Confronting Models with Data: The GEWEX Cloud Systems Study (GCSS)

The Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Cloud System Study (GCSS) was organized to promote the development of improved parameterizations of cloud systems for use in climate and numerical weather prediction models, with an emphasis on the climate applications. GCSS uses models to analyze and understand observations of the behavior of cloud systems. Cloud-system-resolving models (CSRMs) have sufficient spatial and temporal resolution to represent individual cloud elements, but cover a wide enough range of time and space scales to permit statistical analysis of simulated cloud systems. Results from CSRMs are compared with detailed observations, representing specific cases based on field experiments, and also with statistical composites obtained from satellite and meteorological analyses. Single-column models (SCMs) are the column physics components of atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs). SCMs are used to test cloud parameterizations in an uncoupled mode, by comparison with field data and statistical composites. In the original GCSS strategy, data are collected in various field programs and provided to the CSRM community, which first uses the data to ?certify? the CSRMs as reliable tools for the simulation of particular cloud regimes, and then uses the CSRMs to develop parameterizations, which are provided to the GCM community. Results of a rethinking of the scientific strategy of GCSS, which takes into account the practical issues that arise in confronting models with data, are reported on herein. The main elements of the proposed new strategy are a more active role for the large-scale modeling community, an explicit recognition of the importance of data integration, and an increasing use of observed cloud-scale statistics for model evaluations.

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Copyright 2003 American Meteorological Society. Permission to use figures, tables, and brief excerpts from this work in scientific and educational works is hereby granted provided that the source is acknowledged. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be "fair use" under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC ?108, as revised by P.L. 94-553) does not require the AMS's permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form on servers, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, requires written permission or a license form the AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy, available on the AMS Web site located at (http://www.ametsoc.org/AMS) or from the AMS at 617-227-2425 or copyright@ametsoc.org.
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Author Randall, David
Krueger, Steven
Bretherton, Christopher
Curry, Judith
Duynkerke, Peter
Moncrieff, Mitchell
Ryan, Brian
Starr, David
Miller, Martin
Rossow, William
Tselioudis, George
Wielicki, Bruce
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2003-04-01T00:00:00
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Not Assigned
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Topic Category geoscientificInformation
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Metadata Date 2023-08-18T18:51:50.293025
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:10204
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Randall, David, Krueger, Steven, Bretherton, Christopher, Curry, Judith, Duynkerke, Peter, Moncrieff, Mitchell, Ryan, Brian, Starr, David, Miller, Martin, Rossow, William, Tselioudis, George, Wielicki, Bruce. (2003). Confronting Models with Data: The GEWEX Cloud Systems Study (GCSS). UCAR/NCAR - Library. http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7vx0h29. Accessed 15 February 2025.

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