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NASA NTRS1998

Design, Evaluation and GCM-Performance of a New Parameterization for Microphysics of Clouds with Relaxed Arakawa-Schubert Scheme (McRas)

A prognostic cloud scheme named McRAS (Microphysics of clouds with Relaxed Arakawa-Schubert Scheme) was developed with the aim of improving cloud-microphysics, and cloud-radiation interactions in GCMs. McRAS distinguishes convective, stratiform, and boundary-layer clouds. The convective clouds merge into stratiform clouds on an hourly time-scale, while the boundary-layer clouds do so instantly. The cloud condensate transforms into precipitation following the auto-conversion relations of Sundqvist that contain a parametric adaptation for the Bergeron-Findeisen process of ice crystal growth and collection of cloud condensate by precipitation. All clouds convect, advect, and diffuse both horizontally and vertically with a fully active cloud-microphysics throughout its life-cycle, while the optical properties of clouds are derived from the statistical distribution of hydrometeors and idealized cloud geometry. An evaluation of McRAS in a single column model (SCM) with the GATE Phase III data has shown that McRAS can simulate the observed temperature, humidity, and precipitation without discernible systematic errors. An evaluation with the ARM-CART SCM data in a cloud model intercomparison exercise shows reasonable but not an outstanding accurate simulation. Such a discrepancy is common to almost all models and is related, in part, to the input data quality. McRAS was implemented in the GEOS II GCM. A 50 month integration that was initialized with the ECMWF analysis of observations for January 1, 1987 and forced with the observed sea-surface temperatures and sea-ice distribution and vegetation properties (biomes, and soils), with prognostic soil moisture, snow-cover, and hydrology showed a very realistic simulation of cloud process, incloud water and ice, and cloud-radiative forcing (CRF). The simulated ITCZ showed a realistic time-mean structure and seasonal cycle, while the simulated CRF showed sensitivity to vertical distribution of cloud water which can be easily altered by the choice of time constant and incloud critical cloud water amount regulators for auto-conversion. The CRF and its feedbacks also have a profound effect on the ITCZ. Even though somewhat weaker than observed, the McRAS-GCM simulation produces robust 30-60 day oscillations in the 200 hPa velocity potential. Two ensembles of 4-summer (July, August, September) simulations, one each for 1987 and 1988 show that the McRAS-GCM simulates realistic and statistically significant precipitation differences over India, Central America, and tropical Africa. Several seasonal simulations were performed with McRAS-GEOS II GCM for the summer (June-July- August) and winter (December-January-February) periods to determine how the simulated clouds and CRFs would be affected by: i) advection of clouds; ii) cloud top entrainment instability, iii) cloud water inhomogeneity correction, and (iv) cloud production and dissipation in different cloud-processes. The results show that each of these processes contributes to the simulated cloud-fraction and CRF.

Sud, Y. C.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Mesoscale to Synoptic Scale Cloud Variability

The atmospheric circulation and its interaction with the oceanic circulation involve non-linear and non-local exchanges of energy and water over a very large range of space and time scales. These exchanges are revealed, in part, by the related variations of clouds, which occur on a similar range of scales as the atmospheric motions that produce them. Collection of comprehensive measurements of the properties of the atmosphere, clouds and surface allows for diagnosis of some of these exchanges. The use of a multi-satellite-network approach by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) comes closest to providing complete coverage of the relevant range space and time scales over which the clouds, atmosphere and ocean vary. A nearly 15-yr dataset is now available that covers the range from 3 hr and 30 km to decade and planetary. This paper considers three topics: (1) cloud variations at the smallest scales and how they may influence radiation-cloud interactions, and (2) cloud variations at "moderate" scales and how they may cause natural climate variability, and (3) cloud variations at the largest scales and how they affect the climate. The emphasis in this discussion is on the more mature subject of cloud-radiation interactions. There is now a need to begin similar detailed diagnostic studies of water exchange processes.

