Development of new measurement techniques often includes observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs), based on numerical weather prediction (NWP) models and metrics derived from data assimilation systems. However, use of NWP OSSEs for deep convection suffers from limitations in both forecast models and DA systems. Our approach uses a large ensemble of high resolution simulations of deep convection in a variety of different environments, and for a spectrum of convective morphologies, to evaluate potential measurement techniques. This ensemble, when coupled with instrument simulators, allows quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of various observations related to convective vertical mass flux.
This presentation will provide an overview of our ensemble simulation methodology, as well as various approaches that may be used to evaluate new measurement techniques. We base our analysis on the fundamentals of convective dynamics, relating measurements of vertical mass flux to terms in the water budget of deep convection. Our results indicate robust relationships between net vertical flux of water and time resolved space-borne measurements.
![](images/flag.png)
![](images/blue_ribbon.png)