SEMINAR: MPO seminar Weds

[Brian Mapes <bmapes@rsmas.miami.edu>]

MPO Seminar

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - 3:00 pm

SLAB seminar room (S/A 103)

Dr. Hugh Morrison

National Center for Atmospheric Research

“Impact of parameterized microphysics on high resolution simulations of moist deep convection”

Clouds remain one of the fundamental challenges in numerical simulation of weather and climate. The treatment of cloud and precipitation particles in models has a direct impact on the dynamics across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. In terms of moist deep convection, the representation of cloud and precipitation microphysics (i.e., the physical processes that affect cloud and precipitation particles) determines the latent heat release and condensate loading, which in turn impact buoyancy and hence convective dynamics. This talk will give an overview of various approaches in parameterizing cloud and precipitation microphysics in models, with a focus on high resolution "cloud system" models that explicitly resolve deep convection. Key issues of current microphysics schemes will be discussed that are relevant to the simulation of deep convection, including treatment of the rain drop size distribution as well as precipitating ice (snow/graupel/hail). Recent work in addressing these areas will be discussed in the context of both tropical and mid-latitude cases.