DARWIN WRF experiment suite
This note summarizes the main public-facing sensitivity experiments used in the DARWIN project. It emphasizes the scientific questions behind the configurations rather than internal run identifiers.
Purpose
The experiment suite tests how strongly Galapagos hydroclimate diagnostics depend on key physics choices in WRF, especially cumulus and boundary-layer parameterizations.
Scientific logic
The goal is not to search blindly for a single best configuration. Instead, the experiment suite isolates which parts of the modeled climate are sensitive to specific process representations. In the Galapagos context, this is especially important because small changes in convection, cloud structure, or boundary-layer mixing can shift the model between garua-like and convective regimes.
Core experiment families
- Baseline tropical setup: Tropical WRF setup
- Kain-Fritsch convection sensitivity: Kain-Fritsch scheme
- Kain-Fritsch CuP sensitivity: Kain-Fritsch cumulus potential scheme
- MYNN boundary-layer sensitivity: MYNN
Why these sensitivities matter
- Cumulus schemes shape how sub-grid deep convection is triggered and how moisture is redistributed.
- Boundary-layer schemes influence low-cloud structure, near-surface stability, and land-sea exchange.
- In the Galapagos, those choices affect the modeled transition between the Garua season and convective wet-season conditions.
What the experiments support
The suite provides the methodological backbone for interpreting the Galapagos refined analysis and for understanding which simulated hydroclimate features are robust versus configuration dependent.
Public interpretation policy
Public notes summarize experiment families and physics choices. Internal run names, production bookkeeping, and intermediate testing remain in private notes.
See also: Galapagos refined analysis, Dynamical downscaling, WRF, MOC Atmospheric Model Physics