ECSS2025-310, updated on 08 Aug 2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/ecss2025-310
12th European Conference on Severe Storms
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
An open educational approach to teaching convection-resolving modeling with Cloud Model 1 (CM1)
Lisa Schielicke1,2, Rayhan Abdul Rahman3, Luna Awad3, Oliver Heuser4, Yidan Li4, Keya Raval3, Jerome Schyns4, Jose Pablo Solano Marchini4, Aaron Sperschneider4, Patrick Zobec4, and Christoph Gatzen2
Lisa Schielicke et al.
  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
  • 2Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
  • 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada (Student)
  • 4Institute of Geosciences, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany (Student)

We present our experiences from a two-week educational block course, first conducted at the University of Bonn during the 2023 winter semester, which introduced students to the nonhydrostatic, time-dependent, convection-resolving Cloud Model 1 (CM1). The course provided hands-on training in configuring and running CM1 simulations on a high-performance computing cluster, offering participants practical experience in the numerical modeling of moist convection. An introduction to three-dimensional visualization tools enabled students to transform simulation output into graphical representations, facilitating the interpretation of cloud dynamics.

Pre- and post-course surveys demonstrated significant gains in students’ understanding of atmospheric processes and in transferable skills such as high-performance computing and data visualization. The course was structured in two parts: the first covered core concepts, while the second allowed students to apply their knowledge to independent research projects. Initially designed for meteorology students with a strong background in atmospheric science, the course is now being adapted for physics students at Western University. As part of this transition, new learning materials are being developed, and preliminary outcomes will be presented.

The course has already led to several bachelor’s and master’s thesis projects, as well as undergraduate research experiences focused on severe convective storms in Canada. Many of the students involved in these projects have contributed as co-authors to the present work. All course materials are available as open educational resources (Schielicke, L., January 2024: Cloud Model 1 & Visualization-A Block course. ResearchGate, http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.30017.12642).

How to cite: Schielicke, L., Abdul Rahman, R., Awad, L., Heuser, O., Li, Y., Raval, K., Schyns, J., Solano Marchini, J. P., Sperschneider, A., Zobec, P., and Gatzen, C.: An open educational approach to teaching convection-resolving modeling with Cloud Model 1 (CM1), 12th European Conference on Severe Storms, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 17–21 Nov 2025, ECSS2025-310, https://doi.org/10.5194/ecss2025-310, 2025.