Reducing Winter Precipitation Biases Over the Western Tibetan Plateau in the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) With a Revised Parameterization of Orographic Gravity Wave Drag

Climate models often overestimate the precipitation in western Tibetan Plateau (TP) during winter, due to their poor ability in representing the orographic drag of unresolved complex terrain. In this study, the parameterization scheme of orographic gravity wave drag (OGWD) in the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) is revised to account for the nonhydrostatic effects (NHE) on the surface momentum flux of vertically-propagating orographic gravity waves (OGWs). The effect of revised OGWD scheme on the simulation of winter precipitation over the TP is examined using parallel numerical experiments with the original and revised schemes, respectively. The results show that the revised scheme can effectively alleviate the precipitation biases in western TP by improving the atmospheric circulation and water vapor transport (WVT). The NHE reduces the surface wave momentum flux of OGWs which results in weaker zonal OGWD in the mid-low troposphere and thus stronger westerlies over the TP, reducing the easterly biases in the experiment with the original OGWD scheme. The weakened zonal OGWD promotes a plateau-scale cyclonic circulation to the north of the TP, which suppresses the northern branch of the bifurcated westerlies detouring the TP. According to quantitative analysis, the WVT into the western TP and surrounding areas by upstream westerlies is notably reduced by the northeasterlies of the cyclonic circulation, which eventually leads to the decrease of precipitation in this region.

Automated summary

This study revises the parameterization scheme of orographic gravity wave drag (OGWD) in climate models to address the overestimation of precipitation on the western Tibetan Plateau during winter. The revised scheme effectively reduces precipitation biases by improving atmospheric circulation and water vapor transport. The weakened zonal OGWD promotes a plateau-scale cyclonic circulation and reduces water vapor transport into the western Tibetan Plateau, resulting in decreased precipitation in the region.