HR: 1340h
AN: A53A-0871    [Abstracts]
TI: Dynamical Downscaling: Assessment of Value Retained and Added Using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS)
AU: * Castro, C L
EM: chris@atmos.colostate.edu
AF: Colorado State University, Department of Atmospheric Science, 1371 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, Fort Collins, CO 80523 United States
AB: The value restored and added by dynamical downscaling is quantitatively evaluated by considering the spectral behavior of the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) in relation to its domain size and grid spacing. A regional climate model (RCM) simulation is compared with NCEP Reanalysis data regridded to the RAMS grid at each model analysis time for a set of six basic experiments. At large scales, RAMS underestimates atmospheric variability as determined by the column integrated kinetic energy and integrated moisture flux convergence. As the grid spacing increases or domain size increases, the underestimation of atmospheric variability at large scales worsens. The model simulated evolution of the kinetic energy relative to the reanalysis regridded kinetic energy exhibits a logarithmic decrease with time, which is more pronounced with larger grid spacing. Additional follow-on experiments confirm that the surface boundary forcing is the dominant factor in generating atmospheric variability for small-scale features and that it exerts greater control on the RCM solution as the influence of lateral boundary conditions diminish. The sensitivity to surface forcing is also influenced by the model parameterizations, as demonstrated by using a different convection scheme. For the particular case considered, dynamical downscaling with RAMS in RCM mode does not retain value of the large scale of that which exists in the larger global reanalysis. The utility of the RCM, or value added, is to resolve the smaller-scale features which have a greater dependence on the surface boundary. Additional evidence is shown which suggests this conclusion regarding RAMS is true for other RCMs as well.
DE: 3322 Land/atmosphere interactions
DE: 3329 Mesoscale meteorology
DE: 3337 Numerical modeling and data assimilation
DE: 1610 Atmosphere (0315, 0325)
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting