High Resolution Numerical Modelling of the Atmosphere and Ocean (eBook)

Kevin Hamilton is a professor in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Team Leader for " Regional Impacts of Global Environmental Change" Research at the International Pacific Research Center. Wataru Ohfuchi has held a research scientist position with the Earth Simulator Center in Yokohama, Japan. Currently, he is the Group Leader of the Atmospheric and Ocean Simulation Research Group at the Earth Simulator Center.

Contents 5
Contributors 10
Introduction 14
Numerical Resolution and Modeling of the Global Atmospheric Circulation: A Review of Our Current Understanding and Outstanding Issues 20
1.1 Introduction – Global Atmospheric Simulations 20
1.2 Effect of Horizontal Resolution on Simulations of Tropospheric Circulation 22
1.3 Effects of Vertical Resolution on Simulations of Tropospheric Circulation 25
1.4 Explicit Simulation of Mesoscale Phenomena 26
1.5 Changing Subgrid-Scale Parameterizations with Model Resolution 29
1.6 Middle Atmosphere 31
1.7 Coupled Global Ocean–Atmosphere Model Simulations and Climate Sensitivity 33
1.8 Summary 35
References 36
The Rationale forWhy Climate Models Should Adequately Resolve the Mesoscale 41
2.1 Introduction 42
2.2 The Role of the High Frequency Wave Activity in Climate Variability 43
2.3 The Performance of the Eddy Activity in Three Climate Models 46
2.4 The Cyclone-Frontal System 51
2.5 Summary and Conclusions 54
References 55
Project TERRA: A Glimpse into the Future of Weather and Climate Modeling 57
3.1 Introduction 57
3.2 High Resolution Results 58
3.3 The Versatility Offered by Nonhydrostatic GCM’s 58
3.4 Computational Requirements 59
3.5 Summary and Conclusion 61
References 62
An Updated Description of the Conformal-Cubic Atmospheric Model 63
4.1 Introduction 63
4.2 Dynamical Formulation of CCAM 64
4.3 Physical Parameterizations 72
4.4 Parallel Aspects 73
4.5 Examples of CCAM Simulations 77
4.6 Concluding Comments 84
References 86
Description of AFES 2: Improvements for High- Resolution and Coupled Simulations 88
5.1 Introduction 88
5.2 Dynamical Processes 90
5.3 Physical Processes 96
5.4 Concluding Remarks 106
References 106
Precipitation Statistics Comparison Between Global Cloud Resolving Simulation with NICAM and TRMM PR Data 109
6.1 Introduction 109
6.2 Model and the Experimental Setup 111
6.3 Precipitation Distribution 112
6.4 Precipitation Frequency 113
6.5 Spectral Representations of Rain-Top Height 115
6.6 Summary 119
References 121
GlobalWarming Projection by an Atmospheric General Circulation Model with a 20- km Grid 123
7.1 Introduction 123
7.2 Methods 125
7.3 Results 126
7.4 Discussion and Concluding Remarks 135
References 136
Simulations of Forecast and Climate Modes Using Non- Hydrostatic Regional Models 139
8.1 Introduction 139
8.2 Summary 148
References 149
High-Resolution Simulations of High-Impact Weather Systems Using the Cloud- Resolving Model on the Earth Simulator 150
9.1 Introduction 150
9.2 Description of CReSS 151
9.3 Optimization for the Earth Simulator 153
9.4 Localized Heavy Rainfall 154
9.5 Typhoons and the Associated Heavy Rainfall 155
9.6 Snowstorms 159
9.7 Summary 164
References 165
An Eddy-Resolving Hindcast Simulation of the Quasiglobal Ocean from 1950 to 2003 on the Earth Simulator 166
10.1 Introduction 166
10.2 Model Description 168
10.3 Overview of the Simulated Fields 169
10.4 Variability at Various Timescales 175
10.5 Concluding Remarks 189
References 191
Jets and Waves in the Pacific Ocean 195
11.1 Introduction 195
11.2 Jets 196
11.3 Waves 198
11.4 Impact on the Transport of Tracers 201
11.5 Conclusions 202
References 203
The Distribution of the Thickness Diffusivity Inferred from a High- Resolution Ocean Model 205
12.1 Introduction 205
12.2 GM Parameterization 207
12.3 Model Description 208
12.4 Results 209
12.5 Summary and Discussion 212
References 214
High Resolution Kuroshio Forecast System: Description and its Applications 216
13.1 Introduction 216
13.2 Description of Forecast System 218
13.3 Predictions of the Kuroshio Large Meander 233
13.4 Toward the Kuroshio Forecast Downscaling for Coastal Oceans and Bays 238
13.5 Summary 241
References 243
High-Resolution Simulation of the Global Coupled Atmosphere– Ocean System: Description and Preliminary Outcomes of CFES ( CGCM for the Earth Simulator) 247
14.1 Introduction 247
14.2 Coupled Atmosphere–Ocean GCM: CFES 248
14.3 Preliminary Results 251
14.4 Concluding Remarks 262
References 264
Impact of Coupled Nonhydrostatic Atmosphere– Ocean– Land Model with High Resolution 267
15.1 Introduction 267
15.2 Model Configuration 268
15.3 Results of High Resolution Simulations 273
15.4 Conclusion and FutureWork 278
References 278
Color Plates 280