A Bin and a Bulk Microphysics Scheme Can Be More Alike Than Two Bin Schemes

Bin and bulk schemes are the two primary methods to parameterize cloud microphysical processes. This study attempts to reveal how their structural differences (size‐resolved vs. moment‐resolved) manifest in terms of cloud and precipitation properties. We use a bulk scheme, the Arbitrary Moment Predictor (AMP), which uses process parameterizations identical to those in a bin scheme but predicts only moments of the size distribution like a bulk scheme. As such, differences between simulations using AMP's bin scheme and simulations using AMP itself must come from their structural differences. In one‐dimensional kinematic simulations, the overall difference between AMP (bulk) and bin schemes is found to be small. Full‐microphysics AMP and bin simulations have similar mean liquid water path (mean percent difference