The Finite Element Sea ice-Ocean Model (FESOM): formulation of an unstructured-mesh ocean general circulation model

Abstract. The Finite Element Sea Ice-Ocean Model (FESOM) is the first global ocean general circulation model based on unstructured-mesh methods that has been developed for the purpose of climate research. The advantage of unstructured-mesh models is their flexible multi-resolution modelling functionality. In this study, an overview of the main features of FESOM will be given; based on sensitivity experiments a number of specific parameter choices will be explained; and directions of future developments will be outlined. It is argued that FESOM is sufficiently mature to explore the benefits of multi-resolution climate modelling and that its applications will provide information useful for the advancement of climate modelling on unstructured meshes.

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Ocean-sea-ice coupling in a global ocean general circulation model

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/s0260305500013896 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 25 ◽

pp. 116-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

S. Legutke ◽

E. Maier-Reimkr ◽

A. Stössel ◽

A. Hellbach

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

General Circulation Model ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

General Circulation ◽

Circulation Model ◽

Ice Cover ◽

Ocean General Circulation Model ◽

Global Ocean ◽

Ocean General Circulation ◽

The Impact

A global ocean general circulation model has been coupled with a dynamic thermodynamic sea-ice model. This model has been spun-up in a 1000 year integration using daily atmosphere model data. Main water masses and currents are reproduced as well as the seasonal characteristics of the ice cover of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Model results for the Southern Ocean, however, show the ice cover as too thin, and there are large permanent polynyas in the Weddell and Ross Seas. These polynyas are due to a large upward oceanic heat flux caused by haline rejection during the freezing of sea ice. Sensitivity studies were performed to test several ways of treating the sea-surface salinity and the rejected brine. The impact on the ice cover, water-mass characteristics, and ocean circulation are described.

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Influence of Surface Topography on the Critical Carbon Dioxide Level Required for the Formation of a Modern Snowball Earth

Journal of Climate ◽

10.1175/jcli-d-17-0821.1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (20) ◽

pp. 8463-8479 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yonggang Liu ◽

W. Richard Peltier ◽

Jun Yang ◽

Yongyun Hu

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

General Circulation Model ◽

Land Surface ◽

General Circulation ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Circulation Model ◽

Ocean General Circulation Model ◽

Ocean Model ◽

Snowball Earth ◽

Ice Dynamics

The influence of continental topography on the initiation of a global glaciation (i.e., snowball Earth) is studied with both a fully coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (AOGCM), CCSM3, and an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM), CAM3 coupled to a slab ocean model. It is found that when the climate is very cold, snow cover over the central region of the Eurasian continent decreases when the atmospheric CO2 concentration ( pCO2) is reduced. In the coupled model, this constitutes a negative feedback due to the reduction of land surface albedo that counteracts the positive feedback due to sea ice expansion toward the equator. When the solar insolation is 94% of the present-day value, Earth enters a snowball state when pCO2 is ~35 ppmv. On the other hand, if the continents are assumed to be flat topographically (with the global mean elevation as in the more realistic present-day case), Earth enters a snowball state more easily at pCO2 = ~60 ppmv. Therefore, the presence of topography may increase the stability of Earth against descent into a snowball state. On the contrary, a snowball Earth is found to form much more easily when complex topography is present than when it is not in CAM3. This happens despite the fact that the mid- to high-latitude climate is much warmer (by ~10°C) when topography is present than when it is not. Analyses show that neglecting sea ice dynamics in this model prevents the warming anomaly in the mid- to high latitudes from being efficiently transmitted into the tropics.

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FORTE 2.0: a fast, parallel and flexible coupled climate model

Geoscientific Model Development ◽

10.5194/gmd-14-275-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 275-293

Author(s):

Adam T. Blaker ◽

Manoj Joshi ◽

Bablu Sinha ◽

David P. Stevens ◽

Robin S. Smith ◽

...

Keyword(s):

General Circulation Model ◽

General Circulation ◽

Climate Model ◽

Circulation Model ◽

Ocean General Circulation Model ◽

Ocean Model ◽

Coupled Climate Model ◽

Layer Depth ◽

Ocean General Circulation ◽

Modular Ocean Model

Abstract. FORTE 2.0 is an intermediate-resolution coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) consisting of the Intermediate General Circulation Model 4 (IGCM4), a T42 spectral atmosphere with 35σ layers, coupled to Modular Ocean Model – Array (MOMA), a 2∘ × 2∘ ocean with 15 z-layer depth levels. Sea ice is represented by a simple flux barrier. Both the atmosphere and ocean components are coded in Fortran. It is capable of producing a stable climate for long integrations without the need for flux adjustments. One flexibility afforded by the IGCM4 atmosphere is the ability to configure the atmosphere with either 35σ layers (troposphere and stratosphere) or 20σ layers (troposphere only). This enables experimental designs for exploring the roles of the troposphere and stratosphere, and the faster integration of the 20σ layer configuration enables longer duration studies on modest hardware. A description of FORTE 2.0 is given, followed by the analysis of two 2000-year control integrations, one using the 35σ configuration of IGCM4 and one using the 20σ configuration.

