A two-column model parameterization for subgrid surface heterogeneity driven circulations

Earth system models currently struggle to account for the complex effects that land surface heterogeneity can have on land-atmosphere interactions. There have been attempts to include the impact of this heterogeneity on the atmosphere, but they ignore the development of coherent circulations that can be driven by spatial differential surface heating. A wealth of literature, particularly large-eddy simulation (LES) based studies, shows that these circulations have significant impacts on the development and organization of clouds. In this work, we describe a two-column model with a parameterized circulation driven by atmospheric virtual potential temperature profiles, differences in near surface temperature between the two columns, patterns of surface heterogeneity, and the mean background wind. Key aspects of the proposed model structure are compared with LES output, and the model is then implemented between two otherwise independent single column models. While some avenues for improvement exist, when the circulations are parameterized, we see increased cloud development and realistic changes to the mean profiles of temperature and moisture. The proposed model qualitatively matches expectations from the literature and LES, and points to the potential success of its future implementation in coarse grid models.

To Access Resource:

Questions? Email Resource Support Contact:

  • opensky@ucar.edu
    UCAR/NCAR - Library

Resource Type publication
Temporal Range Begin N/A
Temporal Range End N/A
Temporal Resolution N/A
Bounding Box North Lat N/A
Bounding Box South Lat N/A
Bounding Box West Long N/A
Bounding Box East Long N/A
Spatial Representation N/A
Spatial Resolution N/A
Related Links

Related Software #1 : Data for: Semi-coupling of a Field-scale Resolving Land-surface Model and WRF-LES to Investigate the Influence of Land-surface Heterogeneity on Cloud Development

Additional Information N/A
Resource Format PDF
Standardized Resource Format PDF
Asset Size N/A
Legal Constraints

Copyright author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.


Access Constraints None
Software Implementation Language N/A

Resource Support Name N/A
Resource Support Email opensky@ucar.edu
Resource Support Organization UCAR/NCAR - Library
Distributor N/A
Metadata Contact Name N/A
Metadata Contact Email opensky@ucar.edu
Metadata Contact Organization UCAR/NCAR - Library

Author Waterman, T.
Bragg, A. D.
Hay-Chapman, F.
Dirmeyer, P. A.
Fowler, Megan
Simon, J.
Chaney, N.
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2024-05-01T00:00:00
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Not Assigned
Alternate Identifier N/A
Resource Version N/A
Topic Category geoscientificInformation
Progress N/A
Metadata Date 2025-07-10T20:02:30.061902
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:27346
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Waterman, T., Bragg, A. D., Hay-Chapman, F., Dirmeyer, P. A., Fowler, Megan, Simon, J., Chaney, N.. (2024). A two-column model parameterization for subgrid surface heterogeneity driven circulations. UCAR/NCAR - Library. https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7hm5dnc. Accessed 05 August 2025.

Harvest Source