Here is the latest GCSS WG4 news. This is also available from the WG4
website at www.convection.info.

ARM/GCSS meeting
----------------

The meeting proved well attended with over 20 people coming to the
GCSS break out session. Many thanks to all those who came. The talks
covered a range of issues but the focus of discussion was on the new
case 5 planned.

For those not present, two talks covering the work of WG4 and the
plans for case 5 including some preliminary results can be found on the
WG4 web site:

http://www.convection.info

Thanks to Peter Bechtold, Martin Willett, Ricky Wong and Steve
Woolnough for providing preliminary results and plans for case 5.
 
Case 5
------

The case 5 intercomparison will involve the simulation of 3 periods of
~10 days during TOGA-COARE. In the first stage, CRMs and SCMs will use
observational based data to run their models. NWP models will use
ECMWF re-analysis to run their models. In a second stage, it is hoped
that forcing data for SCMs, CRMs and LAMs will be generated from the
NWP runs.

The timetable for Case 5 will be to have the documents describing what
is required from the SCMs and CRMs by mid-January and a similar
document for the NWP models very soon after. We hope to have some
analysis of runs before the Pan-GCSS meeting in mid-May so will
request results some time in early April. The second stage will begin
some time after this.

To limit communications about this case to the whole group, we would
like to have a list of those who think they may like to be involved in
either part of this project. Please contact:

Steve Woolnough <s.j.woolnough@reading.ac.uk> if you may want to run an
SCM or CRM on this case.

Martin Willett <martin.willett@metoffice.gov.uk> if you may want to
run an NWP model on this case and are not already on his list of
people involved.