New research funded by CPO's AC4 program was highlighted on the cover of the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. The paper, "Impact of resolution on simulation of closed mesoscale cellular convection identified by dynamically guided watershed segmentation," was published online on Nov. 18, 2014.
The researchers developed a new automated method to target marine cloud features. Because these clouds are important for understanding climate, the scientists developed the new method to automatically identify the features in climate models so the clouds can be analyzed in more detail. They then applied their technique to look at a model's ability to simulate these clouds at two different resolutions.
Key report highlights include: Enhanced watershed segmentation identifies mesoscale organization; Closed MCC organize near the effective resolution of mesoscale models; resolving closed-cell marine stratocumulus depends on boundary layer depth.
To read more, visit: http://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=3884
To view the research, visit: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014JD021962/abstract