Open AccessClouds and Convective Self‐Aggregation in a Multimodel Ensemble of Radiative‐Convective Equilibrium Simulations
Author(s) -
Wing Allison A.,
Stauffer Catherine L.,
Becker Tobias,
Reed Kevin A.,
Ahn MinSeop,
Arnold Nathan P.,
Bony Sandrine,
Branson Mark,
Bryan George H.,
Chaboureau JeanPierre,
De Roode Stephan R.,
Gayatri Kulkarni,
Hohenegger Cathy,
Hu IKuan,
Jansson Fredrik,
Jones Todd R.,
Khairoutdinov Marat,
Kim Daehyun,
Martin Zane K.,
Matsugishi Shuhei,
Medeiros Brian,
Miura Hiroaki,
Moon Yumin,
Müller Sebastian K.,
Ohno Tomoki,
Popp Max,
Prabhakaran Thara,
Randall David,
RiosBerrios Rosimar,
Rochetin Nicolas,
Roehrig Romain,
Romps David M.,
Ruppert James H.,
Satoh Masaki,
Silvers Levi G.,
Singh Martin S.,
Stevens Bjorn,
Tomassini Lorenzo,
van Heerwaarden Chiel C.,
Wang Shuguang,
Zhao Ming
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of advances in modeling earth systems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.03
H-Index - 58
ISSN - 1942-2466
DOI - 10.1029/2020ms002138
Subject(s) - climate model , convection , cloud cover , atmospheric sciences , radiative transfer , environmental science , climatology , troposphere , cloud feedback , longwave , atmospheric model , climate sensitivity , meteorology , climate change , physics , geology , cloud computing , computer science , oceanography , quantum mechanics , operating system
The Radiative‐Convective Equilibrium Model Intercomparison Project (RCEMIP) is an intercomparison of multiple types of numerical models configured in radiative‐convective equilibrium (RCE). RCE is an idealization of the tropical atmosphere that has long been used to study basic questions in climate science. Here, we employ RCE to investigate the role that clouds and convective activity play in determining cloud feedbacks, climate sensitivity, the state of convective aggregation, and the equilibrium climate. RCEMIP is unique among intercomparisons in its inclusion of a wide range of model types, including atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs), single column models (SCMs), cloud‐resolving models (CRMs), large eddy simulations (LES), and global cloud‐resolving models (GCRMs). The first results are presented from the RCEMIP ensemble of more than 30 models. While there are large differences across the RCEMIP ensemble in the representation of mean profiles of temperature, humidity, and cloudiness, in a majority of models anvil clouds rise, warm, and decrease in area coverage in response to an increase in sea surface temperature (SST). Nearly all models exhibit self‐aggregation in large domains and agree that self‐aggregation acts to dry and warm the troposphere, reduce high cloudiness, and increase cooling to space. The degree of self‐aggregation exhibits no clear tendency with warming. There is a wide range of climate sensitivities, but models with parameterized convection tend to have lower climate sensitivities than models with explicit convection. In models with parameterized convection, aggregated simulations have lower climate sensitivities than unaggregated simulations.