TORUS: Towards decadal climate predictions using a model system with regional refinement of the Arctic
Abstract
This is a work in progress report on the current activity towards decadal climate predictions using a model system with regional refinement of the Arctic (the TORUS project). Within this framework we use the Finite-Element Sea-Ice Ocean Model (FESOM) which supports variable resolution. It allows to refine the areas of particular interest in the global context and to resolve narrow straits where it is needed. The Arctic configuration of FESOM is being intensively used to study the regional processes in the Arctic ocean with the resolution refined to 5km in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and a relatively coarse global ocean with the nominal 1.5 degree resolution. In order to conduct the decadal predictions FESOM was coupled to the atmospheric model ECHAM. The coupled model, however, is being run with the relatively coarse resolution in the ocean, varying from 30 to 200 km and T63L31 (~1.8 degree) configuration in the atmosphere. In the first part of the talk we present the examples of the ocean-alone hindcast simulations and review the status of unstructured mesh models in ocean modeling. In the second part we present the results from the coupled model integrations for 500 years, discuss model mean climate, variability and trends. We show that the climate state simulated by FESOM/ECHAM is in the most cases within the spread of other models.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFM.U51B..06S
- Keywords:
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- 1626 GLOBAL CHANGE / Global climate models;
- 4255 OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL / Numerical modeling;
- 4263 OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL / Ocean predictability and prediction;
- 4504 OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL / Air/sea interactions