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Title: MPAS-Albany Land Ice (MALI): a variable-resolution ice sheet model for Earth system modeling using Voronoi grids

Abstract

Abstract. We introduce MPAS-Albany Land Ice (MALI) v6.0, a new variable-resolution land ice model that uses unstructured Voronoi grids on a plane or sphere. MALI is built using the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) framework for developing variable-resolution Earth system model components and the Albany multi-physics code base for the solution of coupled systems of partial differential equations, which itself makes use of Trilinos solver libraries. MALI includes a three-dimensional first-order momentum balance solver (Blatter–Pattyn) by linking to the Albany-LI ice sheet velocity solver and an explicit shallow ice velocity solver. The evolution of ice geometry and tracers is handled through an explicit first-order horizontal advection scheme with vertical remapping. The evolution of ice temperature is treated using operator splitting of vertical diffusion and horizontal advection and can be configured to use either a temperature or enthalpy formulation. MALI includes a mass-conserving subglacial hydrology model that supports distributed and/or channelized drainage and can optionally be coupled to ice dynamics. Options for calving include eigencalving, which assumes that the calving rate is proportional to extensional strain rates. MALI is evaluated against commonly used exact solutions and community benchmark experiments and shows the expected accuracy. Results for the MISMIP3d benchmark experimentsmore » with MALI's Blatter–Pattyn solver fall between published results from Stokes and L1L2 models as expected. We use the model to simulate a semi-realistic Antarctic ice sheet problem following the initMIP protocol and using 2km resolution in marine ice sheet regions. MALI is the glacier component of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) version 1, and we describe current and planned coupling to other E3SM components.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
OSTI Identifier:
1471251
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1479954; OSTI ID: 1497626
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-18-23131; SAND2019-1667J
Journal ID: ISSN 1991-9603
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC52-06NA25396; AC04-94AL85000
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Published Article
Journal Name:
Geoscientific Model Development (Online)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Geoscientific Model Development (Online) Journal Volume: 11 Journal Issue: 9; Journal ID: ISSN 1991-9603
Publisher:
Copernicus Publications, EGU
Country of Publication:
Germany
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Mathematics

Citation Formats

Hoffman, Matthew J., Perego, Mauro, Price, Stephen F., Lipscomb, William H., Zhang, Tong, Jacobsen, Douglas, Tezaur, Irina, Salinger, Andrew G., Tuminaro, Raymond, and Bertagna, Luca. MPAS-Albany Land Ice (MALI): a variable-resolution ice sheet model for Earth system modeling using Voronoi grids. Germany: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.5194/gmd-11-3747-2018.
Hoffman, Matthew J., Perego, Mauro, Price, Stephen F., Lipscomb, William H., Zhang, Tong, Jacobsen, Douglas, Tezaur, Irina, Salinger, Andrew G., Tuminaro, Raymond, & Bertagna, Luca. MPAS-Albany Land Ice (MALI): a variable-resolution ice sheet model for Earth system modeling using Voronoi grids. Germany. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3747-2018
Hoffman, Matthew J., Perego, Mauro, Price, Stephen F., Lipscomb, William H., Zhang, Tong, Jacobsen, Douglas, Tezaur, Irina, Salinger, Andrew G., Tuminaro, Raymond, and Bertagna, Luca. 2018. "MPAS-Albany Land Ice (MALI): a variable-resolution ice sheet model for Earth system modeling using Voronoi grids". Germany. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3747-2018.
@article{osti_1471251,
title = {MPAS-Albany Land Ice (MALI): a variable-resolution ice sheet model for Earth system modeling using Voronoi grids},
author = {Hoffman, Matthew J. and Perego, Mauro and Price, Stephen F. and Lipscomb, William H. and Zhang, Tong and Jacobsen, Douglas and Tezaur, Irina and Salinger, Andrew G. and Tuminaro, Raymond and Bertagna, Luca},
abstractNote = {Abstract. We introduce MPAS-Albany Land Ice (MALI) v6.0, a new variable-resolution land ice model that uses unstructured Voronoi grids on a plane or sphere. MALI is built using the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) framework for developing variable-resolution Earth system model components and the Albany multi-physics code base for the solution of coupled systems of partial differential equations, which itself makes use of Trilinos solver libraries. MALI includes a three-dimensional first-order momentum balance solver (Blatter–Pattyn) by linking to the Albany-LI ice sheet velocity solver and an explicit shallow ice velocity solver. The evolution of ice geometry and tracers is handled through an explicit first-order horizontal advection scheme with vertical remapping. The evolution of ice temperature is treated using operator splitting of vertical diffusion and horizontal advection and can be configured to use either a temperature or enthalpy formulation. MALI includes a mass-conserving subglacial hydrology model that supports distributed and/or channelized drainage and can optionally be coupled to ice dynamics. Options for calving include eigencalving, which assumes that the calving rate is proportional to extensional strain rates. MALI is evaluated against commonly used exact solutions and community benchmark experiments and shows the expected accuracy. Results for the MISMIP3d benchmark experiments with MALI's Blatter–Pattyn solver fall between published results from Stokes and L1L2 models as expected. We use the model to simulate a semi-realistic Antarctic ice sheet problem following the initMIP protocol and using 2km resolution in marine ice sheet regions. MALI is the glacier component of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) version 1, and we describe current and planned coupling to other E3SM components.},
doi = {10.5194/gmd-11-3747-2018},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1471251}, journal = {Geoscientific Model Development (Online)},
issn = {1991-9603},
number = 9,
volume = 11,
place = {Germany},
year = {Tue Sep 18 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Tue Sep 18 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record at https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3747-2018

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 38 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Figures / Tables:

Figure-1 Figure-1: MALI grids. (a) Horizontal grid with cell center (blue circles), edge midpoint (red triangles), and vertices (orange squares) identified for the center cell. Scalar fields (H, T) are located at cell centers. Advective velocities (un) and fluxes are located at cell edges. (b) Vertical grid with layer midpoints (bluemore » circles) and layer interfaces (red triangles) identified. Scalar fields (H, T) are located at layer midpoints. Fluxes are located at layer interfaces.« less

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