Global Cloud Liquid Water Path Simulations

Abstract

A new parameterization of cloud liquid water and ice content has been included in the Bureau of Meteorology Global Assimilation and Prediction System. The cloud liquid water content is derived from the mean cloud temperatures in the model using an empirical relationship based on observations. The results from perpetual January and July simulations are presented and show that the total cloud water path steadily decreases toward high latitudes, with two relative maxima at midlatitudes and a peak at low latitudes. To validate the scheme, the simulated fields need to be processed to produce liquid water paths that can be directly compared with the corresponding field derived from Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) data. This requires the identification of cloud ice water content within the parameterization and a prescription to account for the treatment of strongly precipitating subgrid-scale cloud. The resultant cloud liquid water paths agree qualitatively with the SSM/I data but show some systematic errors that are attributed to corresponding errors in the model?s simulation of cloud amounts. Given that a more quantitative validation requires substantial improvement in the model?s diagnostic cloud scheme, the comparison with the SSM/I data indicates that the cloud water path, derived from the cloud liquid water content parameterization introduced in this paper, is consistent with the observations and can be usefully incorporated in the prediction system.