Rossow, William B.↗
NASA NTRS2000

SST Variation Due to Interactive Convective-Radiative Processes

The recent linking of Cloud-Resolving Models (CRMs) to Ocean-Mixed Layer (OML) models has provided a powerful new means of quantifying the role of cloud systems in ocean-atmosphere coupling. This is due to the fact that the CRM can better resolve clouds and cloud systems and allow for explicit cloud-radiation interaction. For example, Anderson (1997) applied an atmospheric forcing associated with a CRM simulated squall line to a 3-D OML model (one way or passive interaction). His results suggested that the spatial variability resulting from the squall forcing can last at least 24 hours when forced with otherwise spatially uniform fluxes. In addition, the sea surface salinity (SSS) variability continuously decreased following the forcing, while some of the SST variability remained when a diurnal mixed layer capped off the surface structure. The forcing used in the OML model, however, focused on shorter time (8 h) and smaller spatial scales (100-120 km). In this study, the 3-D Goddard Cumulus Ensemble Model (GCE; 512 x 512 x 23 cu km, 2-km horizontal resolution) is used to simulate convective active episodes occurring in the Western Pacific warm pool and Eastern Atlantic regions. The model is integrated for seven days, and the simulated results are coupled to an OML model to better understand the impact of precipitation and changes in the planetary boundary layer upon SST variation. We will specifically examine and compare the results of linking the OML model with various spatially-averaged outputs from GCE simulations (i.e., 2 km vs. 10-50 km horizontal resolutions), in order to help understand the SST sensitivity to multi-scale influences. This will allow us to assess the importance of explicitly simulated deep and shallow clouds, as well as the subgrid-scale effects (in coarse-model runs) upon SST variation. Results using both 1-D and 2-D OML models will be evaluated to assess the effects of horizontal advection.

Tao, W.-K.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Various Numerical Applications on Tropical Convective Systems Using a Cloud Resolving Model

In recent years, increasing attention has been given to cloud resolving models (CRMs or cloud ensemble models-CEMs) for their ability to simulate the radiative-convective system, which plays a significant role in determining the regional heat and moisture budgets in the Tropics. The growing popularity of CRM usage can be credited to its inclusion of crucial and physically relatively realistic features such as explicit cloud-scale dynamics, sophisticated microphysical processes, and explicit cloud-radiation interaction. On the other hand, impacts of the environmental conditions (for example, the large-scale wind fields, heat and moisture advections as well as sea surface temperature) on the convective system can also be plausibly investigated using the CRMs with imposed explicit forcing. In this paper, by basically using a Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model, three different studies on tropical convective systems are briefly presented. Each of these studies serves a different goal as well as uses a different approach. In the first study, which uses more of an idealized approach, the respective impacts of the large-scale horizontal wind shear and surface fluxes on the modeled tropical quasi-equilibrium states of temperature and water vapor are examined. In this 2-D study, the imposed large-scale horizontal wind shear is ideally either nudged (wind shear maintained strong) or mixed (wind shear weakened), while the minimum surface wind speed used for computing surface fluxes varies among various numerical experiments. For the second study, a handful of real tropical episodes (TRMM Kwajalein Experiment - KWAJEX, 1999; TRMM South China Sea Monsoon Experiment - SCSMEX, 1998) have been simulated such that several major atmospheric characteristics such as the rainfall amount and its associated stratiform contribution, the Qlheat and Q2/moisture budgets are investigated. In this study, the observed large-scale heat and moisture advections are continuously applied to the 2-D model. The modeled cloud generated from such an approach is termed continuously forced convection or continuous large-scale forced convection. A third study, which focuses on the respective impact of atmospheric components on upper Ocean heat and salt budgets, will be presented in the end. Unlike the two previous 2-D studies, this study employs the 3-D GCE-simulated diabatic source terms (using TOGA COARE observations) - radiation (longwave and shortwave), surface fluxes (sensible and latent heat, and wind stress), and precipitation as input for the Ocean mixed-layer (OML) model.

Shie, C.-L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Advancements in the Representation of Cloud-Aerosol Microphysics in the GEOS-5 AGCM

