Eddy Fluxes and Sensitivity of the Water Cycle to Spatial Resolution in Idealized Regional Aquaplanet Model Simulations
A multi-scale moisture budget analysis is used to identify the mechanisms responsible for the sensitivity of the water cycle to spatial resolution using idealized regional aquaplanet simulations. In the higher resolution simulations, moisture transport by eddies fluxes dry the boundary layer enhancing evaporation and precipitation. This effect of eddies, which is underestimated by the physics parameterizations in the low-resolution simulations, is found to be responsible for the sensitivity of the water cycle both directly, and through its upscale effect, on the mean circulation. Correlations among moisture transport by eddies at adjacent ranges of scales provides the potential for reducing this sensitivity by representing the unresolved eddies by their marginally resolved counterparts.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1129306
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-90821; KP1703010
- Journal Information:
- Climate Dynamics, 42(3-4):931-940, Journal Name: Climate Dynamics, 42(3-4):931-940
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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