Atmospheric Convection Research And Operational Forecasting Aspects

This book treats atmospheric convection from different angles including the theoretical aspects of atmospheric deep convection and the weather phenomena related to convection. The problem of boundary conditions that result in severe convective weather patterns is explored within the framework of worldwide climatology. The book bridges the gap between theory and its operational application both within the fields of weather forecasting and that of risk management.

Technology has propelled the atmospheric sciences from a fledgling discipline to a global enterprise. Findings in this field shape a broad spectrum of decisionsâ€"what to wear outdoors, whether aircraft should fly, how to deal with the issue of climate change, and more. This book presents a comprehensive assessment of the atmospheric sciences and offers a vision for the future and a range of recommendations for federal authorities, the scientific community, and education administrators. How does atmospheric science contribute to national well-being? In the context of this question, the panel identifies imperatives in scientific observation, recommends directions for modeling and forecasting research, and examines management issues, including the growing problem of weather data availability. Five subdisciplinesâ€"physics, chemistry, dynamics and weather forecasting, upper atmosphere and near-earth space physics, climate and climate changeâ€"and their status as the science enters the twenty-first century are examined in detail, including recommendations for research. This readable book will be of interest to public-sector policy framers and private-sector decisionmakers as well as researchers, educators, and students in the atmospheric sciences.

This three-volume A-to-Z compendium consists of over 300 entries written by a team of leading international scholars and researchers working in the field. Authoritative and up-to-date, the encyclopedia covers the processes that produce our weather, important scientific concepts, the history of ideas underlying the atmospheric sciences, biographical accounts of those who have made significant contributions to climatology and meteorology and particular weather events, from extreme tropical cyclones and tornadoes to local winds.

Bringing together over fifty contributions on all aspects of nonlinear and complex dynamics, this impressive topical collection is both a scientific and personal tribute, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, by many outstanding colleagues in the broad fields of research pursued by Prof. Manuel G Velarde. The topics selected reflect the research areas covered by the famous Instituto Pluridisciplinar at the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, which he co-founded over two decades ago, and include: fluid physics and related nonlinear phenomena at interfaces and in other geometries, wetting and spreading dynamics, geophysical and astrophysical flows, and novel aspects of electronic transport in anharmonic lattices, as well as topics in neurodynamics and robotics.

"This two-volume set combines theoretical and statistical physics ideas on convective parameterization with a wealth of information on the practical and operational use of parameterizations in weather forecast and climate models. The motivation for this approach is the assumption that future advances in the subject are most likely to arise from the application of theoretical concepts to practical problems, a feeling within the community that has led to the EU-funded COST Action investigative project. Contributors to the book are leading participants in Action, all of whom have devoted much attention over the last few years to building up a thorough knowledge of both theory and practice. Parameterization of Atmospheric Convection intends to equip theoretically oriented scientists with a firm grasp of the important practical issues, and vice versa to equip application-oriented scientists with a firm grasp of the important theoretical tools. This makes the parameterization problem accessible to a wider range of scientists than before. At the same time, by providing a solid bottom-up presentation of the principles and practice of parameterization, this two-volume set is the definitive reference point for current atmospheric scientists and modellers working on such problems"--

