Routine Large-Eddy Simulations of Continental Shallow Convection—Workflow Development

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility is developing the capability to routinely perform large-eddy simulation (LES) modeling at its permanent sites. The effort, called the LES ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) Workflow, is being designed to complement the extensive megasite observations with LES output to support the study of atmospheric processes and support the improvement of the parameterization of these processes in climate models. Megasite observations are used to constrain large-eddy simulations to provide a complete spatial and temporal coverage of observables and also provide information on processes that cannot be observed. The focus is initially on continental shallow convection at the ARM megasite in Oklahoma, USA, with a plan to expand the modeling to include other meteorological conditions and sites once the methodology has been established. This presentation describes results from the ensemble forcing methodology, evaluation of the ensembles using ARM observations, and the combination of LES output with observations for the construction of “data bundles” for analysis by the community. An interactive, web-based interface named the LASSO Bundle Browser is provided to assist users to find simulations of interest through examination of the LES performance relative to ARM observations.