A unified parameterization of clouds and turbulence using CLUBB and subcolumns in the Community Atmosphere Model

Abstract. Most global climate models parameterize separate cloud types using separate parameterizations. This approach has several disadvantages, including obscure interactions between parameterizations and inaccurate triggering of cumulus parameterizations. Alternatively, a unified cloud parameterization uses one equation set to represent all cloud types. Such cloud types include stratiform liquid and ice cloud, shallow convective cloud, and deep convective cloud. Vital to the success of a unified parameterization is a general interface between clouds and microphysics. One such interface involves drawing Monte Carlo samples of subgrid variability of temperature, water vapor, cloud liquid, and cloud ice, and feeding the sample points into a microphysics scheme. This study evaluates a unified cloud parameterization and a Monte Carlo microphysics interface that has been implemented in the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) version 5.3. Model computational expense is estimated, and sensitivity to the number of subcolumns is investigated. Results describing the mean climate and tropical variability from global simulations are presented. The new model shows a degradation in precipitation skill but improvements in shortwave cloud forcing, liquid water path, long-wave cloud forcing, precipitable water, and tropical wave simulation.

• Publication year

  2015

• Venue

  Geoscientific Model Development

• Publication date

  2015-12-01

• Fields of study

  Physics, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.5194/GMD-8-3801-2015
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Advanced two-moment bulk microphysics for global models. Part I: off-line tests and comparison with other schemes.

  2015influential reference
• CLUBB as a unified cloud parameterization: Opportunities and challenges

  2015influential reference
• Parameterization of the Spatial Variability of Rain for Large-Scale Models and Remote Sensing

  2015cited by this paper
• Quadrature Methods for the Calculation of Subgrid Microphysics Moments

  2015cited by this paper
• A flexible importance sampling method for integrating subgrid processes

  2015cited by this paper
• Advanced Two-Moment Bulk Microphysics for Global Models. Part II: Global Model Solutions and Aerosol–Cloud Interactions*

  2015influential reference
• Process-Oriented MJO Simulation Diagnostic: Moisture Sensitivity of Simulated Convection

  2014cited by this paper
• Explicit representation of subgrid variability in cloud microphysics yields weaker aerosol indirect effect in the ECHAM5-HAM2 climate model

  2014cited by this paper
• Parameterizing deep convection using the assumed probability density function method

  2014cited by this paper
• Multivariate probability density functions with dynamics in the GFDL Atmospheric General Circulation Model: Global tests

  2014influential reference
• Implementation of a Stochastic Eddy-Diffusivity/Mass-Flux Parameterization into the Navy Global Environmental Model

  2014cited by this paper
• A Unified Convection Scheme (UNICON). Part I: Formulation

  2014cited by this paper
• The parametric sensitivity of CAM5's MJO

  2014influential reference
• The Subgrid Importance Latin Hypercube Sampler (SILHS): a multivariate subcolumn generator

  2013influential reference
• Monte Carlo-based subgrid parameterization of vertical velocity and stratiform cloud microphysics in ECHAM5.5-HAM2

  2013cited by this paper
• Higher-Order Turbulence Closure and Its Impact on Climate Simulations in the Community Atmosphere Model

  2013cited by this paper
• Analytic upscaling of a local microphysics scheme. Part I: Derivation

  2013cited by this paper
• Analytic upscaling of a local microphysics scheme. Part II: Simulations

  2013cited by this paper
• A simplified PDF parameterization of subgrid‐scale clouds and turbulence for cloud‐resolving models

  2013cited by this paper
• A Unified Model for Moist Convective Boundary Layers Based on a Stochastic Eddy-Diffusivity/Mass-Flux Parameterization

  2013cited by this paper
• CORRIGENDUM of the MJO Transition from Shallow to Deep Convection in Cloudsat-Calipso Data and GISS GCM Simulations

  2012cited by this paper
• Eddy Diffusivity/Mass Flux and Shallow Cumulus Boundary Layer: An Updraft PDF Multiple Mass Flux Scheme

  2012cited by this paper
• An update on Earth's energy balance in light of the latest global observations

  2012cited by this paper
• PDF Parameterization of Boundary Layer Clouds in Models with Horizontal Grid Spacings from 2 to 16 km

  2012cited by this paper
• Intraseasonal Convective Moistening in CMIP3 Models

  2012cited by this paper
• Toward a Minimal Representation of Aerosols in Climate Models: Description and Evaluation in the Community Atmosphere Model CAM5

  2012cited by this paper
• The dynamical core, physical parameterizations, and basic simulation characteristics of the atmospheric component AM3 of the GFDL global coupled model CM3

  2011cited by this paper
• A statistical subgrid-scale algorithm for precipitation formation in stratiform clouds in the ECHAM5 single column model

