A computer program was written to calculate snow albedos for the months of January, March, and May in western Canada. Snow depth as well as water equivalent depth data was obtained from snow cover records and climatic maps. It was found that for the months of January and March, the snow depths were all greater than 10 cm and so the snow albedo was not a function of the surface type rather only the snow cover. For May, however, snow depths of less than 10 cm were obtained and the albedo became a function of both the water equivalent as well as surface type. The method of data collection is criticized primarily because of the instances of measurements and methods of measurement. Also, the equation in which the snow albedo is calculated is criticized because it only takes into consideration snow depth and not other important factors such as snow age density and crystal structure. However, age, density, and crystal structure are difficult measures to obtain data for on a large scale typical of GCMs. Good comparisons are made with the snow albedo values of forested sites obtained in this study with those in the literature. / Thesis / Bachelor of Science (BSc)

Satellite data have shown that east-west oriented cloud bands, known as Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), propagate eastwards along the equator throughout the year and northwards during boreal summer on intraseasonal time scales. The northward propagations over Bay of Bengal have important connection with onset of south Asian monsoon and active-break cycles of the Indian monsoon. Some studies on mean structure of ITCZ have concluded that preferred location of ITCZ is governed by meridional variation of sea surface temperature (SST) while other studies have stressed the importance of heating in the free atmosphere. Studies on the migration of ITCZ have shown that northward migration of maximum convergence zone is due to generation of positive barotropic vorticity north of the convection in the boundary layer due to internal dynamics of the atmosphere. In the present study mean and transient structure of northward migration of ITCZ over Bay of Bengal is simulated with the help of a general circulation model (GCM). The mean ITCZ is found not to occur at SST maximum or SST gradient maxima. A new simple model for the mean state of ITCZ based on moisture budget, linear friction and hydrostatic assumption is proposed. It highlights the relative importance of SST and atmospheric effects in generation of maximum convergence. The large cancellation between the effect of SST on boundary layer and thermodynamic effects in free troposphere is shown to control convergence. The model also shows that latitude and time independent linear friction parameterization in a simple model is able to predict monthly mean location of ITCZ in a GCM. The results give a quantitative understanding about the relative role of surface effects and atmospheric effects in determining location of the mean ITCZ. A simple linear model for understanding the mechanism of instability that governs the northward migration of ITCZ is proposed. Vertical shear in mean winds couples the barotrpic and baroclinic modes in free troposphere in this model. The model is able to predict the correct scale with standard values of friction and diffusion parameters. The mechanism of instability is found to be due to internal dynamics of troposphere. It is shown that direction of propagation is decided by vertical shear in zonal as well as meridional mean winds. This is contrary to the previous studies which conclude that either vertical shear in zonal winds or vertical shear in meridional winds control the direction of propagation.

Context. The Martian methane and water cycle are subject of ongoing research through simulation. Exchange with the subsurface has a potentially strong impact, but is often neglected. Aims. For methane, I determine if adsorption with an increased enthalpy can explain the observed seasonal variations and conflicting observations by the Trace Gas Orbiter and the Curiosity rover. For water, the impact of adsorption and ice formation in the subsurface on the global cycle is studied. A new way of initializing the soil, by running a decoupled subsurface model, is tested. Depths of stable subsurface ice and subsurface water distributions are studied. Methods. A General Circulation Model (GCM) is used with a purely diffusive subsurface model. For methane, different initial states, source scenarios, and decay times are tested. For water, a model without an active atmosphere is implemented to provide an initial state. The effect of the subsurface with this initial state on the full atmospheric water cycle is tested. Results. For methane, a strong influence on the global methane cycle is observed. Seasonal variations measured at Gale Crater are reproduced, but the conflicting observations cannot be explained by adsorption. For water, the new initialization can be used without completely disrupting the water cycle. It leads to a generally wetter atmosphere, in conflict with observations. Found ice table depths do not match well with observations, but ice profiles reproduce previous findings. Conclusion. Methane adsorption is able to partly explain observed variations, but cannot be the only process to influence methane abundances. The new initialization method for water works well in principle, but a more refined model is needed for more realistic results.

The sources and sinks of energy for transient waves in the Martian atmosphere are investigated, applying diagnostic techniques developed for the analysis of terrestrial baroclinic waves to output from a Mars General Circulation Model. These diagnostic techniques include the vertically averaged eddy kinetic energy and regression analysis. The results suggest that the primary source of the kinetic energy of the waves is baroclinic energy conversion in localized regions. It is also shown that there exist preferred regions of baroclinic energy conversion. In addition, it is shown that downstream baroclinic development plays an important role in the evolution of the waves and in the baroclinic energy conversion process. This is the first time that evidence for downstream baroclinic development has been found for an atmosphere other than the terrestrial one.

