Collaborative Research: Vertical Heating Structure in Large-Scale Convectively Coupled Tropical Waves

大规模有组织的对流，特别是以马登-朱利安振荡（MJO）的形式，对广泛的天气/气候现象产生重大影响。不幸的是，目前的大气环流模型（GCM）无法鲁棒地表示这些形式的变化。特别是，一个公认的和全面的理论MJO仍然是难以捉摸的。该项目旨在通过充分表征MJO和对流耦合赤道波（CCEW）的垂直结构，特别是非绝热加热，以更好地限制理论理解，并为模型开发社区提供关键的验证信息，来应对这一挑战。具体而言，调查人员将（一）描述热带降雨测量使命任务（TRMM）估计的与大规模和低频CCEW（包括MJO）相关的垂直潜热加热结构，并在TRMM降雨、大气红外探测器（AIRS）温度和湿度以及CloudSat云型变化的背景下对其进行检查，特别侧重于描述空间变异性，季节调制，事件到事件的变化，并为我们的理论理解的影响;（ii）比较这些加热和潮湿的热力学结构与新的再分析产品的值，以评估和表征的不确定性和缺点的卫星和模型为基础的产品方面，他们的代表性的CCEW;（iii）将这些加热和潮湿热力学结构与来自一对传统GCM和一对利用多模型框架的GCM的值进行比较，以量化模型对CCEW的表示的保真度，并向模型开发团队提供反馈;（iv）研究Rossby波辐射对热带加热结构的位置和垂直廓线的依赖性。该项目的更广泛的影响包括：（i）改进我们的全球气候/天气模式中热带对流活动的平均结构和变率，这将最终导致改进热带和热带以外地区中期到长期天气和季节性气候预测的技能，促进开发迄今尚未开发的亚季节时间尺度预测潜力，减少与全球气候变化模型预测有关的不确定性;（二）在一个需求量很大的领域培训一名研究生。

Large-scale organized convection, particularly in the form of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), exerts significant impacts on a wide range of weather/climate phenomena. Current general circulation models (GCMs), unfortunately, are incapable of robustly representing these forms of variability. In particular, a well-accepted and comprehensive theory for the MJO is still elusive. This project seeks to address this challenge by fully characterizing the vertical structures of the MJO and convectively coupled equatorial waves (CCEWs), particularly diabatic heating, to better constrain theoretical understanding as well as to provide crucial validation information to the model development community. Specifically, the investigators will (i) characterize the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) -estimated vertical latent heating structures associated with the large-scale and low-frequency CCEWs, including the MJO, and examine them in the context of the TRMM rainfall, Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) temperature and moisture, and CloudSat cloud-type variations, with a particular focus on describing the spatial variability, seasonal modulation, event-to-event variability, and implications for our theoretical understanding; (ii) compare these heating and moist thermodynamic structures with values from the new reanalysis products to assess and characterize the uncertainties and shortcomings of both the satellite and model based products in regards to their representation of CCEWs; (iii) compare these heating and moist thermodynamic structures with values from a pair of traditional GCMs and a pair of GCMs utilizing multi-model framework to quantify the fidelity of the model's representation of CCEWs and provide feedback to the model development teams; and (iv) examine the dependence of the Rossby Wave emanation on the location and vertical profiles of the tropical heating structures. The broader impacts of this project include (i) improvements in the mean structure and variability of tropical convective activity in our global climate/weather models, which will ultimately lead to improved skill of medium-to-extended range weather and seasonal climate predictions both in the tropics and extra-tropics, facilitate the development of the hitherto unexploited forecast potential at the subseasonal time scale, and reduce uncertainties associated with global model projections of climate change; (ii) the training of a graduate student in an area that is in high demand.