Sensitivity of Indian Monsoon to Entrainment and Detrainment in Mass Flux Schemes

A new analytical formulation of entrainment and detrainment in the Tiedtke’s mass flux cumulus parameterization is presented here in which cloud height is one of the key parameters. The proposed analytical profiles of entrainment and detrainment are tested in GCM for long-term simulation and are evaluated in the light of the results from the original Tiedtke’s scheme and another mass flux scheme due to Emanuel. The variations of Indian monsoon rainfall have been examined with these schemes in a general circulation model. Evaluation of the simulated rainfall against observations is done by empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis for the Indian Monsoon region. It is noted that the spatial and temporal variations of the all-India monsoon rainfall are sensitive to the formulation of entrainment and detrainment in a mass flux scheme, and that the new formulation can effectively represent the increased dilution with height in deep clouds.