Present-day antarctic climatology of the NCAR community climate model version 1

Journal Article · Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Journal of Climate; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1993)006<0205:PDACOT>2.0.CO;2· OSTI ID:6850405

Tzeng, Renyow; Bromwich, D H ^[1]; Parish, T R ^[2]

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1. Ohio State Univ., Columbus (United States)
2. Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie (United States)

Five-year seasonal cycle output produced by the NCAR Community Climate Model Version 1 (CCM 1) with R15 resolution is used to evaluate the ability of the model to simulate the present-day climate of Antarctica. The model results are compared with observed horizontal syntheses and point data. Katabatic winds, surface temperatures over the continent, the circumpolar trough, the vertical motion field, the split jet stream over the Pacific Ocean, and the snowfall accumulation are analyzed. The results show that the CCM1 with R15 resolution can simulate to some extent the dynamics of Antarctic climate not only for the synoptic scale, but also for some mesoscale features. This is reflected in the zonal-mean pattern of vertical motion by the presence of two convergence centers. The finding suggests that the CCM I might also capture the split jet stream over New Zealand in winter, but the evidence is mixed. This is inferred to be due to inadequate simulation of the thermal forcing over high southern latitudes. The CCM I can also capture the phase and amplitude of the annual and semiannual variation of temperature, sea level pressure, and zonally averaged zonal (E-W) wind. That the CCM 1 can simulate some characteristics of the semiannual variation may be due to the improved radiation treatment compared to the earlier CCMO. The most dramatic shortcomings were associated with the model's anomalously large precipitation amounts at high latitudes. The simulations of cloudiness and the atmospheric heat balance are adversely affected. A greatly refined moisture budget scheme is needed to eliminate these problems and may allow the split jet-stream feature over the New Zealand area in winter to be accurately reproduced. A coupled mesoscale-CCM 1 model may be needed to simulate the feedback from mesoscale cyclones to synoptic-scale weather systems, and the katabatic wind circulation.

• OSTI ID: 6850405
• Journal Information: Journal of Climate; (United States), Vol. 6:2; ISSN 0894-8755
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ANTARCTICA
CLIMATE MODELS
EVALUATION
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
PACIFIC OCEAN
SNOW
THEORETICAL DATA
WEATHER
ANTARCTIC REGIONS
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CRYOSPHERE
DATA
INFORMATION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUMERICAL DATA
POLAR REGIONS
SEAS
SIMULATION
SURFACE WATERS
540110*