Dispersion analysis of the [formula omitted] mixed finite element pair for atmospheric modelling

Abstract

Mixed finite element methods provide a generalisation of staggered grid finite difference methods with a framework to extend the method to high orders. The ability to generate a high order method is appealing for applications on the kind of quasi-uniform grids that are popular for atmospheric modelling, so that the method retains an acceptable level of accuracy even around special points in the grid. The dispersion properties of such schemes are important to study as they provide insight into the numerical adjustment to imbalance that is an important component in atmospheric modelling. This paper extends the recent analysis of the P2−P1DG pair, that is a quadratic continuous and linear discontinuous finite element pair, to higher polynomial orders and also spectral element type pairs. In common with the previously studied element pair, and also with other schemes such as the spectral element and discontinuous Galerkin methods, increasing the polynomial order is found to provide a more accurate dispersion relation for the well resolved part of the spectrum but at the cost of a number of unphysical spectral gaps. The effects of these spectral gaps are investigated and shown to have a varying impact depending upon the width of the gap. Finally, the tensor product nature of the finite element spaces is exploited to extend the dispersion analysis into two-dimensions.