This study uses the CFMIP (the Cloud-Feedback Model Intercomparison Project) Observation Simulator Package (COSP) and the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) radar simulator to evaluate clouds simulated by the US DOE Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME) atmosphere model version 1. COSP is used to evaluate model clouds from ACME AMIP simulations at 1 degree and 0.25 degree resolutions, while the ARM radar simulator is used to evaluate model clouds in its day 2 hindcasts at the ARM sites. Model biases on cloud amount and properties are quantified and impacts of the model resolution on the simulated clouds are discussed. The radiative effect of errors in cloud properties for the AMIP runs is examined using cloud radiative kernels.

This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.