Welcome to AMP

 

Another major evaluation focus in CMS is on simulation quality as a function of horizontal and vertical resolution. Hack, Caron, and Truesdale have been examining the quality of the mean climate and its variability characteristics using the spectral dynamical core for horizontal resolutions ranging from T31 through T341. This work has demonstrated clear improvements in the simulated mean dynamical circulation when more a more traditional climate resolution of T42 is doubled to T85 (Hack et al., 2006). Variability metrics, however, are generally unchanged at the higher resolution. Furthermore, continued increases in horizontal resolution exhibit weaker responses in terms of simulation improvement, particularly with regard to the most serious systematic simulation errors. This appears to point to deficiencies in the treatment of parameterized physics as the principal source of these systematic errors. The resolution studies have demonstrated significant differences in the interaction of the dynamical core and the parameterized physics package as a function of horizontal resolution. To better explore these issues, Truesdale has incorporated modifications to the CAM so that a single-column model version of the CAM (known as SCAM) can be more seamlessly exploited. Studies using the CAM and SCAM at multiple resolutions are underway for important climate regimes.