Numerical methods for entrainment and detrainment in the multi-fluid Euler equations for convection

Abstract: Convection schemes are a large source of error in global weather and climate models, and modern resolutions are often too fine to parameterise convection but are still too coarse to fully resolve it. Recently, numerical solutions of multi-fluid equations have been proposed for a more flexible and consistent treatment of sub-grid scale convection, including net mass transport by convection and non-equilibrium dynamics. The technique involves splitting the atmosphere into multiple fluids. For example, the atmosphere could be divided into buoyant updrafts and stable regions. The fluids interact through a common pressure, drag and mass transfers (entrainment and detrainment). Little is known about the numerical properties of mass transfer terms between the fluids. We derive mass transfer terms which relabel the fluids and derive numerical properties of the transfer schemes, including boundedness, momentum conservation and energy conservation. Numerical solutions of the multi-fluid Euler equations using a C-grid are presented using stable and unstable treatments of the transfers on a well-resolved two-fluid dry convection test case. We find two schemes which are conservative, stable and bounded for large timesteps, and maintain their numerical properties on staggered grids.