Implementing the vigor of convection and the ambient wind shear into the CSU GCM

The Colorado State University General Circulation Model uses a prognostic Cumulus Kinetic Energy (CKE) closure to relax the Arakawa-Schubert cumulus parameterization. A parameter, alpha, is used to relate the CKE to the cumulus mass flux.

A theory has been developed for the alpha, to take into account of cloud depth, the vigor of convection, and ambient shear. Observations from TRMM, ERBE, ISCCP and LBA will be used to evaluate GCM simulations with this new theory implemented.