Numerical Studies of the Interaction of Mesoscale Convective Systems With the Tropical Ocean-Atmosphere Environment

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This project is a model-based scientific investigation with several tasks that directly support TOGA/COARE objectives. Mesoscale model development and testing will be focussed in two areas. First, the convective parameterization in the Penn State/NCAR mesoscale model will be tested for the equatorial maritime region of the TOGA COARE IOP, and modified appropriately to allow it to accurately simulate tropical convection. Secondly, an existing four-dimensional data assimilation scheme will be modified for use in the tropics so that the special field program data can be used to more effectively initialize the mesoscale model. In addition, this data-assimilation program will be evaluated as a tool for generation of gridded model- assimilated mesoscale data sets based on the TOGA COARE observations. Sensitivity studies with the mesoscale model, and analysis of the model-assimilated data sets, will then be performed to determine how tropical deep convection interacts with its large scale oceanic and atmospheric environment. This research is important because it serves as one of the studies of TOGA/COARE that links convective scale physical processes to the larger scales that impact climate variability in an especially climate sensitive region of the world, the western Pacific Ocean, the field site of TOGA COARE.