Despite numerous challenges, the physical parameterization of cloud-aerosol interactions in atmospheric GCMs has become a top priority for advancement because of our need to simulate and understand past, current, and future indirect effects of aerosols on clouds. The challenges stem from the involvement of wide range of cloud-scale dynamics and aerosol activation physical processes. Cloud dynamics modulate cloud areal extent and condensate, while aerosol activation depends on aerosol mass load, size distribution, internal mixing state, and nucleating properties, and ultimately determines cloud optical properties via particle sizes. Both macro- and micro-scale processes are obviously important for cloud-radiation interactions. We will present the main features of cloud microphysical properties in the GEOS- 5 Atmospheric GCM (AGCM) as simulated by the McRAS-AC (Microphysics of Clouds with Relaxed Arakawa-Schubert and Aerosol-Cloud interaction) scheme. McRAS-AC uses Fountoukis and Nenes (2005) aerosol activation for liquid clouds, and has an option for either Liu and Penner (2005) or Barahona and Nenes (2008, 2009) aerosol activation for ice clouds. Aerosol loading (on-line or climatological) comes from GOCART, with an assumed log-normal size distribution. Other features of McRAS-AC are level-by-level cloud-scale thermodynamics, and Seifert-Beheng (2001)-type precipitation microphysics, particularly from moist convection. Results from Single-Column Model simulations will be shown to demonstrate how cloud radiative properties, lifetimes, and precipitation are influenced by different parameterization assumptions. Corresponding fields from year-long simulations of the full AGCM will also be presented with geographical distributions of cloud effective particle sizes compared to satellite retrievals. While the primary emphasis will be on current climate, simulation results with perturbed aerosol loadings will also be shown to expose the radiative sensitivity of the microphysical parameterization.

Lee, D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Air-sea interactions and cirrus cloud-radiation feedbacks on climate

A single cloud-radiation feedback mechanism, which may play a role in the climate changes expected from increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other trace greenhouse gases, is described. An improved radiative-convective model was developed and used to study the role of cirrus clouds in the optical thickness feedback mechanism. The model includes prescribed relative humidity and ozone profiles and a surface energy balance. The results suggest that the cloud optical thickness feedback mechanism can cause a substantial reduction in the surface warming due to doubling CO2, even in the presence of cirrus clouds.

Somerville, Richard C. J.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Using Multi-scale Modeling Systems to Study the Precipitation Processes

Numerical cloud models, which are based the non-hydrostatic equations of motion, have been extensively applied to cloud-scale and mesoscale processes during the past four decades. Because cloud-scale dynamics are treated explicitly, uncertainties stemming from convection that have to be parameterized in (hydrostatic) large-scale models are obviated, or at least mitigated, in cloud models. Global models will use the non-hydrostatic framework when their horizontal resolution becomes about 10 km, the theoretical limit for the hydrostatic approximation. This juncture will be reached one to two decades from now. Recently, a multi-scale modeling system with unified physics was developed at NASA Goddard. It consists of (1) a cloud-resolving model (CRM), (2) a regional scale model, (3) a coupled CRM and global model, and (4) a land modeling system. The same microphysical processes, long and short wave radiative transfer processes and the explicit cloud-radiation, and cloudland surface interactive processes are applied in this multi-scale modeling system. In this talk, a review of developments and applications of the multi-scale modeling system will be presented. In particular, the results from using multi-scale modeling system to study the interactions between clouds, precipitation, and aerosols will be presented.

Tao, Wei-Kuo↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Diurnal Cycle in TOGA-COARE: Regional Scale Model Simulations

The diurnal variation of precipitation processes over the tropics is a well-known phenomenon and has been studied using surface rainfall data, radar reflectivity data, and satellite-derived cloudiness and precipitation. Recently, analyzed observations from Tropical Oceans and Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) in the tropical western Pacific ocean to study the relevant mechanisms producing diurnal variation of precipitation. They found that the diurnal Sea surface temperature (SST) cycle is important for afternoon showers in the undisturbed periods and diurnal radiative processes for nocturnal rainfall. Cloud resolving models (CRMS) have been used to determine the mechanisms associated with diurnal variation of precipitating processes. CRMs allow explicit cloud-radiation and air-sea interactive processes. However, CRMs can be only used for idealized simulations (i.e., no feedback between clouds and their embedded large-scale environments; cyclic lateral boundary conditions and idealized initial conditions). In this study, the Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5) with improved physics (i.e., cloud microphysics, radiation, land-soil-vegetation-surface processes, and TOGA COARE flux scheme) and a multiple level nesting technique (covers the TOGA COARE LSA/IFA with a 54 km grid and can nest down to 18, 6 and possibly even 2 km) will be adopted for studying the diurnal variations of rainfall. We will examine precipitation processes over open ocean and over land. We will also perform sensitivity tests to determine how the radiative forcing and diurnal SST cycle affects the development of convection.

