UBC Faculty Research and Publications

Intercomparison and Interpretation of Single-Column Model Simulations of a Nocturnal Stratocumulus-Topped Marine Boundary Layer Zhu, Ping; Bretherton, Christopher S.; Kohler, Martin; Chen, Anning; Chlond, Andreas; Geng, Quanzhen; Austin, Philip H.; Golaz, Jean-Christophe; Lenderink, Geert; Lock, Andrian; et al.

Abstract

Ten single-column models (SCMs) from eight groups are used to simulate a nocturnal nonprecipitating marine stratocumulus-topped mixed layer as part of an intercomparison organized by the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment Cloud System Study, Working Group 1. The case is idealized from observations from the Dynamics and Chemistry of Marine Stratocumulus II, Research Flight 1. SCM simulations with operational resolution are supplemented by high-resolution simulations and compared with observations and large-eddy simulations. All participating SCMs are able to maintain a sharp inversion and a mixed cloud-topped layer, although the moisture profiles show a slight gradient in the mixed layer and produce entrainment rates broadly consistent with observations, but the liquid water paths vary by a factor of 10 after only 1 h of simulation at both high and operational resolution. Sensitivity tests show insensitivity to activation of precipitation and shallow convection schemes in most models, as one would observationally expect for this case. Copyright 2005 American Meteorological Society (AMS). Permission to use figures, tables, and brief excerpts from this work in scientific and educational works is hereby granted provided that the source is acknowledged. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC §108, as revised by P.L. 94-553) does not require the AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a web site or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, requires written permission or a license from the AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy, available on the AMS Web site located at (http://www.ametsoc.org/) or from the AMS at 617-227-2425 or copyright@ametsoc.org.

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