Abstract
This paper describes the splitting supercell idealized test case used in the 2016 Dynamical Core Model Intercomparison Project (DCMIP2016). These storms are useful test beds for global atmospheric models because the horizontal scale of convective plumes is O(1 km), emphasizing non-hydrostatic dynamics. The test case simulates a supercell on a reduced-radius sphere with nominal resolutions ranging from 4 to 0.5 km and is based on the work of Klemp et al. (2015). Models are initialized with an atmospheric environment conducive to supercell formation and forced with a small thermal perturbation. A simplified Kessler microphysics scheme is coupled to the dynamical core to represent moist processes. Reference solutions for DCMIP2016 models are presented. Storm evolution is broadly similar between models, although differences in the final solution exist. These differences are hypothesized to result from different numerical discretizations, physics-dynamics coupling, and numerical diffusion. Intramodel solutions generally converge as models approach 0.5 km resolution, although exploratory simulations at 0.25 km imply some dynamical cores require more refinement to fully converge. These results can be used as a reference for future dynamical core evaluation, particularly with the development of non-hydrostatic global models intended to be used in convective-permitting regimes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 879-892 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Geoscientific Model Development |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 Mar 5 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgements. DCMIP2016 is sponsored by the National Center for Atmospheric Research Computational Information Systems Laboratory, the Department of Energy Office of Science (award no. DE-SC0016015), the National Science Foundation (award no. 1629819), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (award no. NNX16AK51G), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (award no. NA12OAR4320071), the Office of Naval Research and CU Boulder Research Computing. This work was made possible with support from our student and postdoctoral participants: Sabina Abba Omar, Scott Bachman, Amanda Back, Tobias Bauer, Vinicius Capistrano, Spencer Clark, Ross Dixon, Christopher Eldred, Robert Fajber, Jared Fer-guson, Emily Foshee, Ariane Frassoni, Alexander Goldstein, Jorge Guerra, Chasity Henson, Adam Herrington, Tsung-Lin Hsieh, Dave Lee, Theodore Letcher, Weiwei Li, Laura Maz-zaro, Maximo Menchaca, Jonathan Meyer, Farshid Nazari, John O’Brien, Bjarke Tobias Olsen, Hossein Parishani, Charles Pel-letier, Thomas Rackow, Kabir Rasouli, Cameron Rencurrel, Koichi Sakaguchi, Gökhan Sever, James Shaw, Konrad Simon, Abhishekh Srivastava, Nicholas Szapiro, Kazushi Takemura, Pushp Raj Tiwari, Chii-Yun Tsai, Richard Urata, Karin van der Wiel, Lei Wang, Eric Wolf, Zheng Wu, Haiyang Yu, Sungduk Yu, and Jiawei Zhuang. We would also like to thank Rich Loft, Cecilia Banner, Kathryn Peczkowicz and Rory Kelly (NCAR), Carmen Ho, Perla Dinger, and Gina Skyberg (UC Davis), and Kristi Hansen (University of Michigan) for administrative support during the workshop and summer school. The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Author(s).
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Modelling and Simulation
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)