Clara Bayley
| Department | Climate Physics |
| Group | Climate Surface Interaction |
| Position | Postdoc |
| phone | |
| clara.bayley@mpimet.mpg.de | |
| Room |
My Research
Cloud Microphysics and the Superdroplet Model
I'm a post-doc investigating (warm-)cloud microphysics and its implementation in climate models. In particular, I'm finding out what we can learn from the Superdroplet Model (SDM; Shima et al. 2009, 2020) about rain formation in tropical shallow cumulus. My focus is on deciphering if our fundamental theories of cloud microphysics, as modelled by SDM, can explain the macropysical properties of precipitation and shallow cumulus cloud patterns -- i.e. properties which we can actually observe "in the field". To do this I created a SDM called 'Cleo', which I am currently using in idealised simulations to test the convergence properties of SDM (with increasing number of superdroplets for example), as well as Cleo's computational efficiency.
If you are interested in my research, want to conduct a project, or collaborate with me, please feel free to reach out!
You can view my CV by clicking here, or please request the latest version via email
I am the main developer of the CLEO code repository:
Bayley, C. J. A., et al., CLEO: https://github.com/yoctoyotta1024/CLEO, (last accessed Jul. 2026)
I am first-author of the following publications:
Bayley, C. J. A.: Design and First Applications of Cleo, a Flexible Superdroplet Model for Warm-Cloud Physics on High-Performance Computers, PhD thesis, Hamburg: Max Planck Institut für Meteorology, https://doi.org/10.17617/2.3717814, 2026.
Bayley, C. J. A., Kölling, T., Naumann, A. K., Vogel, R., and Stevens, B.: Cleo: the fundamental design of a new superdroplet model for high computational performance (v0.39.0), Geosci. Model Dev., 19, 6099–6120, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-6099-2026, 2026.
Bayley, C. J. A., Naumann, A. K., Poydenot, F., Vogel, R., Stevens, B., and Shima, S.-I.: Cleo: the numerical methods of a new superdroplet model including a droplet breakup algorithm (v0.52.0), Geosci. Model Dev., 19, 6121–6142, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-6121-2026, 2026.
Bayley, C. J. A.∗, Niebaum, N.∗, Poydenot, F., Naumann, A. K., Sarkar, M., and Vogel, R.: Constraining Rain Evaporation from Shallow-Clouds in the Trades using an Observation-Based Superdroplet Model, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5551, 2025.
*These authors contributed equally to this work.
I also contributed as second-author to this publication:
Segura, H., Bayley, C. J. A., et al.: A single tropical rainbelt in global storm-resolving models: The role of surface heat fluxes over the warm pool, Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 17, e2024MS004897, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024MS004897, 2025.
I am first-author of the following manuscript in preparation for publication:
Bayley, C. J. A., Ware, E., Arabas, S.: SDM as a Numerical Benchmark for Warm-Rain Processes?, 2026 (in preparation).
Team
Department: Climate Physics
Group: Climate Surface Interaction
Group Leader: Cathy Hohenegger
PhD Supervisors: Bjorn Stevens, Raphaela Vogel, Ann Kristin Naumann
Contact
Email: clara.bayley@mpimet.mpg.de
GitHub: https://github.com/yoctoyotta1024
Phone: +49 40 41173 - 317
Office: Bundesstr. 53, Room 421
Address:
Clara Bayley
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology
Bundestraße 53
D-20146
Hamburg, Germany
