In existing climate models, simulated sub-grid heterogeneous states and fluxes over land are mostly disconnected from sub-grid parameterizations of the atmosphere. This is a recognized deficiency given the known role of multi-scale land heterogeneity in atmospheric processes including convection, rainfall initiation, and mesoscale circulations.
The main objective of CLASP is to parameterize the heterogeneous sub-grid exchange between the land and atmosphere and to characterize its implications for surface climate, variability, and extremes.
