Atmospheric angular momentum transport and balance in the AGCM-SAMIL

Abstract

NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and the spectral atmospheric general circulation Model (AGCM) of IAP/LASG (SAMIL) are employed to investigate the transport and balance of atmospheric angular momentum (AAM). It is demonstrated that SAMIL depicts the general features of the AAM transport and balance reasonably well. The AAM sources are in the tropics and sinks are in the mid-latitudes. The strongest meridional transport occurs in the upper troposphere. The atmosphere gains westerly momentum and transports it upward in the areas of surface easterlies, and downward into the areas of surface westerlies. Consequently, AAM balance is maintained. Systematic biases of the model compared to the reanalysis and observations are revealed. Possible mechanisms for these biases are investigated. In SAMIL, the friction torque in the tropics is stronger compared to the observations, which is probably due to the excessive precipitation along the Inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) in the model, since the simulated Hadley circulation is much stronger than observed. In the winter half of the year, the transport center is in the lower troposphere in the SAMIL model, but it is in the upper troposphere in the reanalysis and observations. These discrepancies also suggest that simulations of convection and tropical precipitation need to be improved and that higher resolution is necessary for a quantitative simulation of AAM transport and balance. Results also demonstrate that the analysis of the transport and balance of atmospheric angular momentum is a powerful tool in diagnosing climate models for potential improvement.