Sensitivity of simulated summer monsoonal precipitation in Langtang Valley, Himalaya, to cloud microphysics schemes in WRF

Andrew Orr 1 Constantino Listowski 1, 2 Margaux Couttet 3 Emily Collier 4 Walter Immerzeel 5 Pranab Deb 1 Daniel Bannister 1
1 BAS - British Antarctic Survey
2 SPACE - LATMOS
LATMOS - Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales
3 ENAC - School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering
4 Institut für Geographie [Erlanger]
5 Department of Physical Geography [Urecht]
Abstract : A better understanding of regional-scale precipitation patterns in the Himalayan region is required to increase our knowledge of the impacts of climate change on downstream water availability. This study examines the impact of four cloud microphysical schemes (Thompson, Morrison, WRF Single-Moment 5-class, and WRF Double-Moment 6-class) on summer monsoon precipitation in the Langtang Valley in the central Nepalese Himalayas, as simulated by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model at 1-km grid spacing for a 10-day period in July 2012. The model results are evaluated through a comparison with surface precipitation and radiation measurements made at two observation sites. Additional understanding is gained from a detailed examination of the microphysical characteristics simulated by each scheme, which are compared with measurements using a spaceborne radar/lidar cloud product. Also examined are the roles of large and small-scale forcing. In general the schemes are able to capture the timing of surface precipitation better than the actual amounts in the Langtang Valley, which are predominately underestimated, with the Morrison scheme showing the best agreement with the measured values. The schemes all show a large positive bias in incoming radiation. Analysis of the radar/lidar cloud product and hydrometeors from each of the schemes suggests that ‘cold-rain’ processes are a key precipitation formation mechanism, which is also well represented by the Morrison scheme. As well as microphysical structure, both large-scale and localised forcing is also important.
Keywords : Microphysics Langtang Valley WRF Precipitation Himalayas
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Andrew Orr, Constantino Listowski, Margaux Couttet, Emily Collier, Walter Immerzeel, et al.. Sensitivity of simulated summer monsoonal precipitation in Langtang Valley, Himalaya, to cloud microphysics schemes in WRF. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, American Geophysical Union, 2017, 122 (12), pp.6298-6318. ⟨10.1002/2016JD025801⟩. ⟨insu-01532497⟩

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