Tests of an Adjoint Mesoscale Model with Explicit Moist Physics on the Cloud Scale

Abstract

Abstract An adjoint modeling system based upon the Naval Research Laboratory’s Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System’s atmospheric component has been developed. The system includes the adjoint model of the explicit moist physics parameterization, which allows for gradients with respect to the initial hydrometeor concentrations to be calculated. This work focuses on the ability of the system to calculate evolved perturbations and gradients for the hydrometeor variables. Tests of the tangent linear and adjoint models for an idealized convective case at high model resolution (4-km horizontal grid spacing) are presented in this study. The tangent linear approximation is shown to be acceptable for all model variables (including the hydrometeors) with sizable perturbations for forecasts of 1 h. The adjoint model was utilized with the same convective case to demonstrate its applicability in four-dimensional variational data assimilation experiments. Identical twin experiments were conducted where the adjoint model produced gradients for all model variables, leading to improved analyses and forecasts. The best agreement between model forecasts and simulated observations occurred when information on all model variables was assimilated. In the case where only conventional data were assimilated, the agreement was not as good in the early forecast period. However, the hydrometeor values spun up quickly, and at later times, the forecast performed almost as well as when all data were assimilated.