  2011cited by this paper
• Structure of AGCM-Simulated Convectively Coupled Kelvin Waves and Sensitivity to Convective Parameterization

  2011cited by this paper
• Sensitivity of the Aerosol Indirect Effect to Subgrid Variability in the Cloud Parameterization of the GFDL Atmosphere General Circulation Model AM3

  2011cited by this paper
• Assumed Probability Density Functions for Shallow and Deep Convection

  2010cited by this paper
• Simulating deep convection with a shallow convection scheme

  2010cited by this paper
• What Controls the Transition from Shallow to Deep Convection

  2009cited by this paper
• Structure of the Madden-Julian Oscillation in the Superparameterized CAM

  2009cited by this paper
• A New Moist Turbulence Parameterization in the Community Atmosphere Model

  2009cited by this paper
• Moisture Vertical Structure, Column Water Vapor, and Tropical Deep Convection

  2009cited by this paper
• Application of MJO Simulation Diagnostics to Climate Models

  2009cited by this paper
• The Role of Convective Moistening in the Madden–Julian Oscillation

  2009cited by this paper
• A Dual Mass Flux Framework for Boundary Layer Convection. Part II: Clouds

  2009cited by this paper
• The University of Washington Shallow Convection and Moist Turbulence Schemes and Their Impact on Climate Simulations with the Community Atmosphere Model

  2009cited by this paper
• A Dual Mass Flux Framework for Boundary Layer Convection. Part I: Transport

  2009cited by this paper
• Evaluation of the Simulated Interannual and Subseasonal Variability in an AMIP-Style Simulation Using the CSU Multiscale Modeling Framework

  2008influential reference
• Radiative forcing by long‐lived greenhouse gases: Calculations with the AER radiative transfer models

  2008cited by this paper
• The Impacts of Convective Parameterization and Moisture Triggering on AGCM-Simulated Convectively Coupled Equatorial Waves

  2008cited by this paper
• Simulation of Boundary-Layer Cumulus and Stratocumulus Clouds using a Cloud-Resolving Model With Low- and Third-Order Turbulence Closures

  2008cited by this paper
• A new two-moment bulk stratiform cloud microphysics scheme in the Community Atmosphere Model, version 3 (CAM3). Part I: Description and numerical tests

  2008influential reference
• The Monte Carlo Independent Column Approximation: an assessment using several global atmospheric models

  2008cited by this paper
• Mechanisms of Low Cloud–Climate Feedback in Idealized Single-Column Simulations with the Community Atmospheric Model, Version 3 (CAM3)

  2008cited by this paper
• Noise due to the Monte Carlo independent‐column approximation: short‐term and long‐term impacts in ECHAM5

  2008cited by this paper
• Tests of Monte Carlo Independent Column Approximation in the ECHAM5 Atmospheric GCM

  2007cited by this paper
• A Combined Eddy-Diffusivity Mass-Flux Approach for the Convective Boundary Layer

  2007cited by this paper
• Observed Characteristics of the MJO Relative to Maximum Rainfall

  2007cited by this paper
• Simulation of shallow cumuli and their transition to deep convective clouds by cloud‐resolving models with different third‐order turbulence closures

  2006cited by this paper
• Daytime convective development over land: A model intercomparison based on LBA observations

  2006cited by this paper
• Representing convective organization in prediction models by a hybrid strategy

  2006cited by this paper
• Using Probability Density Functions to Derive Consistent Closure Relationships among Higher-Order Moments

  2005cited by this paper
• Using Stochastically Generated Subcolumns to Represent Cloud Structure in a Large-Scale Model

  2005cited by this paper
• The Monte Carlo Independent Column Approximation's Conditional Random Noise: Impact on Simulated Climate

  2005cited by this paper
• Supplying Local Microphysics Parameterizations with Information about Subgrid Variability: Latin Hypercube Sampling

  2005cited by this paper
• Mode decomposition as a methodology for developing convective‐scale representations in global models

  2005cited by this paper
• Relationships between Water Vapor Path and Precipitation over the Tropical Oceans

  2004cited by this paper
• Evaluation and optimization of sampling errors for the Monte Carlo Independent Column Approximation

  2004cited by this paper
• Stochastic generation of subgrid‐scale cloudy columns for large‐scale models

  2004cited by this paper
• An Improved Mellor–Yamada Level-3 Model with Condensation Physics: Its Design and Verification

  2004cited by this paper
• An eddy‐diffusivity/mass‐flux parametrization for dry and shallow cumulus convection

  2004cited by this paper
• The Kain–Fritsch Convective Parameterization: An Update

