Cumulus Parameterization Schemes for a Minimal Tropical Cyclone Model

Three cumulus parameterization schemes have been considered for inclusion in the minimal tropical cyclone models to be described in papers at this conference by Nyugen and Zhu and Zhu et al. The schemes include one similar to that of Ooyama published in the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences in 1969, in which the cloud-base mass flux is determined by the resolved-scale vertical velocity emanating from the boundary layer; one suggested by Arakawa in 1969 in which the mass flux is determined by relaxing the profile in a simple cloud model to the moist adiabatic lapse rate; and one similar to that of Emanuel published in the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences in 1995 in which the mass flux is calculated on the assumption that the boundary layer is in a state of quasi-equilibrium. In this talk I will explain the physics of these schemes, highlighting their similarities and differences and discussing their pros and cons.