Orographic Precipitation Processes - Observations, Modeling and Scaling

In mountainous regions, and regions of well-defined, spatially stationary modes of land-atmosphere interactions, analysis of remote-sensing and ground-based observations shows ubiquitous co-organization of landform, clouds and precipitation with seasonal and inter-annual variability consistent with regional climate. Here, we present new observations, modeling and analysis from the Southern Appalachian Mountains and from the Central Andes with a focus on elucidating the role of adiabatic (forced lifting), diabatic (forced convection) and microphysical (seeder-feeder interactions) processes on the space-time organization of precipitation including direct and reverse orographic enhancement effects. The scaling behavior of atmospheric moisture and precipitation processes conditional on topography, landform, and landcover will be examined and interpreted with an eye toward improving satellite-based remote sensing of precipitation in mountainous regions as well as the parameterization of sub-grid scale orographic processes in atmospheric models. 3.216.33 on 8-10-2015-->