Abstract Quantifying horizontal spatial variability in high‐resolution simulated convective environments is key to improving parameterizations for coarser models, accurately comparing models and observations, and understanding the physical processes driving this variability. Here, we characterize horizontal spatial variability in a large sample of simulated tropical and subtropical convective environments using structure functions. Near the surface, horizontal wind is spatially rougher (smaller decorrelation lengths) than moisture and temperature over land for length scales between 10 and 100 km. At 500 hPa, tropical oceanic convective environments display smoother moisture fields compared to temperature and wind at the same scales. Besides roughness, we also compute absolute magnitudes of variability at different length scales. Across simulations, tropical oceanic environments show the smallest magnitudes of surface temperature and moisture variability. However, at 500 hPa, the tropical oceanic simulations show greater moisture variability magnitudes compared to land cases, suggesting the influence of strong, large‐scale moisture gradients over tropical oceans.
Observations from the Little Bunker
Last updated: November 30, 2025 04:25 AM
Atmospheric CO₂
426.8 ppm
+18.1
ppm/year
Atmospheric CH₄
1927.61 ppb
+2.73
ppb/year
Global Temperature
+1.48 °C
Peak: +1.73°C
World Population
8.1 billion
+67
million/year