Wu et al. (2026) How Terrain Geometry and Environmental Instability Shape Precipitation in Mountain-Crossing Mesoscale Convective Systems

Identification

• Journal: Mendeley Data
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-15
• Authors: Fan Wu, Kelly Lombardo
• DOI: 10.17632/xdzwmzgsff

Research Groups

• Fan Wu (Pennsylvania State University)
• Kelly Lombardo (Pennsylvania State University)

Short Summary

This study investigates how varying terrain geometry and environmental instability influence precipitation in mountain-crossing mesoscale convective systems using high-resolution numerical simulations. The associated dataset provides public access to the simulation results designed to isolate these effects.

Objective

• To isolate and understand the effects of terrain geometry (mountain width and crest height) and environmental instability (initial Convective Available Potential Energy - CAPE) on precipitation characteristics within mountain-crossing mesoscale convective systems.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Simulated bell-shaped terrains with mountain widths of 50 km, 100 km, and 150 km, and crest heights of 2.0 km, 2.5 km, and 3.0 km.
• Temporal Scale: Simulations initialized at 00:00 UTC on 15 March 2019, based on observed soundings. The simulations model mesoscale convective systems, typically spanning several hours to a day.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Cloud Model 1 (CM1) version 20.3.
• Data sources:
  • Numerical simulation results from CM1.
  • Observed atmospheric sounding data from the Villa Dolores site (S1) during the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign for initialization.
  • Sensitivity experiments varied initial CAPE values (1500 J/kg, 2000 J/kg, 2500 J/kg, 3000 J/kg) and terrain geometries.

Main Results

The provided text describes the dataset and the experimental design, but does not detail the specific findings or quantitative results of the manuscript. The simulations were designed to show how terrain geometry and environmental instability shape precipitation.

Contributions

• Provides a publicly accessible dataset of numerical simulation results specifically designed to isolate and study the individual and combined effects of terrain geometry and environmental instability on precipitation in mountain-crossing mesoscale convective systems.
• Offers a systematic approach to understanding complex atmospheric processes in mountainous regions through controlled numerical experiments.

Funding

• Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility (DOE Office of Science) under grant DE-SC0022913.
• National Science Foundation under grant AGS-2002660.

Citation

@article{Wu2026How,
  author = {Wu, Fan and Lombardo, Kelly},
  title = {How Terrain Geometry and Environmental Instability Shape Precipitation in Mountain-Crossing Mesoscale Convective Systems},
  journal = {Mendeley Data},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.17632/xdzwmzgsff},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.17632/xdzwmzgsff}
}