Tao, W.-K.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Using Microwave Limb Sounder Data to Validate Model Ice Fields

MLS IWC overall tends to be higher relative to ECMWF after considering MLS track sampling and sensitivity (cutoff application). Disagreement tends to be accentuated over Indian and Western Pacific Oceans and over tropical landmasses. Large disagreement occur at upper level at 147 hPa but small at lower levels at 215 and 316 hPa suggesting the need to investigate the strength of model large-scale circulation and physics associated with the IWC formation. Future work includes: Present MMF/ECMWF Comparisons at AGU/Baltimore Session on MMF/Cloud Resolving Modeling, GMAO/GSFC & at the WPac/Bejing/AGU in Tao's Cloud-Radiation Session. Write-up Results on ECMWF/MLS Comparisons for GRL. Continue with MLS vs ECMWF Water Vapor & Temperature comparisons - will seek more interaction with other MLS colleagues. Investigate the Development of Biases in ECMWF Forecasts - i.e. in the actual model. Work with GMAO-5 development team regarding their cloud microphysics performance. Integrate CloudSat into IWC Analyses.

cloud ice↗
NASA NTRS1999

Clouds in ECMWF's 30 KM Resolution Global Atmospheric Forecast Model (TL639)

Global models of the general circulation of the atmosphere resolve a wide range of length scales, and in particular cloud structures extend from planetary scales to the smallest scales resolvable, now down to 30 km in state-of-the-art models. Even the highest resolution models do not resolve small-scale cloud phenomena seen, for example, in Landsat and other high-resolution satellite images of clouds. Unresolved small-scale disturbances often grow into larger ones through non-linear processes that transfer energy upscale. Understanding upscale cascades is of crucial importance in predicting current weather, and in parameterizing cloud-radiative processes that control long term climate. Several movie animations provide examples of the temporal and spatial variation of cloud fields produced in 4-day runs of the forecast model at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in Reading, England, at particular times and locations of simultaneous measurement field campaigns. model resolution is approximately 30 km horizontally (triangular truncation TL639) with 31 vertical levels from surface to stratosphere. Timestep of the model is about 10 minutes, but animation frames are 3 hours apart, at timesteps when the radiation is computed. The animations were prepared from an archive of several 4-day runs at the highest available model resolution, and archived at ECMWF. Cloud, wind and temperature fields in an approximately 1000 km X 1000 km box were retrieved from the archive, then approximately 60 Mb Vis5d files were prepared with the help of Graeme Kelly of ECMWF, and were compressed into MPEG files each less than 3 Mb. We discuss the interaction of clouds and radiation in the model, and compare the variability of cloud liquid as a function of scale to that seen in cloud observations made in intensive field campaigns. Comparison of high-resolution global runs to cloud-resolving models, and to lower resolution climate models is leading to better understanding of the upscale cascade and suggesting new cloud-radiation parameterizations for climate models.

Cahalan, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Why is there a diurnal cycle of precipitation over the oceans?

Using the Colorado State University general circulation model, simulated diurnal and semidiurnal variability of precipitation has been analyzed. At least four mechanisms have been proposed to account for the observed daily oscillations of precipitations over the ocean: direct radiation convection, radiation-dynamics-convection interactions, remote influence of the continents, and atmospheric tidal forces. Results indicate that neither land-sea contrasts nor cloudiness are necessary to produce daily variations of precipitations over the oceans. Clear-sky radiative effects, cloud-radiative effects, and the remote influence of the continents all turn out to play a role.

Randall, David A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Foundations for statistical-physical precipitation retrieval from passive microwave satellite measurements. II - Emission-source and generalized weighting-function properties of a time-dependent cloud-radiation model

The foremost physical aspects of microphysical-radiative interactions that control the formation and modulation of frequency-dependent passive microwave TB over a continental cold-rain precipitation system are explained within the framework of the essential ingredients of a physically based precipitation-retrieval algorithm. The analysis is based on a modeling study in which a 3D cloud model has provided the objective basis for generating an extensive set of microphysical profiles that describe numerous precipitation features in the course of the evolution of a continental hail storm. A summary of the various components of the algorithm, as well as the surface rain rates, is given. The algorithm employs the cloud model to provide a consistent and objectively generated source of detailed microphysical information as the underpinnings to an inversion-based perturbative retrieval scheme.

