NAMAP: NAME Model Assessment Project

Summary

The purpose of the NAME Model Assessment Project (NAMAP) is to provide focus to high-resolution modeling activities in support of the North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME). NAMAP Phase I consists of simulations of the single 1990 warm season when the SouthWest Area Monsoon Experiment (SWAMP) campaign was carried out.

Objectives:

NAMAP will document the ability of models to simulate the life cycle and intensity of the southwest area monsoon, examine topographic influence on convective precipitation in the core monsoon region, investigate within-model variability of this relationship through year-to-year variability studies and ensemble prediction studies, compare existing parameterization schemes and models using NAME observations for validation, improve physical parameterizations (e.g., convection/boundary layer) that influence precipitation, with a focus on defining relationships of such parameterizations to topography, and define new observational requirements for improving the parameterizations.