Abstract
Quantifying horizontal spatial variability in high-resolution simulated convective environments is key to improving parametrizations 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 and variograms. Near the surface, the wind field is spatially rougher (smaller correlation lengths) than the moisture and temperature fields for length scales between 10-100 km. However, at 500 hPa, tropical oceanic convective environments display smoother moisture fields compared to temperature and wind fields at the same scales. Across simulations, tropical oceanic environments show the smallest magnitudes of surface temperature and moisture variability. For scales larger than ~300 km, however, tropical oceanic simulations show greater mid-level moisture variability magnitudes than tropical land and subtropical cases, suggesting the influence of large-scale moisture gradients over tropical oceans.