Evaluation of Parameterized Convective Transport of Trace Gases in Simulation of Storms Observed During the DC3 Field Campaign

Deep convective transport of surface moisture and pollution from the planetary boundary layer to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere affects the radiation budget and climate. This study uses cloud‐parameterized Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry simulations to analyze the subgrid deep convective transport of CO at 12‐ and 36‐km horizontal resolution in supercell and mesoscale convective systems observed during the 2012 Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry field campaign and compares the simulation results with aircraft measurements and cloud‐resolved simulations. The best Weather Research and Forecasting simulation of these storms was obtained with the use of the Grell‐Freitas convective scheme. The default Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry subgrid convective transport scheme was replaced with a scheme to compute convective transport within the Grell‐Freitas subgrid cumulus parameterization, which resulted in improved transport simulations. We examined the CO tendencies due to subgrid‐ and grid‐scale convective transport. Results showed that the subgrid convective transport started earlier than the grid‐scale convective transport. The subgrid‐scale convective transport reached its maximum during the hour prior to the formation of the grid‐scale constant‐altitude detrainment layer. After that, both the subgrid‐ and grid‐scale convective transport began to decrease. The subgrid‐scale convective transport played a more significant role in the supercell case than the mesoscale convective system case. Subgrid contribution reached ~90% at the beginning of the storm and decreased to ~30% (17%) for the 36‐km (12‐km) domain 4 hr later. Key Points Subgrid‐scale convective transport was more significant relative to that at grid scale in a supercell case than in a MCS case Subgrid contribution was ~90% at the beginning of the storm and decreased to ~30% (17%) for the 36‐km (12‐km) domain 4 hr later Subgrid convective transport in chemical models needs to be consistent with the cloud parameterization in the driving meteorological model