GCSS microphysics

Announcements

Dear GCSS participants

We will be holding a joint Microphysics/Polar Cloud Working Group meeting at the University of Washington in Seattle on the 24-25th June 2010. Since Microphysics is a cross-cutting activity, there will also be participation from many of the other working groups. Further details will follow, but it is likely that topics of discussion will include:

- the 1D kinematic microphysics intercomparison
- polar cloud modelling and observations
- polar cloud/climate interactions
- the SHEBA intercomparison
- the TWP-ICE intercomparison
- the RICO intercomparison
as well as discussion of future cases we might like to consider.

Further details will be forthcoming, but If you would like to participate then please email ben.shipway@metoffice.gov.uk. If you would like to give a talk on one of the above topics or suggest an additional area for discussion, then please include a short abstract by 15th March (but note that since this is only a 2 day workshop we won't be able to accommodate a large number of talks).

The dates of the meeting have been chosen to immediately precede the AMS cloud and radiation conferences in nearby Portland (LINK).

Look forward to seeing you there.

Ben
(11th January 2010)

Objectives

A simple 1-dimensional kinematic model has been developed as a tool to assess and evaluate inherent differences between the different microphysical schemes which are commonly used in process and large-scale models. Due to the complex behaviour of microphysics and its interaction with dynamics, it is desirable to have a constrained environment in which to make such an assessment. It may then be possible to associate particular features, as seen in fully-coupled 3D intercomparison cases, with particular microphysical processes. The broad range of cloud characteristics produced by different models - e.g. surface precipitation, cloud phase, spatial and temporal development has recently been demonstrated within the RICO and MPACE intercomparison cases.

This so called “Kinematic Driver for Microphysics intercomparison (KiD) (see this link for further info and instructions) has been written in such a way as to make as easy as possible the interface to different flavours of microphysics; bulk, bin, multiple ice categories etc. A number of test cases are supplied which are designed to test the microphysical processes expected within a number of different cloud regimes. Although the 1D nature of the model removes it to a certain extent from reality and thus observations, it allows a very quick comparison between numerous schemes and over a much wider parameter space than could be accommodated with 3D fully-coupled runs. The link to observations can then be restored in the 3D runs.

The framework is currently being used alongside the SHEBA intercomparison case, which falls into the work of the Polar working group. A joint meeting with the Polar group is planned to take place in June 2010, at which the future uses for this framework will be discussed (e.g. as a stand alone intercomparison or as a tool to run alongside dynamically-coupled intercomparisons). There is also a plan to write a short note on this framework for publication.

Chair: Ulrike Lohmann (ETH Zürich)

Current activities

KiD - Kinematic Driver for microphysics intercomparison

Links

• GCSS
• GCSS-DIME
• KiD
  

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last udpates

2010-01-25: Objectives
2010-01-11: Announcement and mailing list
2010-01-07: current activities
2010-01-06: creation of website

Contact

philipp.reutter@env.ethz.ch