GSD scientists receive two 2016 OAR Scientific Publication Awards

Ilustration depicting convective parameterization.

An example atmospheric processes that are smaller than the grid used by models. Image courtesy European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

June 9, 2017

The OAR Outstanding Paper awards recognize the pre-eminent science that OAR employees and affiliates publish through rigorous peer review.

GSD’s Georg Grell and co-author Saul Freitas (NASA Goddard) have received a 2016 OAR Scientific Publication Award - Weather for “A scale and aerosol aware stochastic convective parameterization for weather and air quality modeling. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 14, 5233-5250, DOI:10.5194/acp-14-5233-2014.”

Model parameterization schemes distill only the essential aspects of the physical processes they represent. Predicting the effects of convective clouds that occur over a fraction of a model grid space is one of the biggest challenges for Numerical Weather Prediction. These effects drive heat and momentum budgets across the model grid, and are critical for accurate forecasts.

The research in this award-winning paper successfully applied breakthrough techniques to approximate the feedback of convection and the interactions of convection with aerosols independent of the grid spacing of the core modeling system. The Grell-Freitas scheme was the first scale-independent approach to represent unresolved convection, and was successfully implemented into the operational Rapid Refresh (RAP) modeling system at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).

Awareness of forecast scale and aerosol impacts are being recognized as important features in future models. The development of this type of convective parameterization directly supports NOAA’s mission to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts.

High winter ozone pollution from carbonyl photolysis in an oil and gas basin Nature. 514, 351-354, DOI:10.1038/nature13767

Image of gas flares from a stack in Utah's Uintah Basin.

Gas flares from a stack in Utah's Uintah Basin. A new study by NOAA and CIRES scientists shows that chemicals released into the air by oil and gas activities can spark reactions that lead to high levels of ozone in wintertime, high enough to exceed federal health standards. (Credit: Scott Sandberg, NOAA)

Authors: Peter M. Edwards (CIRES), Steven S. Brown (CSD), James M. Roberts (CSD), Ravan Ahmadov (CSD now GSD/CIRES), Robert M. Banta (CSD), Joost A. deGouw (CSD/CIRES), William P. Dubé (CSD/CIRES), Robert A. Field, James H. Flynn, Jessica B. Gilman,(CSD/CIRES), Martin Graus (CSD/CIRES), Detlev Helmig, Abigail Koss (CSD/CIRES) Andrew O. Langford, Barry L. Lefer, Brian M. Lerner (CSD/CIRES), Rui Li (CSD/CIRES), Shao-Meng Li, Stuart A. McKeen (CSD/CIRES), Shane M. Murphy, David D. Parrish (CSD/CIRES), Christoph J. Senff (CSD/CIRES) Jeffrey Soltis, Jochen Stutz, Colm Sweeney (CSD/CIRES), Chelsea R. Thompson, Michael K. Trainer, Catalina Tsai, Patrick R. Veres (CSD/CIRES), Rebecca A. Washenfelder (CSD/CIRES), Carsten Warneke (CSD/CIRES), Robert J. Wild, Cora J. Young, Bin Yuan (CSD/CIRES), & Robert Zamora (CSD/CIRES)

Read the NOAA Web Story: New study explains wintertime ozone pollution in Utah oil and gas fields

For more information contact: Susan Cobb 303-497-5093