Microphysics of summer clouds in central West Antarctica simulated by the Polar Weather Research and Forecasting  Model (WRF) and the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction  System (AMPS)

Hines, Keith M.; Bromwich, David H.; Wang, Sheng-Hung; Silber, Israel; Verlinde, Johannes; Lubin, Dan

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12431-2019

Articles | Volume 19, issue 19

Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 12431–12454, 2019

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12431-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 12431–12454, 2019

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12431-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 19, issue 19

Research article 08 Oct 2019

Research article | 08 Oct 2019

Microphysics of summer clouds in central West Antarctica simulated by the Polar Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) and the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS)

Keith M. Hines et al.

Data sets

AMPS database Polar Meteorology Group http://polarmet.osu.edu/AMPS/

Model code and software

The Weather Research and Forecasting model NCAR Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology https://www.mmm.ucar.edu/weather-research-and-forecasting-model

The Polar WRF model Polar Meteorology Group http://polarmet.osu.edu/PWRF/registration.php

Short summary

We explore how well clouds are represented in numerical weather prediction over Antarctica, a very difficult environment for field programs where few studies have been conducted. Fortunately, a 2015–2017 field program for West Antarctica supplied observations. We achieve promising results with newer, more advanced cloud schemes. We need to understand the role of clouds and precipitation in the maintenance of the Antarctic ice mass to understand and predict sea level change over the 21st century.