Fluctuations in an equilibrium convective ensemble. Part I: Theoretical formulation

To provide a theoretical basis for stochastic parameterization of cumulus convection, the equilibrium fluctuations of a field of cumulus clouds under homogeneous large-scale forcing are derived statistically, using the Gibbs canonical ensemble from statistical mechanics. In the limit of noninteracting convective cells, the statistics of these convective fluctuations can be written in terms of the large-scale, externally constrained properties of the system. Using this framework, the probability density function of individual cloud mass fluxes is shown to be exponential. An analytical expression for the distribution function of total mass flux over a region of given size is also derived, and the variance of this distribution is found to be inversely related to the mean number of clouds in the ensemble. In a companion paper, these theoretical predictions are tested against cloud resolving model data.