Simulation of monsoon depressions using MM5: sensitivity to cumulus parameterization schemes

The sensitivity of the simulation of the monsoon depressions to the cumulus parameterization schemes used in a numerical model is studied using the Pennsylvania State University - National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU-NCAR) model MM5 version 3.6.2. Three different cases of monsoon depressions were studied with a two way interacting domains of 45km and 15km resolutions. Two different cumulus parameterization schemes namely Grell (GR) and Kain-Fritsch (KF) were used for the sensitivity study. The model was integrated for 48 hours with the initial and boundary conditions of European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting Reanalysis (ERA-40) data. The results show that both the schemes are able to simulate the large scale features of the monsoon depressions realistically. However, both the schemes failed to simulate the exact location of the depression after 24- and 48-hour simulation. The rainfall simulations of both the schemes were very different. The model with the GR scheme tends to over predict the rainfall. The KF scheme could simulate the distribution of the rainfall comparable to the observations. The KF scheme could simulate the maximum observed rainfall but due to locational errors of the simulated depression, the location of the maximum rainfall was not exact. It is also seen that the resolution of the model has a positive impact on the rainfall simulation. The GR and KF schemes were able to realistically simulate the apparent heat sources, but the apparent moisture profile simulated with KF scheme was more comparable to the verifying analysis. The root mean square errors of mean sea-level pressure, temperature, zonal wind and meridional wind were smaller for KF simulation compared to the GR simulation.