Improving the inter-hemispheric gradient of total column atmospheric CO&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt; and CH&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;4&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt; in simulations with the ECMWF semi-Lagrangian atmospheric global model

Anna Agusti-Panareda,Friedrich Klappenbach,Victor Bayona,Andre Butz,Michail Diamantakis

doi:10.5194/gmd-10-1-2017

Abstract

Abstract. It is a widely established fact that standard semi-Lagrangian advection schemes are highly efficient numerical techniques for simulating the transport of atmospheric tracers. However, as they are not formally mass conserving, it is essential to use some method for restoring mass conservation in long time range forecasts. A common approach is to use global mass fixers. This is the case of the semi-Lagrangian advection scheme in the Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) model used by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).Mass fixers are algorithms with substantial differences in complexity and sophistication but in general of low computational cost. This paper shows the positive impact mass fixers have on the inter-hemispheric gradient of total atmospheric column-averaged CO2 and CH4, a crucial feature of their spatial distribution. Two algorithms are compared: the simple "proportional" and the more complex Bermejo–Conde schemes. The former is widely used by several Earth system climate models as well the CAMS global forecasts and analysis of atmospheric composition, while the latter has been recently implemented in IFS. Comparisons against total column observations demonstrate that the proportional mass fixer is shown to be suitable for the low-resolution simulations, but for the high-resolution simulations the Bermejo–Conde scheme clearly gives better results. These results have potential repercussions for climate Earth system models using proportional mass fixers as their resolution increases. It also emphasises the importance of benchmarking the tracer mass fixers with the inter-hemispheric gradient of long-lived greenhouse gases using observations.

Highlights

The monitoring and prediction of climate change relies on accurately modelling the long-lived greenhouse gases using Earth system models (ESMs) (e.g. Jones et al, 2013; Keppel-Aleks et al, 2013)
For XCH4 the inter-station bias ranges from 14 to 19 ppb and from 9 to 14 ppb at high and low Atmospheric transport schemes used in models to monitor and/or predict climate change and atmospheric composition are required to conserve the global mass of atmospheric tracers
Sure the preservation of the global mass. This is important for long-lived greenhouse gases for which the interesting signals to monitor are weak compared to their background values

Summary

Introduction

The monitoring and prediction of climate change relies on accurately modelling the long-lived greenhouse gases using Earth system models (ESMs) (e.g. Jones et al, 2013; Keppel-Aleks et al, 2013). Complementing the climate monitoring, global analyses and forecasts of CO2 and CH4 are performed each day as part of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) (Agustí-Panareda et al, 2014; Massart et al, 2014) at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) using the Integrated Forecasting System (IFS, www.ecmwf.int/en/forecasts/documentation-and-support/ changes-ecmwf-model/ifs-documentation). Both atmospheric CO2 and CH4 are characterised by a trend associated with an annual growth rate, a seasonal cycle and an inter-hemispheric gradient, which is consistent with the temporal and spatial distribution of their sources and sinks, tropopause height and atmospheric transport (KeppelAleks et al, 2011; Saito et al, 2012).

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Conclusion