TEAMx thesis project on simulations of orographic convection

The TEAMx research programme (https://www.teamx-programme.org/) deals with microscale and mesoscale processes in the atmospheric boundary layer over mountains, in particular the Alps. The initiation of orographic convection is one of the processes of interest. Several simulations were performed in order to evaluate the uncertainty of orographic convection forecasts and compare the skill of different convection-permitting numerical weather prediction models (1-2 km grid spacing). The dataset refers to a week of convective activity over the Alps in July 2019, characterized by both episodes of diurnal convection and large-scale forcing, and includes simulations with the models AROME (Meteo France, Geosphere Austria), ICON (Goethe University of Frankfurt), Meso-NH (Meteo France) and WRF (National Research Council of Italy, University of Vienna). Several observational datasets (ANTILOPE from Meteo France, INCA from Geosphere Austria, CPCH from Meteo Swiss) are available for forecast verification in different sub-areas. Preliminary analyses compared observations and simulations of the diurnal cycle of convection, of the distribution of rainfall with altitude and slope orientation, and of the size distribution and number of convective cells. The dataset is available for further investigation within Bachelor or Master thesis projects. Possible thesis goals could be: (i) Determining how large model errors, represented by the diversity of the rainfall forecast between models, are in comparison to initial condition errors, represented by ensemble forecasts performed with a single model; (ii) identifying the factors responsible for convective initiation at different times and locations among the models.