The precipitation efficiency and its relationship to physical factors are examined by analyzing a two-dimensional cloud-resolving model simulation during TOGA COARE in this study. The basic physical factors include convective avail- able potential energy, water-vapor convergence, vertical wind shear, cloud ratio, sea surface temperature, air temperature, and precipitable water. Precipitation efficiencies do not show a close relationship to air temperature nor to sea surface tem- perature nor to precipitable water. The precipitation efficiency increases as the water-vapor convergence rate increases and vertical wind shear weakens, whereas it decreases as the convective available potential energy dissipates and anvil clouds develop.
Compared to potential temperature （θ） in the dry atmosphere and equivalent potential temperature （θc） in the saturated atmosphere, generalized potential tem- perature （θ＂） has already proven a better thermodynamic parameter in describing the non-uniformly saturated real atmosphere. To add otherwise absent graphic explanations, this paper first presents the physical definition of θ through a tephigram. Then, the utility of the measurement in identifying and forecasting the locations of precipita- tion maxima and heat wave areas with diagnostic com- parison studies and traditionally used thermodynamic parameters is shown.
The effects of sea surface temperature（SST）,cloud radiative and microphysical processes,and diurnal variations on rainfall statistics are documented with grid data from the two-dimensional equilibrium cloud-resolving model simulations.For a rain rate of higher than 3 mm.h 1,water vapor convergence prevails.The rainfall amount decreases with the decrease of SST from 29℃ to 27℃,the inclusion of diurnal variation of SST,or the exclusion of microphysical effects of ice clouds and radiative effects of water clouds,which are primarily associated with the decreases in water vapor convergence.However,the amount of rainfall increases with the increase of SST from 29℃ to 31℃,the exclusion of diurnal variation of solar zenith angle,and the exclusion of the radiative effects of ice clouds,which are primarily related to increases in water vapor convergence.For a rain rate of less than 3 mm.h 1,water vapor divergence prevails.Unlike rainfall statistics for rain rates of higher than 3 mm.h 1,the decrease of SST from 29℃ to 27℃ and the exclusion of radiative effects of water clouds in the presence of radiative effects of ice clouds increase the rainfall amount,which corresponds to the suppression in water vapor divergence.The exclusion of microphysical effects of ice clouds decreases the amount of rainfall,which corresponds to the enhancement in water vapor divergence.The amount of rainfall is less sensitive to the increase of SST from 29℃ to 31℃ and to the radiative effects of water clouds in the absence of the radiative effects of ice clouds.
The effects of water and ice clouds on the cloud microphysical budget associated with rainfall are investigated through the analysis of grid-scale data from a series of two-dimensional cloud-resolving model equilibrium sensitivity simulations. The model is imposed without large-scale vertical velocity. In the control experiment, the contribution from rainfall （cM） associated with net evaporation and hydrometeor loss/convergence is about 29% of that from the rainfall （Cm） associated with net condensation and hydrometeor gain/divergence and about 39% of that from the rainfall （CM） associated with net condensation and hydrometeor loss/convergence. The exclusion of ice clouds enhances rainfall contribution of CM, whereas it reduces rainfall contributions of Cm and cM. The removal of radiative effects of water clouds increases rainfall contribution of CM, barely changes rainfall contribution of Cm and reduces the rainfall contribution of cM in the presence of the radiative effects of ice clouds. Elimination of the radiative effects of water clouds reduces the rainfall contributions of CM and Cm, whereas it increases the rainfall contribution of cM in the absence of the radiative effects of ice clouds.
The effects of precipitation on the moist potential vorticity substance(MPVS) are investigated by analyzing the MPVS with precipitation mass forcing and its impermeability in daily 1°× 1° data of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research(NCEP/NCAR) over the Yangtze River Basin from 21 June to 2 July 1999. The results show that the positive MPVS anomalies appear mainly along the Mei-yu front, where the maximum MPVS collocates with the maximum surface rainfall. Rain case diagnoses indicate that the MPVS anomaly may be used as a dynamical signal to detect the location and shift of the rain band when its impermeability is considered.