Mugnai, Alberto↗
NASA NTRS2001

Cloud Structure Anomalies Over the Tropical Pacific During the 1997/98 El Nino

Satellite measurements of both cloud vertical structure and cloud-radiative forcing have been used to show that during the strong 1997/98 El Nino there was a substantial change in cloud vertical structure over the tropical Pacific Ocean. Relative to normal years, cloud altitudes were lower in the western portion of the Pacific and higher in the eastern portion. The reason for these redistributions was a collapse of the Walker circulation and enhanced large-scale upward motion over the eastern Pacific, both caused by the lack of a zonal sea surface temperature gradient during El Nino. It is proposed that these cloud structure changes, which significantly impact satellite measurements of the tropical Pacific's radiation budget, would serve as one useful means of testing cloud-climate interactions in climate models.

Cess, Robert D.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Tropical Convective Responses to Microphysical and Radiative Processes: A Sensitivity Study With a 2D Cloud Resolving Model

Prognostic cloud schemes are increasingly used in weather and climate models in order to better treat cloud-radiation processes. Simplifications are often made in such schemes for computational efficiency, like the scheme being used in the National Centers for Environment Prediction models that excludes some microphysical processes and precipitation-radiation interaction. In this study, sensitivity tests with a 2D cloud resolving model are carried out to examine effects of the excluded microphysical processes and precipitation-radiation interaction on tropical thermodynamics and cloud properties. The model is integrated for 10 days with the imposed vertical velocity derived from the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment. The experiment excluding the depositional growth of snow from cloud ice shows anomalous growth of cloud ice and more than 20% increase of fractional cloud cover, indicating that the lack of the depositional snow growth causes unrealistically large mixing ratio of cloud ice. The experiment excluding the precipitation-radiation interaction displays a significant cooling and drying bias. The analysis of heat and moisture budgets shows that the simulation without the interaction produces more stable upper troposphere and more unstable mid and lower troposphere than does the simulation with the interaction. Thus, the suppressed growth of ice clouds in upper troposphere and stronger radiative cooling in mid and lower troposphere are responsible for the cooling bias, and less evaporation of rain associated with the large-scale subsidence induces the drying in mid and lower troposphere.

Li, Xiao-Fan↗
NASA NTRS2008

A Simple Model for the Cloud Adjacency Effect and the Apparent Bluing of Aerosols Near Clouds

In determining aerosol-cloud interactions, the properties of aerosols must be characterized in the vicinity of clouds. Numerous studies based on satellite observations have reported that aerosol optical depths increase with increasing cloud cover. Part of the increase comes from the humidification and consequent growth of aerosol particles in the moist cloud environment, but part comes from 3D cloud-radiative transfer effects on the retrieved aerosol properties. Often, discerning whether the observed increases in aerosol optical depths are artifacts or real proves difficult. The paper provides a simple model that quantifies the enhanced illumination of cloud-free columns in the vicinity of clouds that are used in the aerosol retrievals. This model is based on the assumption that the enhancement in the cloud-free column radiance comes from enhanced Rayleigh scattering that results from the presence of the nearby clouds. The enhancement in Rayleigh scattering is estimated using a stochastic cloud model to obtain the radiative flux reflected by broken clouds and comparing this flux with that obtained with the molecules in the atmosphere causing extinction, but no scattering.

Marshak, Alexander↗
NASA NTRS2010

Using Multi-Scale Modeling Systems to Study the Precipitation Processes

In recent years, exponentially increasing computer power has extended Cloud Resolving Model (CRM) integrations from hours to months, the number of computational grid points from less than a thousand to close to ten million. Three-dimensional models are now more prevalent. Much attention is devoted to precipitating cloud systems where the crucial 1-km scales are resolved in horizontal domains as large as 10,000 km in two-dimensions, and 1,000 x 1,000 km2 in three-dimensions. Cloud resolving models now provide statistical information useful for developing more realistic physically based parameterizations for climate models and numerical weather prediction models. It is also expected that NWP and mesoscale model can be run in grid size similar to cloud resolving model through nesting technique. Recently, a multi-scale modeling system with unified physics was developed at NASA Goddard. It consists of (1) a cloud-resolving model (Goddard Cumulus Ensemble model, GCE model), (2) a regional scale model (a NASA unified weather research and forecast, WRF), (3) a coupled CRM and global model (Goddard Multi-scale Modeling Framework, MMF), and (4) a land modeling system. The same microphysical processes, long and short wave radiative transfer and land processes and the explicit cloud-radiation, and cloud-land surface interactive processes are applied in this multi-scale modeling system. This modeling system has been coupled with a multi-satellite simulator to use NASA high-resolution satellite data to identify the strengths and weaknesses of cloud and precipitation processes simulated by the model. In this talk, a review of developments and applications of the multi-scale modeling system will be presented. In particular, the results from using multi-scale modeling system to study the interactions between clouds, precipitation, and aerosols will be presented. Also how to use of the multi-satellite simulator to improve precipitation processes will be discussed.

