Radar derived storm dynamics for cloud-resolving model evaluation and climate model parameterization development

The Tropical Warm Pool-International Cloud Experiment (TWP-ICE) was conducted in and around the US Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) Darwin site during January and February 2006. The field program gathered observations that have been used for initializing and driving cloud-resolving models (CRMs, with periodic boundary conditions) and limited-area models (LAMs, with open boundary conditions) for submission to the model intercomparison study, which is organized by the ARM and GEWEX Cloud System Study (GCSS) programs. Measurements also included an extensive set of remotely sensed and in-situ quantities to evaluate model performance, assisting climate model parameterization development. For example, using a combination of operational Doppler radar and CPOL polartimetric research radar data vector winds have been retrieved in storms for part of the model intercomparison period. This presentation will outline the retrieval technique, show preliminary verification of the retrieved updraft intensities and showcase model-measurement comparison with output from the DHARMA cloud-resolving model focusing on vertical winds, a crucial aspect of simulated storm dynamics which exhibit a high degree of model to model variability. Initial comparison has most model updraft speeds substantially higher those retrieved from radar measurements. Investigations into the impact of sampling, scale differences and the cause for this discrepancy are ongoing as is the extension of comparisons to all CRM and LAM submissions. Details on the roll out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded precipitation radar infrastructure for ACRF and plans for geophysical retrievals from this new instrumentation will also be presented.