Parameter Tuning and Calibration of RegCM3 with MIT–Emanuel Cumulus Parameterization Scheme over CORDEX East Asia Domain

Abstract

Abstract In this study, the authors calibrated the performance of the Regional Climate Model, version 3 (RegCM3), with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)–Emanuel cumulus parameterization scheme over the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) East Asia domain by tuning seven selected parameters based on the multiple very fast simulated annealing (MVFSA) approach. The seven parameters were selected based on previous studies using RegCM3 with the MIT–Emanuel convection scheme. The results show the simulated spatial pattern of rainfall, and the probability density function distribution of daily rainfall rates is significantly improved in the optimal simulation. Sensitivity analysis suggests that the parameter relative humidity criteria (RHC) has the largest effect on the model results. Followed by an increase of RHC, an increase of total rainfall is found over the northern equatorial western Pacific, mainly contributed by the increase of explicit rainfall. The increases of the convergence of low-level water vapor transport and the associated increases in cloud water favor the increase of explicit rainfall. The identified optimal parameters constrained by total rainfall have positive effects on the low-level circulation and surface air temperature. Furthermore, the optimized parameters based on the chosen extreme case are transferable to a normal case and the model’s new version with a mixed convection scheme.