  2004cited by this paper
• A fast, flexible, approximate technique for computing radiative transfer in inhomogeneous cloud fields

  2003cited by this paper
• A PDF-Based Model for Boundary Layer Clouds. Part I: Method and Model Description

  2002cited by this paper
• Small-Scale and Mesoscale Variability in Cloudy Boundary Layers: Joint Probability Density Functions

  2002cited by this paper
• A Prognostic Parameterization for the Subgrid-Scale Variability of Water Vapor and Clouds in Large-Scale Models and Its Use to Diagnose Cloud Cover

  2002cited by this paper
• Toward a Unified Parameterization of the Boundary Layer and Moist Convection. Part I: A New Type of Mass-Flux Model

  2001cited by this paper
• A cloud resolving model as a cloud parameterization in the NCAR Community Climate System Model: Preliminary results

  2001cited by this paper
• Summarizing multiple aspects of model performance in a single diagram

  2001influential reference
• Coupling Cloud Processes with the Large-Scale Dynamics Using the Cloud-Resolving Convection Parameterization (CRCP)

  2001cited by this paper
• Systematic Biases in the Microphysics and Thermodynamics of Numerical Models That Ignore Subgrid-Scale Variability

  2001cited by this paper
• Unresolved spatial variability and microphysical process rates in large‐scale models

  2000cited by this paper
• Convectively Coupled Equatorial Waves: Analysis of Clouds and Temperature in the Wavenumber–Frequency Domain

  1999cited by this paper
• The role of vertically varying cloud fraction in the parametrization of microphysical processes in the ECMWF model

  1999cited by this paper
• Binormal Model of Ensemble Partial Cloudiness

  1993cited by this paper
• Dynamics, Thermodynamics and Extratropical Interactions of Tropical Intraseasonal Oscillations in a Simple Nonlinear Model.

  1993cited by this paper
• A Cumulus Parameterization Including Mass Fluxes, Vertical Momentum Dynamics, and Mesoscale Effects

  1993cited by this paper
• Organized convective systems : archetypal dynamical models, mass and momentum flux theory, and parametrization

  1992cited by this paper
• A Scheme for Representing Cumulus Convection in Large-Scale Models

  1991cited by this paper
• A scheme for predicting layer clouds and their water content in a general circulation model

  1990cited by this paper
• Modeling the Trade-Wind Cumulus Boundary Layer. Part II: A High-Order One-Dimensional Model

  1981cited by this paper
• Modeling the Trade-Wind Cumulus Boundary Layer. Part I: Testing the Ensemble Cloud Relations Against Numerical Data.

  1981cited by this paper
• Subgrid-Scale Condensation in Models of Nonprecipitating Clouds

  1977cited by this paper
• The Gaussian Cloud Model Relations

  1977cited by this paper

• Evaluation of CAM Single‐Column Models in Simulating Convectively Coupled Rossby Gravity Waves During TRMM‐KWAJEX

  2026cites this paper
• Climate warming could weaken aerosol-cloud interactions in subtropical marine stratocumulus

  2026cites this paper
• Cloud-aerosol interactions in subtropical marine stratocumulus weaken in a warmer climate

  2025cites this paper
• Methods to Evaluate Subcolumn Profiles Based on Two‐Point Diagnostics

  2024cites this paper
• Subgrid-scale variability of cloud ice in the ICON-AES 1.3.00

  2024cites this paper
• Dependence of strategic solar climate intervention on background scenario and model physics

  2023cites this paper
• Empirical values and assumptions in the convection schemes of numerical models

  2022cites this paper
• Better calibration of cloud parameterizations and subgrid effects increases the fidelity of the E3SM Atmosphere Model version 1

  2022cites this paper
• Modulation of the Bifurcation in Radiative‐Convective Equilibrium by Gray‐Zone Cloud and Turbulence Parameterizations

  2021cites this paper
• A Parameterization of Turbulent Dissipation and Pressure Damping Time Scales in Stably Stratified Inversions, and its Effects on Low Clouds in Global Simulations

  2021cites this paper
• E3SM Simulations With High Vertical Resolution in the Lower Troposphere

  2021cites this paper
• Modeling moist dynamics on subgrid

  2021cites this paper
• Long‐term single‐column model intercomparison of diurnal cycle of precipitation over midlatitude and tropical land

  2021cites this paper
• The Energy Exascale Earth System Model Simulations With High Vertical Resolution in the Lower Troposphere

  2021cites this paper
• Better calibration of cloud parameterizations and subgrid effects increases the fidelity of E3SM Atmosphere Model version 1

  2021cites this paper
• An underestimated negative cloud feedback from cloud lifetime changes

  2021cites this paper
• A Machine Learning Assisted Development of a Model for the Populations of Convective and Stratiform Clouds