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Ocean-sea-ice coupling in a global ocean general circulation model

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/s0260305500013896 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 25 ◽

pp. 116-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

S. Legutke ◽

E. Maier-Reimkr ◽

A. Stössel ◽

A. Hellbach

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

General Circulation Model ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

General Circulation ◽

Circulation Model ◽

Ice Cover ◽

Ocean General Circulation Model ◽

Global Ocean ◽

Ocean General Circulation ◽

The Impact

A global ocean general circulation model has been coupled with a dynamic thermodynamic sea-ice model. This model has been spun-up in a 1000 year integration using daily atmosphere model data. Main water masses and currents are reproduced as well as the seasonal characteristics of the ice cover of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Model results for the Southern Ocean, however, show the ice cover as too thin, and there are large permanent polynyas in the Weddell and Ross Seas. These polynyas are due to a large upward oceanic heat flux caused by haline rejection during the freezing of sea ice. Sensitivity studies were performed to test several ways of treating the sea-surface salinity and the rejected brine. The impact on the ice cover, water-mass characteristics, and ocean circulation are described.

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Chapter 13 An Analysis of the Air-Sea-Ice Interaction Simulated by the Osu-Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model

Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Models - Elsevier Oceanography Series ◽

10.1016/s0422-9894(08)70709-8 ◽

1985 ◽

pp. 167-182 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Young-June Han ◽

Michael E. Schlesinger ◽

W. Lawrence Gates

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

General Circulation Model ◽

General Circulation ◽

Circulation Model ◽

Ocean General Circulation Model ◽

Ocean General Circulation

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Performance evaluation for an ocean general circulation model: vectorization andmultitasking

Proceedings of the 2nd international conference on Supercomputing - ICS '88 ◽

10.1145/55364.55393 ◽

1988 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

P. Andrich ◽

G. Madec

Keyword(s):

Performance Evaluation ◽

General Circulation Model ◽

General Circulation ◽

Circulation Model ◽

Ocean General Circulation Model ◽

Ocean General Circulation

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The South China Sea Throughflow Retrieved from Climatological Data*

Journal of Physical Oceanography ◽

10.1175/2008jpo3955.1 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 39 (3) ◽

pp. 753-767 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Max Yaremchuk ◽

Julian McCreary ◽

Zuojun Yu ◽

Ryo Furue

Keyword(s):

South China Sea ◽

General Circulation Model ◽

South China ◽

General Circulation ◽

Circulation Model ◽

Ocean General Circulation Model ◽

Luzon Strait ◽

The South China Sea ◽

China Sea ◽

Ocean General Circulation

Abstract The salinity distribution in the South China Sea (SCS) has a pronounced subsurface maximum from 150–220 m throughout the year. This feature can only be maintained by the existence of a mean flow through the SCS, consisting of a net inflow of salty North Pacific tropical water through the Luzon Strait and outflow through the Mindoro, Karimata, and Taiwan Straits. Using an inverse modeling approach, the authors show that the magnitude and space–time variations of the SCS thermohaline structure, particularly for the salinity maximum, allow a quantitative estimate of the SCS throughflow and its distribution among the three outflow straits. Results from the inversion are compared with available observations and output from a 50-yr simulation of a highly resolved ocean general circulation model. The annual-mean Luzon Strait transport is found to be 2.4 ± 0.6 Sv (Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1). This inflow is balanced by the outflows from the Karimata (0.3 ± 0.5 Sv), Mindoro (1.5 ± 0.4), and Taiwan (0.6 ± 0.5 Sv) Straits. Results of the inversion suggest that the Karimata transport tends to be overestimated in numerical models. The Mindoro Strait provides the only passage from the SCS deeper than 100 m, and half of the SCS throughflow (1.2 ± 0.3 Sv) exits the basin below 100 m in the Mindoro Strait, a result that is consistent with a climatological run of a 0.1° global ocean general circulation model.

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