What Improvements do Models Need to be More Accurate?
Clouds

1. Modeled clouds are often represented by a single variable that applies to the entire grid cell. This doesn't allow for information about small-scale cloud properties to influence the model. There needs to be more of a link between the small-scale, fundamental cloud properties to the large-scale variables.

2. Clouds affect the movement of air because of their strong updrafts, the effects of condensation occurring within the clouds, and the effects of evaporation occurring near the clouds' edges. Models need to better simulate the connection between each grid cell's clouds and the large-scale circulation.

3. Current equations for clouds in models focus on deep cumulus clouds, like cumulonimbus, but shallow cumuli, like stratocumulus, are important, too, and need to be better represented in the models.

4. In reality, each cloud has distinct effects on the atmosphere's radiation, circulation, and temperature. First we need to better understand these effects, and then we need to directly link the effects to the cloud schemes in the models.

These problems exist when trying to represent clouds in global climate models. For studying small regions, cloud resolving models are useful because they specifically calculate certain cloud processes. Cloud resolving models are one tool that scientists use to improve the representations of clouds in GCMs.

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