The synchronization of convective lifecycles in an idealized microscopic model

TL;DR

This paper investigates how convective lifecycles in a cloud ensemble synchronize under external wave forcing using a microscopic model, revealing a resonance mechanism that aligns individual cloud cycles with wave periods.

Contribution

It introduces a microscopic model of cloud evolution that demonstrates how external gravity waves induce synchronization of convective cycles through a resonance process.

Findings

Synchronization occurs when convection period matches wave period.

Resonant growth leads to phase alignment of cloud cycles.

Model results agree with cloud-permitting simulations.

Abstract

How a cloud ensemble responds to external forcing is a puzzle in tropical convection research. Convectively coupled gravity waves (CCGWs) in a finite domain have controllable wavelengths, providing a convenient simulation setup for studying the cloud ensemble. A multiscale analysis shows that the growth of CCGWs in a finite-domain involves not only the amplitude growth of individual clouds but also the synchronization of convective lifecycles. To understand the synchronization mechanism, we build a microscopic model with many clouds. For each cloud, the microscopic model simulates the evolution of equivalent potential temperature $\theta_e$ in the boundary layer, which is reduced by convective transport and radiative cooling and increased by surface heating. At the shallow convection stage, the $\theta_e$ grows until reaching an upper threshold where the convective inhibition energy is eliminated, and the system transitions to the deep convection stage. At the deep convection stage, the $\theta_e$ drops until reaching a lower threshold where the convective available potential energy is exhausted, and the system transitions to the shallow convection stage. The wave influences $\theta_e$ with the boundary layer convergent flow and adjusts the phase of the convective lifecycle. Numerical simulations of the microscopic model show that when the period of convection and wave equals, the wave gradually synchronizes convection. Theoretical analysis shows that the microscopic synchronization appears as the macroscopic resonant growth of the cloud ensemble. In the resonant state, the averaged $\theta_e$ and vertical velocity in the boundary layer are in phase, agreeing with the cloud-permitting simulation.