Numerical Modeling of the Global Atmosphere

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The long-term goal of this project is to develop improved general circulation models (GCMs) of the global weather and climate system. Under this award the principal investigators will construct and test new parameterizations for physical processes that can be used in atmospheric GCMs. These are : (1) a multi-layer bulk parameterization of planetary boundary layer (PBL) processes, (2) a parameterization of the thermal effects of mesoscale orographic variability, and (3) a unified cloud parameterization. The PBL parameterization combines the local and nonlocal effects of turbulent eddies in a way that incorporates the positive aspects of bulk formulation used in the current UCLA atmospheric GCM. The thermal effects parameterization will be a new contribution in that current models do not account for this effect. The unified cloud parameterization abandons the artificial separation between grid- and sub-grid scales, and develops a unified logical framework that can be used for both stratiform clouds and cumulus clouds. The products from this effort will not be model-specific, although they will be tested first in the framework of the UCLA GCM.