Precipitating atmospheric convection is fundamental to the Earth's weather and climate. It plays a leading role in the heat, moisture and momentum budgets. Appropriate modelling of convection is thus a prerequisite for reliable numerical weather prediction and climate modelling. The current standard approach is to represent it by subgrid-scale convection parameterization. Parameterization of Atmospheric Convection provides, for the first time, a comprehensive presentation of this important topic. The two-volume set equips readers with a firm grasp of the wide range of important issues, and thorough coverage is given of both the theoretical and practical aspects. This makes the parameterization problem accessible to a wider range of scientists than before. At the same time, by providing a solid bottom-up presentation of convection parameterization, this set is the definitive reference point for atmospheric scientists and modellers working on such problems. Volume 1 of this two-volume set focuses on the basic principles: introductions to atmospheric convection and tropical dynamics, explanations and discussions of key parameterization concepts, and a thorough and critical exploration of the mass-flux parameterization framework, which underlies the methods currently used in almost all operational models and at major climate modelling centres. Volume 2 focuses on the practice, which also leads to some more advanced fundamental issues. It includes: perspectives on operational implementations and model performance, tailored verification approaches, the role and representation of cloud microphysics, alternative parameterization approaches, stochasticity, criticality, and symmetry constraints. Contents:Volume 1:Basic Parameterization Concepts and Issues:Moist Atmospheric Convection: An Introduction and Overview (Á Horváth)Sub-Grid Parameterization Problem (J-I Yano)Scale Separation (J-I Yano)Quasi-Equilibrium (R S Plant and J-I Yano)Tropical Dynamics: Large-Scale Convectively Coupled Waves (Ž Fuchs)Mass-Flux Parameterization:Hot-Tower Hypothesis and Mass-Flux Formulation (J-I Yano)Formulation of the Mass-Flux Convective Parameterization (J-I Yano)Thermodynamic Effects of Convection under the Mass-Flux Formulation (J-I Yano)Spectral and Bulk Mass-Flux Representations (R S Plant and O Martínez-Alvarado)Entrainment and Detrainment Formulations for Mass-Flux Parameterization (W C de Rooy, J-I Yano, P Bechtold and S J Böing)Closure (J-I Yano and R S Plant)Convective Vertical Velocity (J-I Yano)Downdraughts (J-I Yano)Momentum Transfer (J-I Yano)Volume 2:Operational Issues:Convection in Global Numerical Weather Prediction (P Bechtold)Satellite Observations of Convection and Their Implications for Parameterizations (J Quaas and P Stier)Convection and Waves on Small Planets and the Real Earth (P Bechtold, N Semane and S Malardel)Microphysics of Convective Cloud and Its Treatment in Parameterization (V T J Phillips and J-I Yano)Model Resolution Issues and New Approaches in the Convection-Permitting Regimes (L Gerard)Stochastic Aspects of Convective Parameterization (R S Plant, L Bengtsson and M A Whitall)Verification of High-Resolution Precipitation Forecast with Radar-Based Data (D Řezáčová, B Szintai, B Jakubiak, J-I Yano and S Turner)Unification and Consistency:Formulations of Moist Thermodynamics for Atmospheric Modelling (P Marquet and J-F Geleyn)Representation of Microphysical Processes in Cloud-Resolving Models (A P Khain)Cumulus Convection as a Turbulent Flow (A Grant)Clouds and Convection as Subgrid-Scale Distributions (E Machulskaya)Towards a Unified and Self-Consistent Parameterization Framework (J-I Yano, L Bengtsson, J-F Geleyn and R Brozkova)Theoretical Physics Perspectives:Regimes of Self-Organized Criticality in Atmospheric Convection (F Spineanu, M Vlad and D Palade)Invariant and Conservative Parameterization Schemes (A Bihlo, E Dos Santos Cardoso-Bihlo and R O Popovych)Conclusions:Conclusions (R S Plant and J-I Yano) Readership: Atmospheric scientists and modellers. Key Features:The first coherent book to focus on convective parameterization for climate modelling and numerical weather predictionClear focus on the underpinning theory of parameterization, and its possible extensionsPlaces current efforts to improve parameterizations firmly into the theoretical context rather than focusing on details of the technical implementation or changes to overall model performanceKeywords:Atmospheric Convection;Parameterization;Numerical Modelling;Numerical Weather Prediction;Global Climate Modelling

In the present study, the author derives the equations for a model for operational forecasting in the tropics. A vertically integrated boundary layer model is used, together with a multilevel free air model, and and it is assumed that their interface represents cumulus cloud bases. Whenever the model predicts the existence of cumulus clouds (conditional instability, saturation, upward vertical velocity at the top of the boundary layer), a system of cloud equations is solved in order to calculate the latent heating, evaporation, and divergence of eddy heat flux effects on the free air motions.

This workshop report examines the capability of the forecast system to efficiently transfer weather and climate research findings into improved operational forecast capabilities. It looks in particular at the Environmental Modeling Center of the National Weather Service and environmental observational satellite programs. Using these examples, the report identifies several shortcomings in the capability to transition from research to operations. Successful transitions from R&D to operational implementation requires (1) understanding of the importance (and risks) of the transition, (2) development and maintenance of appropriate transition plans, (3) adequate resource provision, and (4) continuous feedback (in both directions) between the R&D and operational activities.