The influence of spatially variable resolution in fully coupled E3SM simulations
Abstract
The Department of Energy's Exascale Energy Earth System Model (E3SM) is the first of its kind model with the capability for variable resolution in all of its primary components allowing for directly resolving critical processes at a fraction of the cost of global high resolution. In version two we use variable resolution in the ocean, sea-ice, and atmospheric components. The land/river uses a separate 1/2 o grid. Here, we report on the first simulations with variable resolution centered over North America and the North Atlantic. In these simulations, the atmosphere has resolution that ranges from 100 to 25 km over most of North America. The highest ocean resolution is 14 km; outside this region, the resolution ranges from 30 km near the equator and poles to 60 km in the midlatitudes. We find that increased resolution over North America yields improvements to stratocumulus fields and orographically forced precipitation. In the ocean, the high resolution regions yield marked improvements in meridional heat transport, sea surface salinity, and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. To constrain the influence of high resolution in each component, we conduct two additional sensitivity experiments, one in which the resolution is increased in the ocean alone and another where resolution is increased in the atmosphere alone. We find that, while each test improves the simulation relative to low resolution, increasing resolution in both components yields further improvements relative to low resolution.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMA096.0009V
- Keywords:
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- 3319 General circulation;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES;
- 3329 Mesoscale meteorology;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES;
- 3337 Global climate models;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES;
- 3364 Synoptic-scale meteorology;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES