Evaluation of Large-Eddy Simulations via Observations of Nocturnal Marine Stratocumulus

Abstract Data from the first research flight (RF01) of the second Dynamics and Chemistry of Marine Stratocumulus (DYCOMS-II) field study are used to evaluate the fidelity with which large-eddy simulations (LESs) can represent the turbulent structure of stratocumulus-topped boundary layers. The initial data and forcings for this case placed it in an interesting part of parameter space, near the boundary where cloud-top mixing is thought to render the cloud layer unstable on the one hand, or tending toward a decoupled structure on the other hand. The basis of this evaluation consists of sixteen 4-h simulations from 10 modeling centers over grids whose vertical spacing was 5 m at the cloud-top interface and whose…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• NA
  National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• OO
  Office of Naval Research
• UN
  U.S. Naval Research Laboratory