Sensitivity of cloud structure and precipitation to cloud microphysics schemes in ICON and implications for global km-scale simulations

Abstract

Cloud microphysics remains a major source of uncertainty in km-scale atmospheric models. While cloud-resolving models have advanced our understanding of cloud-climate interactions, their predictability remains limited. Most studies have examined either microphysics schemes or domain-size sensitivities, but their interactions are poorly understood. This study examines cloud structure and precipitation sensitivity to microphysics schemes and how they vary between regional and global configurations within a single, consistent modelling framework. We analyse three convection-permitting simulations over the Amazon: two regional runs employing single- and double-moment microphysics schemes and a global single-moment run, with all other configurations consistent. We find that cloud hydrometeor characteristics are sensitive to the microphysics scheme. Specifically, the double-moment scheme produces up to five times more graupel and twice as much rain, but half as much cloud water and one-fifth as much fog as the single-moment scheme. Despite these differences, precipitation, water vapour, and outgoing longwave radiation remain consistent across schemes, suggesting large-scale constraints primarily govern integrated quantities. Furthermore, domain configuration further amplifies sensitivities. The global simulation exhibits up to 150 % more fog and nearly double the cloud ice compared to the regional single-moment run, highlighting the role of large-scale circulation and lateral boundary conditions. These findings demonstrate that microphysics schemes primarily influence cloud processes, while the domain setup determines how these sensitivities manifest. Improved observational constraints and perturbed-parameter ensembles are therefore needed to evaluate model performance, assess the broader generalisability of these findings and separate tuning effects and structural uncertainty.