Bulk cloud microphysical properties as seen from numerical simulation and remote sensing products: case study of a hailstorm event over the La Plata Basin
Angel Liduvino Vara-Vela, Natália Machado Crespo, Éder Paulo Vendrasco, Noelia Rojas Benavente, Marcos Vinicius Bueno de Morais, Jorge Alberto Martins, Vaughan Trevor James Phillips, Fabio Luiz Teixeira Gonçalves, Maria Assunção Faus da Silva Dias
{"title":"Bulk cloud microphysical properties as seen from numerical simulation and remote sensing products: case study of a hailstorm event over the La Plata Basin","authors":"Angel Liduvino Vara-Vela, Natália Machado Crespo, Éder Paulo Vendrasco, Noelia Rojas Benavente, Marcos Vinicius Bueno de Morais, Jorge Alberto Martins, Vaughan Trevor James Phillips, Fabio Luiz Teixeira Gonçalves, Maria Assunção Faus da Silva Dias","doi":"10.1071/es23006","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Hailstorms develop over the La Plata Basin, in south-eastern South America, more often during later winter and early austral spring, between September and October. These systems have significant socioeconomic impacts over the region. Thus, a better understanding of how atmospheric drivers modulate the formation of hailstorms is important to improve the forecast of such phenomena. In this study, we selected a hailstorm event observed over the eastern La Plata Basin during 14–15 July 2016 to evaluate the performance of the Brazilian developments on the Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (BRAMS) model. The ability of the model in simulating cloud microphysical properties was evaluated by comparing simulations driven by different global forcings against <i>in situ</i> and remote sensing observations. The model results showed good skill in capturing the basic characteristics of the thunderstorm, particularly in terms of the spatial distribution of hydrometeors. The simulated spatial distribution of hail covers locations where hail fall was reported. The BRAMS simulations suggest that, despite relatively low values of the convective available potential energy (CAPE) (700–1000 J kg<sup>−1</sup>), environments with strong 0–8-km bulk shear (60–70 kt, ~30.9–36.0 m s<sup>–1</sup>) can promote the formation of ice clouds and hail fall over the eastern La Plata Basin. To be more conclusive, however, further research is needed to understand how different combinations of CAPE and shear affect hail formation over the region.</p>","PeriodicalId":55419,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1071/es23006","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Earth and Planetary Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Hailstorms develop over the La Plata Basin, in south-eastern South America, more often during later winter and early austral spring, between September and October. These systems have significant socioeconomic impacts over the region. Thus, a better understanding of how atmospheric drivers modulate the formation of hailstorms is important to improve the forecast of such phenomena. In this study, we selected a hailstorm event observed over the eastern La Plata Basin during 14–15 July 2016 to evaluate the performance of the Brazilian developments on the Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (BRAMS) model. The ability of the model in simulating cloud microphysical properties was evaluated by comparing simulations driven by different global forcings against in situ and remote sensing observations. The model results showed good skill in capturing the basic characteristics of the thunderstorm, particularly in terms of the spatial distribution of hydrometeors. The simulated spatial distribution of hail covers locations where hail fall was reported. The BRAMS simulations suggest that, despite relatively low values of the convective available potential energy (CAPE) (700–1000 J kg−1), environments with strong 0–8-km bulk shear (60–70 kt, ~30.9–36.0 m s–1) can promote the formation of ice clouds and hail fall over the eastern La Plata Basin. To be more conclusive, however, further research is needed to understand how different combinations of CAPE and shear affect hail formation over the region.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science (JSHESS) publishes broad areas of research with a distinct emphasis on the Southern Hemisphere. The scope of the Journal encompasses the study of the mean state, variability and change of the atmosphere, oceans, and land surface, including the cryosphere, from hemispheric to regional scales.
general circulation of the atmosphere and oceans,
climate change and variability ,
climate impacts,
climate modelling ,
past change in the climate system including palaeoclimate variability,
atmospheric dynamics,
synoptic meteorology,
mesoscale meteorology and severe weather,
tropical meteorology,
observation systems,
remote sensing of atmospheric, oceanic and land surface processes,
weather, climate and ocean prediction,
atmospheric and oceanic composition and chemistry,
physical oceanography,
air‐sea interactions,
coastal zone processes,
hydrology,
cryosphere‐atmosphere interactions,
land surface‐atmosphere interactions,
space weather, including impacts and mitigation on technology,
ionospheric, magnetospheric, auroral and space physics,
data assimilation applied to the above subject areas .
Authors are encouraged to contact the Editor for specific advice on whether the subject matter of a proposed submission is appropriate for the Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science.