Coupling observations and models

Since decades, the representation of clouds and precipitation has been one of the the main sources for uncertainty in weather prediction and climate change. These processes, in short or long term, can only be improved by the combination of highly resolving observation and models. Within CPEX-Lab, experts in cloud and precipitation observations use state of the art observation techniques and work together with the developers of weather and climate models to improve their understanding and the representation of clouds and precipitation in clouds and models.
Specifically, the Emmy-Noether group OPTIMICE uses multi-frequency radar at JOYCE to characterize precipitation formation processes in the ice phase. These are compared to state-ofthe-art cloud physics schemes, e.g. using the DWD’s ICON model in LES mode.

The new DFG project SOCLES characterizes the 4D evolution of cloud fields using multiple hemispheric cameras based on stereographic projection. These observations will show how close to reality the ICON LES cloud fields and their spatial/temporal variability are.