Tao, Wei-Kuo↗
NASA NTRS2010

Using Multi-Scale Modeling Systems and Satellite Data to Study the Precipitation Processes

In recent years, exponentially increasing computer power extended Cloud Resolving Model (CRM) integrations from hours to months, the number of computational grid points from less than a thousand to close to ten million. Three-dimensional models are now more prevalent. Much attention is devoted to precipitating cloud systems where the crucial 1-km scales are resolved in horizontal domains as large as 10,000 km in two-dimensions, and 1,000 x 1,000 sq km in three-dimensions. Cloud resolving models now provide statistical information useful for developing more realistic physically based parameterizations for climate models and numerical weather prediction models. It is also expected that NWP and mesoscale models can be run in grid size similar to cloud resolving models through nesting technique. Recently, a multi-scale modeling system with unified physics was developed at NASA Goddard. It consists of (1) a cloud-resolving model (Goddard Cumulus Ensemble model, GCE model). (2) a regional scale model (a NASA unified weather research and forecast, W8F). (3) a coupled CRM and global model (Goddard Multi-scale Modeling Framework, MMF), and (4) a land modeling system. The same microphysical processes, long and short wave radiative transfer and land processes and the explicit cloud-radiation and cloud-land surface interactive processes are applied in this multi-scale modeling system. This modeling system has been coupled with a multi-satellite simulator to use NASA high-resolution satellite data to identify the strengths and weaknesses of cloud and precipitation processes simulated by the model. In this talk, a review of developments and applications of the multi-scale modeling system will be presented. In particular, the results from using multi-scale modeling systems to study the interactions between clouds, precipitation, and aerosols will be presented. Also how to use the multi-satellite simulator to improve precipitation processes will be discussed.

Tao, Wei--Kuo↗
NASA NTRS2011

Using Multi-Scale Modeling Systems and Satellite Data to Study the Precipitation Processes

In recent years, exponentially increasing computer power has extended Cloud Resolving Model (CRM) integrations from hours to months, the number of computational grid points from less than a thousand to close to ten million. Three-dimensional models are now more prevalent. Much attention is devoted to precipitating cloud systems where the crucial 1-km scales are resolved in horizontal domains as large as 10,000 km in two-dimensions, and 1,000 x 1,000 km2 in three-dimensions. Cloud resolving models now provide statistical information useful for developing more realistic physically based parameterizations for climate models and numerical weather prediction models. It is also expected that NWP and mesoscale model can be run in grid size similar to cloud resolving model through nesting technique. Recently, a multi-scale modeling system with unified physics was developed at NASA Goddard. It consists of (l) a cloud-resolving model (Goddard Cumulus Ensemble model, GCE model), (2) a regional scale model (a NASA unified weather research and forecast, WRF), (3) a coupled CRM and global model (Goddard Multi-scale Modeling Framework, MMF), and (4) a land modeling system. The same microphysical processes, long and short wave radiative transfer and land processes and the explicit cloud-radiation, and cloud-land surface interactive processes are applied in this multi-scale modeling system. This modeling system has been coupled with a multi-satellite simulator to use NASA high-resolution satellite data to identify the strengths and weaknesses of cloud and precipitation processes simulated by the model. In this talk, the recent developments and applications of the multi-scale modeling system will be presented. In particular, the results from using multi-scale modeling system to study the precipitating systems and hurricanes/typhoons will be presented. The high-resolution spatial and temporal visualization will be utilized to show the evolution of precipitation processes. Also how to use of the multi-satellite simulator tqimproy~ precipitation processes will be discussed.

Tao, Wei-Kuo↗