A Performance Baseline for the Representation of Clouds and Humidity in Cloud‐Resolving ICON‐LEM Simulations in the Arctic
Abstract In the context of Arctic amplification many of the feedback mechanisms, decreasing or enhancing the warming, involve clouds and water vapor. Currently, there is a gap in understanding the role of clouds which leads to uncertainties in climate simulations. Modeling frameworks such as the ICO...
Published in: | Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022MS003299 https://doaj.org/article/74e27aa7204047cf8b9febcfcceaddfe |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:74e27aa7204047cf8b9febcfcceaddfe |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:74e27aa7204047cf8b9febcfcceaddfe 2023-07-16T03:56:04+02:00 A Performance Baseline for the Representation of Clouds and Humidity in Cloud‐Resolving ICON‐LEM Simulations in the Arctic Theresa Kiszler Kerstin Ebell Vera Schemann 2023-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1029/2022MS003299 https://doaj.org/article/74e27aa7204047cf8b9febcfcceaddfe EN eng American Geophysical Union (AGU) https://doi.org/10.1029/2022MS003299 https://doaj.org/toc/1942-2466 1942-2466 doi:10.1029/2022MS003299 https://doaj.org/article/74e27aa7204047cf8b9febcfcceaddfe Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol 15, Iss 5, Pp n/a-n/a (2023) Arctic clouds regional modeling ICON‐LEM Physical geography GB3-5030 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1029/2022MS003299 2023-06-25T00:36:40Z Abstract In the context of Arctic amplification many of the feedback mechanisms, decreasing or enhancing the warming, involve clouds and water vapor. Currently, there is a gap in understanding the role of clouds which leads to uncertainties in climate simulations. Modeling frameworks such as the ICOsahedral Non‐hydrostatic model (ICON) are used to understand the Arctic atmospheric processes as well as predict future changes. In this study, we challenge ICON in the large‐eddy setup (ICON‐LEM) by performing cloud‐resolving simulations over parts of Svalbard, including Ny‐Ålesund. We ran daily simulations over 5 months and analyzed the column above Ny‐Ålesund. The local supersite's observations enabled us to create a baseline for the model performance focusing on the representation of liquid water and water vapor. We narrow in on possibilities to improve the cloud microphysical representation based on statistical evaluations, not just single cases. We found an astonishing agreement between most of the analyzed variables. For instance, the model integrated water vapor showed only a low bias of 0.21 kg m−2. The number of cloudy days is slightly higher in the model (+4%). Further, we found that the model produces an unrealistically high number of pure ice clouds. Small to medium precipitation events are similar in amount and time but the number of strong precipitation events is underestimated. Further results are discussed and show that ICON‐LEM is a useful tool to study the Arctic. With this thorough analysis, we highlight the value of local cloud‐resolving simulations to understand changes in the Arctic atmosphere. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Svalbard Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Ny-Ålesund Svalbard Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems 15 5 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic clouds regional modeling ICON‐LEM Physical geography GB3-5030 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic clouds regional modeling ICON‐LEM Physical geography GB3-5030 Oceanography GC1-1581 Theresa Kiszler Kerstin Ebell Vera Schemann A Performance Baseline for the Representation of Clouds and Humidity in Cloud‐Resolving ICON‐LEM Simulations in the Arctic |
topic_facet |
Arctic clouds regional modeling ICON‐LEM Physical geography GB3-5030 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
Abstract In the context of Arctic amplification many of the feedback mechanisms, decreasing or enhancing the warming, involve clouds and water vapor. Currently, there is a gap in understanding the role of clouds which leads to uncertainties in climate simulations. Modeling frameworks such as the ICOsahedral Non‐hydrostatic model (ICON) are used to understand the Arctic atmospheric processes as well as predict future changes. In this study, we challenge ICON in the large‐eddy setup (ICON‐LEM) by performing cloud‐resolving simulations over parts of Svalbard, including Ny‐Ålesund. We ran daily simulations over 5 months and analyzed the column above Ny‐Ålesund. The local supersite's observations enabled us to create a baseline for the model performance focusing on the representation of liquid water and water vapor. We narrow in on possibilities to improve the cloud microphysical representation based on statistical evaluations, not just single cases. We found an astonishing agreement between most of the analyzed variables. For instance, the model integrated water vapor showed only a low bias of 0.21 kg m−2. The number of cloudy days is slightly higher in the model (+4%). Further, we found that the model produces an unrealistically high number of pure ice clouds. Small to medium precipitation events are similar in amount and time but the number of strong precipitation events is underestimated. Further results are discussed and show that ICON‐LEM is a useful tool to study the Arctic. With this thorough analysis, we highlight the value of local cloud‐resolving simulations to understand changes in the Arctic atmosphere. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Theresa Kiszler Kerstin Ebell Vera Schemann |
author_facet |
Theresa Kiszler Kerstin Ebell Vera Schemann |
author_sort |
Theresa Kiszler |
title |
A Performance Baseline for the Representation of Clouds and Humidity in Cloud‐Resolving ICON‐LEM Simulations in the Arctic |
title_short |
A Performance Baseline for the Representation of Clouds and Humidity in Cloud‐Resolving ICON‐LEM Simulations in the Arctic |
title_full |
A Performance Baseline for the Representation of Clouds and Humidity in Cloud‐Resolving ICON‐LEM Simulations in the Arctic |
title_fullStr |
A Performance Baseline for the Representation of Clouds and Humidity in Cloud‐Resolving ICON‐LEM Simulations in the Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Performance Baseline for the Representation of Clouds and Humidity in Cloud‐Resolving ICON‐LEM Simulations in the Arctic |
title_sort |
performance baseline for the representation of clouds and humidity in cloud‐resolving icon‐lem simulations in the arctic |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022MS003299 https://doaj.org/article/74e27aa7204047cf8b9febcfcceaddfe |
geographic |
Arctic Ny-Ålesund Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Ny-Ålesund Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Svalbard |
op_source |
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol 15, Iss 5, Pp n/a-n/a (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022MS003299 https://doaj.org/toc/1942-2466 1942-2466 doi:10.1029/2022MS003299 https://doaj.org/article/74e27aa7204047cf8b9febcfcceaddfe |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022MS003299 |
container_title |
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
5 |
_version_ |
1771542217731604480 |