E1.2 Evaluation of Cloud Simulations

Abstract

It has been challenging to compare cloud measurements with climate model output because of limitations or features of the observing process. The simulator mimics the instrument view of a narrow atmospheric column by accounting for observational limitations of the instruments, so will facilitate direct comparison of modeled clouds with cloud observations. In this study, by using the CFMIP (the Cloud-Feedback Model Intercomparison Project) Observation Simulator Package (COSP), we evaluate clouds simulated by the US DOE Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) atmosphere model (EAMv1). The work shows the results on the cloud evaluation from ACMEv1 at 1 degree and 0.25 degree resolutions in its AMIP runs. The model biases on cloud amount and properties are quantified and the impacts of the model resolution on the simulated clouds are addressed. The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) radar simulator is also applied to the simulated clouds. The diurnal cycle of the hydrometeors at the ARM sites are evaluated and the uncertainties from the simulator approach are discussed. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.