The influence of anthropogenic emissions on aerosol distributions and the hydrological cycle are examined with a focus on monsoon precipitation over the Indian subcontinent, during January 2001 to December 2005, using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts-Hamburg (ECHAM5.5) general circulation model extended by the Hamburg Aerosol Module (HAM). The seasonal variability of aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieved from the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Terra and Aqua satellite is broadly well simulated (R 0.6–0.85) by the model. The spatial distribution and seasonal cycle of the precipitation observed over the Indian region are reasonably well simulated (R 0.5 to 0.8) by the model, while in terms of absolute magnitude, the model underestimates precipitation, in particular in the south-west (SW) monsoon season. The model simulates significant anthropogenic aerosol-induced changes in clear-sky net surface solar radiation (dimming greater than -7 W m-2), which agrees well with the observed trends over the Indian region. A statistically significant decreasing precipitation trend is simulated only for the SWmonsoon season over the central-north Indian region, which is consistent with the observed seasonal trend over the Indian region. In the model, this decrease results from a reduction in convective precipitation, where there is an increase in stratiform cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) and solar dimming that resulted from increased stability and reduced evaporation. Similarities in spatial patterns suggest that surface cooling, mainly by the aerosol indirect effect, is responsible for this reduction in convective activity. When changes in large-scale dynamics are allowed by slightly disturbing the initial state of the atmosphere, aerosol absorption in addition leads to a further stabilization of the lower troposphere, further reducing convective precipitation.

Three different boundary layer cloud models are incorporated into the ECHAM5 general circulation model (GCM) and compared to CloudSat and CALIPSO satellite observations. The first boundary layer model builds upon the standard Tiedtke (1989) parameterization for shallow convection with an adapted convective trigger; the second is a bulk parameterization of the effects of transient shallow cumulus clouds; and lastly the Dual Mass Flux (DMF) scheme adjusted to better represent shallow convection. The three schemes improved (Sub)Tropical oceanic low-level cloud cover, however, the fraction of low-level cloud cover remains underestimated compared to CALIPSO observations. The representation of precipitation was improved by all schemes as they reduced the frequency of light intensity events <0.01 mm d-1, which were found to dominate the radar reflectivity histograms as well as be the greatest source of differences between ECHAM5 and CloudSat radar reflectivity histograms. For both lidar and radar diagnostics, the differences amongst the schemes are smaller than the differences compared to observations. While the DMF approach remains experimental, as its top-of-atmosphere radiative balance has not been retuned, it shows the most promise in producing nonprecipitating boundary layer clouds. With its internally consistent boundary layer scheme that uses the same bimodal joint distribution with a diffusive and an updraft component for clouds and turbulent transport, the ECHAM5_DMF produces the most realistic boundary layer depth as indicated by the cloud field. In addition, it reduced the frequency of large-scale precipitation intensities of <0.01 mm d-1 the greatest.

The scale dependency of variance of total water mixing ratio is explored by analyzing data from a general circulation model (GCM), a numerical weather prediction model (NWP), and large-eddy simulations (LESs). For clarification, direct numerical simulation (DNS) data are additionally included, but the focus is placed on defining a general scaling behavior for scales ranging from global down to cloud resolving. For this, appropriate power-law exponents are determined by calculating and approximating the power density spectrum. The large-scale models (GCM and NWP) show a consistent scaling with a power-law exponent of approximately 22. For the high-resolution LESs, the slope of the power density spectrum shows evidence of being somewhat steeper, although the estimates are more uncertain. Also the transition between resolved and parameterized scales in a current GCM is investigated. Neither a spectral gap nor a strong scale break is found, but a weak scale break at high wavenumbers cannot be excluded. The evaluation of the parameterized total water variance of a state-of-the-art statistical scheme shows that the scale dependency is underestimated by this parameterization. This study and the discovered general scaling behavior emphasize the need for a development of scale-dependent parameterizations.

This study explores the viability of parameter estimation in the comprehensive general circulation model ECHAM6 using ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation techniques. Four closure parameters of the cumulus-convection scheme are estimated using increasingly less idealized scenarios ranging from perfect-model experiments to the assimilation of conventional observations. Updated parameter values from experiments with real observations are used to assess the error of the model state on short 6 h forecasts and on climatological timescales. All parameters converge to their default values in single parameter perfect-model experiments. Estimating parameters simultaneously has a neutral effect on the success of the parameter estimation, but applying an imperfect model deteriorates the assimilation performance. With real observations, single parameter estimation generates the default parameter value in one case, converges to different parameter values in two cases, and diverges in the fourth case. The implementation of the two converging parameters influences the model state: Although the estimated parameter values lead to an overall error reduction on short timescales, the error of the model state increases on climatological timescales.

Zugl.: Stuttgart, Univ., Diss., 2007.

Three different boundary layer cloud models are incorporated into the ECHAM5 general circulation model (GCM) and compared to CloudSat and CALIPSO satellite observations. The first boundary layer model builds upon the standard Tiedtke (1989) parameterization for shallow convection with an adapted convective trigger; the second is a bulk parameterization of the effects of transient shallow cumulus clouds; and lastly the Dual Mass Flux (DMF) scheme adjusted to better represent shallow convection. The three schemes improved (Sub)Tropical oceanic low-level cloud cover, however, the fraction of low-level cloud cover remains underestimated compared to CALIPSO observations. The representation of precipitation was improved by all schemes as they reduced the frequency of light intensity events <0.01 mm d-1, which were found to dominate the radar reflectivity histograms as well as be the greatest source of differences between ECHAM5 and CloudSat radar reflectivity histograms. For both lidar and radar diagnostics, the differences amongst the schemes are smaller than the differences compared to observations. While the DMF approach remains experimental, as its top-of-atmosphere radiative balance has not been retuned, it shows the most promise in producing nonprecipitating boundary layer clouds. With its internally consistent boundary layer scheme that uses the same bimodal joint distribution with a diffusive and an updraft component for clouds and turbulent transport, the ECHAM5_DMF produces the most realistic boundary layer depth as indicated by the cloud field. In addition, it reduced the frequency of large-scale precipitation intensities of <0.01 mm d-1 the greatest.