Identification

Title

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

Abstract

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.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7vx0h29

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

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Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2003-04-01T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

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Conformity

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Constraints related to access and use

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Use constraints

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.

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact