Sensitivity of Tropical Climate to Convective Parameterization in Single Column CAM

This study investigates radiative-convective equilibria of the NCAR single column CAM using different sets of convection parameterizations. The default parameterizations of CAM5 exhibit regular oscillations, whose patterns and periods depend on radiative forcing (interactive vs. prescribed one) and external conditions (sea surface temperature and wind speed). These oscillations become irregular or even disappear when using different combinations of turbulence, shallow convection, deep convection, and stratiform (macrophysics+microphysics) schemes. The interactions among moist processes, radiation, and stratification in single column CAM are discussed to address the presence and form of the oscillation. The results are further compared to global simulations using a simplified radiative-convective equilibrium configuration for understanding the effects of dynamics on the simulated tropical climate in CAM.