Evaluation of a CCSM3 Simulation with a Finite Volume Dynamical Core for the Atmosphere at 1° Latitude × 1.25° Longitude Resolution

Abstract

A simulation of the present-day climate by the Community Climate System Model version 3 (CCSM3) that uses a Finite Volume (FV) numerical method for solving the equations governing the atmospheric dynamics is presented. The simulation is compared to observations and to the well-documented simulation by the standard CCSM3, which uses the Eulerian spectral method for the atmospheric dynamics. The atmospheric component in the simulation herein uses a 1° latitude ? 1.25° longitude grid, which is a slightly finer resolution than the T85-grid used in the spectral transform. As in the T85 simulation, the ocean and ice models use a nominal 1-degree grid. Although the physical parameterizations are the same and the resolution is comparable to the standard model, substantial testing and slight retuning were required to obtain an acceptable control simulation. There are significant improvements in the simulation of the surface wind stress and sea surface temperature. Improvements are also seen in the simulations of the total variance in the tropical Pacific, the spatial pattern of ice thickness distribution in the Arctic, and the vertically integrated ocean circulation in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The results herein demonstrate that the FV version of the CCSM coupled model is a state-of-the-art climate model whose simulation capabilities are in the class of those used for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments. The simulated climate is very similar to that of the T85 version in terms of its biases, and more like the T85 model than the other IPCC models.