| Session Details | |
| Section | AS - Atmospheric Sciences |
| Session Title | Convective Influences on the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere: Challenges, Opportunities, and Pathways Forward |
| Main Convener | Prof. Z. Johnny Luo (City University of New York (CUNY), United States) |
| Co-convener(s) | Prof. Xianglei Huang (The University of Michigan, United States) Dr. Jonathon Wright (Tsinghua University, China) |
| Session Description | Deep convection is a primary mechanism by which heat and constituents from near the surface are transported to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS). The complex multi-scale nature of deep convection makes it difficult to fully understand using any single approach. Field campaigns, satellite observations, and cloud resolving and large-scale models are all essential for studying this important aspect of the climate system. Scientists have made considerable progress in understanding the influences of deep convection on the UT/LS via the accumulation of observations from various sources and the development of increasingly sophisticated modeling tools over the last two decades; however, many outstanding challenges persist. These challenges include (but are not limited to) accurately projecting changes of deep convection in response to global warming, understanding the influences of deep convection on stratospheric water vapor variability and trends, and quantifying deep convective transport and processing of short-lived chemical species. This session aims to review progress and challenges in this field, discuss available opportunities, and foster future collaborations. To this end, we invite presentations on recent findings regarding deep convection, particularly its influences on composition, radiative transfer, and the energy budget in the tropical and extratropical UT/LS. We welcome both observation-based and modeling-based perspectives, as well as theoretical studies. We believe that innovative integration of different approaches offers the best opportunity for advancing our understanding and addressing the open challenges in this field. |