Improve the simulation of western North Pacific summer monsoon in RegCM3 by suppressing convection

Abstract

Regional climate models, such as RegCM3, generally show large biases in the simulation of western North Pacific (WNP) summer monsoon (WNPSM). In this study, the authors improved the simulation of WNPSM by applying the convection suppression criterion based on the averaged relative humidity from cloud base to cloud top. The simulated rainfall and monsoon circulation are significantly improved. The suppressed convective heating associated with the decrease in convective rainfall simulates a low-level anomalous anticyclone to its north. The anomalous anticyclone reduces the intensity of low-level southwesterly flow and the wind speed at 10 m. The reduction in wind speed at 10 m decreases the evaporation at sea surface. The less supply of water vapor from underlying ocean in turn favors less convective rainfall. The overestimation of simulated convective percentages and the cold bias of 2 m air temperature are also reduced. The different effects of convection suppression criterion in stand-alone RegCM3 and corresponding regional air–sea coupled model are also discussed.