Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere

About: Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Snow & Data assimilation. The organization has 332 authors who have published 997 publications receiving 38835 citations. The organization is also known as: CIRA.

Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Mass-Balance Modeling in a 131-Yr Perspective, 1950–2080

Abstract: Fluctuations in the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) surface mass balance (SMB) and freshwater influx to the surrounding oceans closely follow climate fluctuations and are of considerable importance to the global eustatic sea level rise. A state-of-the-art snow-evolution modeling system (SnowModel) was used to simulate variations in the GrIS melt extent, surface water balance components, changes in SMB, and freshwater influx to the ocean. The simulations are based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenario A1B modeled by the HIRHAM4 regional climate model (RCM) using boundary conditions from the ECHAM5 atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) from 1950 through 2080. In situ meteorological station [Greenland Climate Network (GC-Net) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI)] observations from inside and outside the GrIS were used to validate and correct RCM output data before they were used as input for SnowModel. Satellite observations an...

Experiments with the assimilation of fine aerosols using an ensemble Kalman filter

Abstract: [1] In a series of experiments we issue forecasts of fine aerosol concentration over the coterminous USA and southern Canada using the Weather Research and Forecasting – Chemistry model initialized with 3D-VAR or ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) assimilation methods. Assimilated observations include surface measurements of fine aerosols from the United States Environmental Protection Agency AIRNow Data Exchange program. Evaluation statistics calculated over a month-and-half-long summer period demonstrate the advantage of EnKF over 3D-VAR and point to the limitations of applying a simple aerosol parameterization for predicting air quality over the forecast area. Strategies for further improvement of forecasting aerosol concentrations are discussed.

Satellite Data Assimilation in Numerical Weather Prediction Models. Part I: Forward Radiative Transfer and Jacobian Modeling in Cloudy Atmospheres

Abstract: Satellite data assimilation requires rapid and accurate radiative transfer and radiance gradient models. For a vertically stratified scattering and emitting atmosphere, the vector discrete-ordinate radiative transfer model (VDISORT) was developed to derive all Stokes radiance components at the top of the atmosphere. This study further enhances the VDISORT to compute the radiance gradients or Jacobians. The band matrix used in the VDISORT is simplified and confined along the diagonal direction so that the Jacobians relative to atmospheric and surface parameters are directly derived from its analytic solutions. The radiances and Jacobians at various wavelengths from the VDISORT are compared against those from other techniques that have been benchmarked before. It is shown that the present method is accurate and computationally efficient. In the VDISORT, both emissivity vector and reflectivity matrix are integrated as part of the radiance and Jacobian calculations. In this study, only the emissivity models at microwave frequencies are tested and implemented for VDISORT applications. Over oceans, a full polarimetric emissivity model is utilized. The cutoff wavenumber separating the large-scale waves from the small-scale waves is derived from an ocean wave spectrum model. Over land, a microwave emissivity model previously developed is used to compute various emissivity spectra.

Radiative impacts on the growth of a population of drops within simulated summertime arctic stratus

Abstract: The impact of solar heating and infrared cooling on the growth of a population of drops is studied with two numerical modeling frameworks. An eddy-resolving model (ERM) simulation of Arctic stratus clouds is used to generate a dataset of 500 parcel trajectories that follow the mean dynamic motions of the simulated cloud. The 500-parcel dataset is used to drive a trajectory ensemble model (TEM) coupled to an explicit microphysical model that includes the radiative term in the vapor growth equation. The second framework is that of the ERM itself. Results from the TEM show that the production of drizzle-sized drops is strongly dependent upon parcel cloud-top residence time for both radiative- and nonradiative-influenced growth. Drizzle-sized drops can be produced between 20 and 50 min earlier through the inclusion of the radiative term, which corroborates earlier results. The radiative effect may also cause drops with r , 10 mm to evaporate, producing a bimodal size spectrum. Parcel cloud-top residence times as short as 12 min can initiate this bimodal spectrum. TEM results show that the radiative effect increases drizzle drop mass predominately in parcels that tend to contribute to drizzle even in the absence of the radiative term. Activation of large cloud condensation nuclei appears to have a larger effect on drizzle production than does the radiative term. ERM simulations show a weak overall influence of the radiative term. Drizzle onset occurs earlier when the radiative term is included (about 20 min), but there is no strong change in the overall structure or evolution of the cloud.

The Impact of Different Physical Parameterizations and Their Interactions on Cold Season QPF in the American River Basin

Abstract: The most significant precipitation events in California occur during the winter and are often related to synoptic-scale storms from the Pacific Ocean. Because of the terrain characteristics and the fact that the urban and infrastructural expansion is concentrated in lower elevation areas of the California Central Valley, a high risk of flooding is usually associated with these events. In the present study, the area of interest was the American River basin (ARB). The main focus of the present study was to investigate methods for Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF) improvement by estimating the impact that various microphysical schemes, planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes, and initialization methods have on cold season precipitation, primarily orographically induced. For this purpose, 3-km grid spacing Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulations of four Hydrometeorological Test bed (HMT) events were used. For each event, four different microphysical schemes and two different P...