On the evaluation of the representation of mid-latitude transients in the Southern Hemisphere by HadAM2B GCM and the impact of horizontal resolution

An evaluation of the Hadley Centre atmospheric general circulation model, HadAM2b, is presented, focusing on the ability of the model to simulate Southern Hemisphere (SH) transient disturbances. An assessment is also made of the effect of changing resolution. Standard resolution (2.5° latitude by 3....

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Autores principales: Solman, S.A., Núnez, M.N., Rowntree, P.R.
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Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_01876236_v16_n4_p245_Solman
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spelling todo:paper_01876236_v16_n4_p245_Solman2023-10-03T15:08:45Z On the evaluation of the representation of mid-latitude transients in the Southern Hemisphere by HadAM2B GCM and the impact of horizontal resolution Solman, S.A. Núnez, M.N. Rowntree, P.R. General circulation model Resolution Southern hemisphere Transient activity atmospheric general circulation model circulation modeling jet stream pressure field resolution Southern Hemisphere An evaluation of the Hadley Centre atmospheric general circulation model, HadAM2b, is presented, focusing on the ability of the model to simulate Southern Hemisphere (SH) transient disturbances. An assessment is also made of the effect of changing resolution. Standard resolution (2.5° latitude by 3.75° longitude) and high resolution (0.833° latitude by 1.25° longitude) AMIP (Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project) runs in which the models are forced with observed monthly varying sea surface temperature (SST) are compared with NCEP and ERA re-analysis data for the period 1979-1988. We focus on the model's simulation of selected variables representative of the mean state and eddy properties which characterise synoptic-scale activity of the SH. Both models reproduce the basic observed patterns of the pressure field and upper level jetstream quite well. Overall, the changes due to increasing resolution do not represent an improvement in the simulated climate. The transient eddy activity is reasonably well simulated, though overestimated, relative to the NCEP re-analysis, at both resolutions. This overestimation is much less when compared with ERA. The magnitudes of the eddy kinetic energy, momentum fluxes and heat fluxes in the latitudes of the storm tracks increase with resolution, though some regional features are better simulated with the high-resolution model. Both models capture the structure and time evolution of synoptic-scale disturbances very well, though the amplitude of the disturbances is larger than in the analysis. Both models also capture the north-eastward propagation of the waves in the vicinity of the Andes, though the NW-SE tilt of the disturbances on the lee side are slightly overestimated, in agreement with larger eddy momentum flux. The orographic influence of the Andes mountains is better resolved in the high-resolution simulation for the waves emanating from the polar branch of the Pacific storm-track. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_01876236_v16_n4_p245_Solman
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic General circulation model
Resolution
Southern hemisphere
Transient activity
atmospheric general circulation model
circulation modeling
jet stream
pressure field
resolution
Southern Hemisphere
spellingShingle General circulation model
Resolution
Southern hemisphere
Transient activity
atmospheric general circulation model
circulation modeling
jet stream
pressure field
resolution
Southern Hemisphere
Solman, S.A.
Núnez, M.N.
Rowntree, P.R.
On the evaluation of the representation of mid-latitude transients in the Southern Hemisphere by HadAM2B GCM and the impact of horizontal resolution
topic_facet General circulation model
Resolution
Southern hemisphere
Transient activity
atmospheric general circulation model
circulation modeling
jet stream
pressure field
resolution
Southern Hemisphere
description An evaluation of the Hadley Centre atmospheric general circulation model, HadAM2b, is presented, focusing on the ability of the model to simulate Southern Hemisphere (SH) transient disturbances. An assessment is also made of the effect of changing resolution. Standard resolution (2.5° latitude by 3.75° longitude) and high resolution (0.833° latitude by 1.25° longitude) AMIP (Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project) runs in which the models are forced with observed monthly varying sea surface temperature (SST) are compared with NCEP and ERA re-analysis data for the period 1979-1988. We focus on the model's simulation of selected variables representative of the mean state and eddy properties which characterise synoptic-scale activity of the SH. Both models reproduce the basic observed patterns of the pressure field and upper level jetstream quite well. Overall, the changes due to increasing resolution do not represent an improvement in the simulated climate. The transient eddy activity is reasonably well simulated, though overestimated, relative to the NCEP re-analysis, at both resolutions. This overestimation is much less when compared with ERA. The magnitudes of the eddy kinetic energy, momentum fluxes and heat fluxes in the latitudes of the storm tracks increase with resolution, though some regional features are better simulated with the high-resolution model. Both models capture the structure and time evolution of synoptic-scale disturbances very well, though the amplitude of the disturbances is larger than in the analysis. Both models also capture the north-eastward propagation of the waves in the vicinity of the Andes, though the NW-SE tilt of the disturbances on the lee side are slightly overestimated, in agreement with larger eddy momentum flux. The orographic influence of the Andes mountains is better resolved in the high-resolution simulation for the waves emanating from the polar branch of the Pacific storm-track.
format JOUR
author Solman, S.A.
Núnez, M.N.
Rowntree, P.R.
author_facet Solman, S.A.
Núnez, M.N.
Rowntree, P.R.
author_sort Solman, S.A.
title On the evaluation of the representation of mid-latitude transients in the Southern Hemisphere by HadAM2B GCM and the impact of horizontal resolution
title_short On the evaluation of the representation of mid-latitude transients in the Southern Hemisphere by HadAM2B GCM and the impact of horizontal resolution
title_full On the evaluation of the representation of mid-latitude transients in the Southern Hemisphere by HadAM2B GCM and the impact of horizontal resolution
title_fullStr On the evaluation of the representation of mid-latitude transients in the Southern Hemisphere by HadAM2B GCM and the impact of horizontal resolution
title_full_unstemmed On the evaluation of the representation of mid-latitude transients in the Southern Hemisphere by HadAM2B GCM and the impact of horizontal resolution
title_sort on the evaluation of the representation of mid-latitude transients in the southern hemisphere by hadam2b gcm and the impact of horizontal resolution
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_01876236_v16_n4_p245_Solman
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