  2020cites this paper
• Confronting the Challenge of Modeling Cloud and Precipitation Microphysics

  2020cites this paper
• Reducing the aerosol forcing uncertainty using observational constraints on warm rain processes

  2020cites this paper
• The Implementation of Framework for Improvement by Vertical Enhancement Into Energy Exascale Earth System Model

  2020cites this paper
• Cloud Microphysics Across Scales for Weather and Climate

  2019cites this paper
• The Impact of Rimed Ice Hydrometeors on Global and Regional Climate

  2019cites this paper
• 100 Years of Earth System Model Development

  2019cites this paper
• Global response of parameterised convective cloud fields to anthropogenic aerosol forcing

  2019cites this paper
• Subgrid variations of the cloud water and droplet number concentration over the tropical ocean: satellite observations and implications for warm rain simulations in climate models

  2019cites this paper
• Incorporation of inline warm rain diagnostics into the COSP2 satellite simulator for process-oriented model evaluation

  2019cites this paper
• Impact of scale-aware deep convection on the cloud liquid and ice water paths and precipitation using the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS-v5.2)

  2019cites this paper
• REVIEW Physics–Dynamics Coupling in Weather, Climate, and Earth System Models: Challenges and Recent Progress

  2018cites this paper
• Rainfall From Resolved Rather Than Parameterized Processes Better Represents the Present‐Day and Climate Change Response of Moderate Rates in the Community Atmosphere Model

  2018cites this paper
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Recent Work Title Rainfall From Resolved Rather Than Parameterized Processes Better Represents the Present-Day and Climate Change Response of Moderate Rates in the Community Atmosphere Model Permalink

  2018cites this paper
• Sensitivities of Simulated Satellite Views of Clouds to Subgrid‐Scale Overlap and Condensate Heterogeneity

  2018cites this paper
• REVIEW Physics–Dynamics Coupling in Weather, Climate, and Earth System Models: Challenges and Recent Progress

  2018cites this paper
• REVIEW Physics–Dynamics Coupling in Weather, Climate, and Earth System Models: Challenges and Recent Progress

  2018cites this paper
• REVIEW Physics–Dynamics Coupling in Weather, Climate, and Earth System Models: Challenges and Recent Progress

  2018cites this paper
• REVIEW Physics–Dynamics Coupling in Weather, Climate, and Earth System Models: Challenges and Recent Progress

  2018cites this paper
• REVIEW Physics–Dynamics Coupling in Weather, Climate, and Earth System Models: Challenges and Recent Progress

  2018cites this paper
• REVIEW Physics–Dynamics Coupling in Weather, Climate, and Earth System Models: Challenges and Recent Progress

  2018cites this paper
• Direct comparisons of ice cloud macro- and microphysical properties simulated by the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 with HIPPO aircraft observations

  2017cites this paper
• Effects of model resolution and parameterizations on the simulations of clouds, precipitation, and their interactions with aerosols

  2017cites this paper
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Recent Work Title Physics – Dynamics Coupling in Weather , Climate , and Earth System Models : Challenges and Recent Progress Permalink

  2017cites this paper
• CLUBB-SILHS: A parameterization of subgrid variability in the atmosphere

  2017cites this paper
• Framework for improvement by vertical enhancement: A simple approach to improve representation of low and high‐level clouds in large‐scale models

  2017cites this paper
• Recent progress and review of issues related to Physics Dynamics Coupling in geophysical models

  2017cites this paper
• Interactive comment on “ The Path to CAM 6 : Coupled Simulations with CAM 5 . 4 and CAM 5 . 5 ”

  2017influential citation
• The path to CAM6: coupled simulations with CAM5.4 and CAM5.5

  2017influential citation
• A PDF-based parameterization of subgrid-scale hydrometeor transport in deep convection

  2017cites this paper
• Physics–Dynamics Coupling in Weather, Climate, and Earth System Models: Challenges and Recent Progress

  2016cites this paper
• Subgrid-scale physical parameterization in atmospheric modeling: How can we make it consistent?

  2016cites this paper
• A new subgrid-scale representation of hydrometeor fields using a multivariate PDF

  2016cites this paper
• Improving the Subgrid-Scale Representation of Hydrometeors and Microphysical Feedback Effects Using a Multivariate Pdf

  2016cites this paper
• Global climate impacts of stochastic deep convection parameterization in the NCAR CAM5

  2016influential citation
• Vertical overlap of probability density functions of cloud and precipitation hydrometeors

  2016cites this paper
• Interactive comment on “ A flexible importance sampling method for integrating subgrid processes ” by

  2015cites this paper
• A flexible importance sampling method for integrating subgrid processes

  2015influential citation