This study describes some results from several simulations of cumulus ensembles at the Southern Great Plains site of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program during the July 1995 Intensive Observation Period (IOP). A 2D cloud ensemble model (CEM) is used to simulate the macroscopic properties of midlatitude cumulus ensembles. The observed large-scale, horizontal advective tendencies ...

[1] A new framework for diagnosing mixing in cumulus convection is proposed, where the vertical evolution of the cloud mass flux distribution as a function of given parcel properties is viewed as a mapping process. Matrices that characterize this mapping process are constructed using a Lagrangian particle dispersion model embedded in a Large Eddy Simulation. Extending previous use of LES-diagno...

[1] MM5-based regional climate model (CMM5) simulations of the diurnal cycle of U.S. summer precipitation are found to be sensitive to the choice of cumulus parameterization schemes, whose skills are highly regime selective. The Grell scheme realistically simulates the nocturnal precipitation maxima and their associated eastward propagation of convective systems over the Great Plains where the ...

The elevated terrain in the desert southwest of the United States provides an ideal location in which to observe the onset and transition from shallow to deep convection. Thunderstorms associated with the North American Monsoon (NAM) occur on a fairly regular diurnal cycle, with shallow convection developing under often clear skies over the highest peaks a few hours after sunrise. The shallow c...

A simplified model for cumulus convection has been developed, with the aim of providing a computationally inexpensive, but physically plausible, environment for developing methods for convective-scale data assimilation. Key processes, including gravity waves, conditional instability and precipitation formation, are represented, and parameter values are chosen to reproduce the most important spa...

This study examines the significance of aerosol serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in modulating strengths of tropical maritime convection. Through a Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Couple Ocean̶Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) case study using a cloud-resolving model (the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble Model with a horizontal mesh interval of 750 m) and a detailed spectral bin mic...

We propose a new modelling framework suitable for the description of atmospheric convective systems as a collection of distinct plumes. The literature contains many examples of models for collections of plumes in which strong simplifying assumptions are made, a diagnostic dependence of convection on the large-scale environment and the limit of many plumes often being imposed from the outset. So...

[1] The West African summer monsoon (WAM) is an important driver of the global climate and locally provides most of the annual rainfall. A solid climatological knowledge of the complex vertical cloud structure is invaluable to forecasters and modelers to improve the understanding of the WAM. In this paper, 4 years of data from the CloudSat profiling radar and CALIPSO are used to create a compos...