The Covariability of Microphysical and Dynamical Processes within Convective Updrafts in Different Environments and Storm Types

As part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) INvestigation of Convective UpdraftS (INCUS) mission, large eddy simulations (LES) of convective storms in many regions of the subtropics and tropics have been completed. These simulations focus on regional case studies that span a range of convective system types from isolated and scattered convective clouds to mesoscale convective systems and tropical cyclones. They also span both oceanic and continental regions and include varying atmospheric conditions in terms moisture, stability, and wind shear. The INCUS LES simulations have horizontal and vertical grid spacings of ~100 meters, high-temporal resolution output of 30 seconds, and utilize a 2-moment microphysical parameterization. These provide a unique opportunity to assess microphysical and dynamical processes and their evolutions, feedbacks and variability in a wide range of real-world situations. The goal of this work is to assess convective updraft microphysical and dynamical conditions and their evolutions within these simulations and to determine which environmental conditions and storm types lead to the largest variability in updraft conditions through a process-based understanding.

In this presentation, variability and covariability statistics of convective updraft dynamical (e.g., vertical velocity, vertical wind shear, and convergence) and microphysical properties (e.g., hydrometeor amounts and microphysical processes rates) within the INCUS LES simulations are compared as a function of environment and storm type. The tracking and object-based analysis of clouds (tobac) software is used to identify three-dimensional convective updraft features and track them in time. The tobac-tracked features are examined to understand the evolution of updraft dynamical and microphysical properties and their variability and feedbacks as a function of updraft lifecycle. Finally, we discuss the pathways through which this variability in updraft processes feeds back to mesoscale features such as precipitation, cold pools, and cloud anvils within the different convective systems and environments.