Analysis on the 10-yr Simulation of the Meiyu Precipitation and Its Associated Circulation with the GAMIL Model

The major features of Meiyu precipitation and associated circulation systems simulated by the grid-point atmospheric model of IAP LASG (GAMIL) with Zhang-McFarlane and Tiedtke cumulus parameterization schemes are examined in this paper. The results show that the model with both schemes can reproduce the heavy precipitation center over the Yangtze-Huai River Basin (YHRB) during the Meiyu period. The horizontal and vertical structures of the circulation systems during the Meiyu period are also well simulated, such as the intensive meridional gradients of moisture and theta(se) (pseudo-equivalent temperature), the strong low-level southwesterly flow in the lower troposphere over East China, the location of the westerly jet stream in the upper troposphere, the strong ascending motion in heavy precipitation zone, and compensation downward motion on the northern and southern sides of the heavy precipitation belt. However, obvious discrepancies occur in the simulated temperature field in the mid-lower troposphere, especially with the Zhang-McFarlane scheme. In addition, the simulated Meiyu period (onset and duration) is found to be associated with the temperature difference in the lower atmosphere over the land and ocean, and with the cumulus parameterization schemes. The land-sea thermal contrast (LSTC) simulated by the Zhang-McFarlane scheme increases faster than that in the reanalysis from April to July, and changes from negative to positive at the end of May. Consequently, the simulated Meiyu onset begins in May, one month earlier than the observation. On the other hand, since the LSTC simulated by the Tiedtke scheme is in agreement with the reanalysis during June and July, the simulated Meiyu period is similar to the observation. The different LSTCs simulated by the GAMIL model with the two cumulus parameterization schemes may affect the Meiyu period simulations. Therefore, it is necessary to refine the cumulus parameterization scheme in order to improve the Meiyu precipitation simulation by the GAMIL model.