Abstract

High resolution (1-10 km) numerical weather prediction (NWP) models face major challenges trying to improve representation of moist processes. In particular, simulating the interaction between the land surface and regional convection and rainfall is a source of uncertainties and presents three main barriers: (i) NWP models generally have simple land surface schemes, (ii) land-atmosphere coupling is not properly represented in models, and (iii) many assumptions made in deriving the theory of convective parameterizations are no longer valid at “gray scales” (e.g., 1-10 km). In this dissertation, interactions between land-surface heterogeneities, land-atmosphere coupling, and moist convection and related mesoscale circulations were investigated in four major studies to improve and advance the understanding of high-resolution model simulations of regional convection and precipitation. A number of short-term (i.e., 24-48 hours) retrospective numerical experiments were conducted over a variety of land-atmosphere coupling hotspot regions across the globe.

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

Date of Award

January 2015

First Advisor

Jon Harbor

Committee Member 1

Dev Niyogi

Committee Member 2

Nathanial Brunsell

Committee Member 3

Qianlai Zhuang

Committee Member 4

Kiran Alapaty

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