Variable Resolution Simulations Over the Tibetan Plateau: Insights From MPAS‐A Transitioning Across Convective‐Permitting, Gray Zone, and Quasi‐Hydrostatic Scales

This study performs global variable resolution (VR) experiments using the Model for Prediction Across Scale‐Atmosphere (MPAS‐A) to simulate 3 years of July over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) at grid resolutions of 60, 60–10, and 60–3 km, transitioning from convective‐permitting to quasi‐hydrostatic scales. The re‐initialization approach is used to constrain the background fields under the same parameterizations. The features analyzed here include mean spatial distribution, diurnal cycle, and evolution of every precipitation event. At coarser resolutions, MPAS‐A misrepresents precipitation duration, with excessive rainfall persistence due to overly strong instability and weak intensity. Finer resolutions (especially 3 km) markedly improve sub‐daily precipitation over the TP by resolving event durations, reducing the drizzle‐like overestimation of long‐duration rainfall at 60 km. These gains stem from sharper capture of onset‐time forcing peaks (surface heating and moisture convergence) and faster instability removal, together with a weaker, non‐linear dependence on moisture convergence and an enhanced representation of cessation. Overall, ∼10 km yields robust improvements with fewer artifacts, while 3 km offers the strongest sub‐daily benefits but demands additional high‐resolution observations for validation.