-Scale Variable-Resolution Global Nonhydrostatic Model to Microphysics Schemes in Simulating a Mesoscale Convective System. Adv. Atmos. Sci., https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-024-4246-z

Sensitivity of a Kilometer-Scale Variable-Resolution Global Nonhydrostatic Model to Microphysics Schemes in Simulating a Mesoscale Convective System

  • Accurately simulating mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) is essential for predicting global precipitation patterns and extreme weather events. Despite the ability of advanced models to reproduce MCS climate statistics, capturing extreme storm cases over complex terrain remains challenging. This study utilizes the Global-Regional Integrated Forecast System (GRIST) with variable resolution to simulate an eastward-propagating MCS event. The impact of three microphysics schemes, including two single-moment (WSM6, Lin) and one double-moment (Morrison) schemes, on the model sensitivity of MCS precipitation simulations is investigated. The results demonstrate that while all the schemes capture the spatial distribution and temporal variation of MCS precipitation, the Morrison scheme alleviates overestimated precipitation compared to the Lin and WSM6 schemes. The ascending motion gradually becomes weaker in the Morrison scheme during the MCS movement process. Compared to the runs with convection parameterization, the explicit-convection setup at 3.5-km resolution reduces disparities in atmospheric dynamics due to microphysics sensitivity in terms of vertical motions and horizontal kinetic energy at the high-wavenumber regimes. The explicit-convection setup more accurately captures the propagation of both main and secondary precipitation centers during the MCS development, diminishing the differences in both precipitation intensity and propagation features between Morrison and two single-moment schemes. These findings underscore the importance of microphysics schemes for global nonhydrostatic modeling at the kilometer scale. The role of explicit convection for reducing model uncertainty is also outlined.
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