An Energetics Analysis of Forecast Experiments with the NCAR General Circulation Model

Abstract

Abstract The energetics in numerical weather forecast experiments with the NCAR general circulation model have been analyzed. The 6-layer, 5-degree, second-generation global model was used to make two 10-day forecasts with the same initial conditions. The two experiments differed primarily in the methods of convective parameterization. Hemispheric integrals of the model energies and energy transformations are presented in the context of their approach to a quasi-equilibrium climatology. Spectral and spatial analyses of the eddy energies and transformations provide further insight into the model response to the initial conditions. After the initial adjustment, the eddy kinetic energy appears to lag the conversion from eddy available potential energy to eddy kinetic energy by at least 48 h in the long waves (wavenumbers 1–4) and by approximately 24 h in the baroclinic waves (wavenumbers 5–7), whereas little or no time lag is apparent in the short waves (wavenumbers 8–12). The sensitivity of the forecast ene...