Towards Realistic Cumulus Cloud Resolving Simulations at Supersites

Abstract:

Realistic fine-scale shallow cumulus cloud resolving simulations are performed to improve our understanding of the interactions between surface heterogeneity and boundary-layer cloud fields. For this purpose we apply the ICON (ICOsahedral Non-hydrostatic) model on a regional domain. ICON has been partly developed by the ongoing project HD(CP)2 (High Definition Clouds and Precipitation for Climate Prediction), which has the aim of getting a better grip on cloud and precipitation processes and their implication for climate prediction. The model domain is centred around JOYCE, an observational supersite in Jülich (Germany). To optimize the realism of the simulation, use is made of heterogeneous surface forcings and non-periodic boundary conditions. A number of prototype cumulus days is simulated, the results of which are evaluated against observations. The focus lies on bulk cloud properties and the vertical structure of the boundary layer. The ICON results are intercompared with available idealized LES results. Sensitivity of the results to the model set-up (e.g. resolution) is assessed.