Global Nonhydrostatic Atmospheric Model Research Articles

Large Ensemble Simulation for Investigating Predictability of Precursor Vortices of Typhoon Faxai in 2019 With a 14‐km Mesh Global Nonhydrostatic Atmospheric Model

AbstractTyphoon Faxai hit Japan in 2019 and severely damaged the Tokyo metropolitan area. To mitigate such damages, a good track forecast is necessary even before the typhoon formation. To investigate the predictability of the genesis and movement of a precursor vortex and its relationship with the synoptic‐scale flow, 100‐member ensemble simulations of Typhoon Faxai were performed using a 14‐km mesh global nonhydrostatic atmospheric model, which started from 16 different initial days (i.e., 1,600 members in total). The results show that the model could predict an enhanced risk of a Faxai‐like vortex heading toward Japan 2 weeks before landfall, which was up to 70%. The reason for the enhancement was a rapid increase in the members reproducing a precursor vortex from 15 to 12 days before landfall in Japan. In addition, the upper‐tropospheric vortex played an essential role in the track simulation of Faxai.

Response of convective systems to the orbital forcing of the last interglacial in a global nonhydrostatic atmospheric model with and without a convective parameterization

Nonhydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) coupled with a slab ocean model was applied to a paleoclimate research for the first time. The model was run at a horizontal resolution of 56 km with and without a convective parameterization, given the orbital parameters of the last interglacial (127,000 years before present). The simulated climatological mean-states are qualitatively similar to those in previous studies reinforcing their robustness, however, the resolution of this model enables to represent the narrow precipitation band along the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. A particular focus was given to convectively coupled disturbances in our analysis. The simulated results show a greater signal of the Madden–Julian Oscillation and weakening of the moist Kelvin waves. Although the model's representation of the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation in the present-day simulations is not satisfactory, a significant enhancement of its signal is found in the counterpart of the last interglacial. The density of the tropical cyclones decreases over the western north Pacific, north Atlantic and increases over the south Indian Ocean and south Atlantic. The model's performance is generally better when the convective parameterization is used, but the tropical cyclones are better represented without the convective parameterization. Additional simulations using the low-resolution topography reveals that the better representation of the Tibetan Plateau enhances the boreal summer Asian monsoon and its impact is similar and comparable to that of the orbital parameters over the south Asia and the Indian Ocean.

全球非静力学大気モデルにおける粒径解像エアロゾル微物理モジュール: モデルの記述と検証

全球非静力学大気モデルにおける粒径解像エアロゾル微物理モジュール: モデルの記述と検証

Prediction Skill of the Boreal Summer Intra-Seasonal Oscillation in Global Non-hydrostatic Atmospheric Model Simulations with Explicit Cloud Microphysics

Prediction Skill of the Boreal Summer Intra-Seasonal Oscillation in Global Non-hydrostatic Atmospheric Model Simulations with Explicit Cloud Microphysics

A Global Nonhydrostatic Atmospheric Model with a Mass- and Energy-conserving Vertically Implicit Correction (VIC) Scheme

Abstract Global nonhydrostatic atmospheric models are becoming increasingly important for studying the climates of planets and exoplanets. However, such models suffer from computational difficulties due to the large aspect ratio between the horizontal and vertical directions. To overcome this problem, we developed a global model using a vertically implicit correction (VIC) scheme in which the integration time step is no longer limited by the vertical propagation of acoustic waves. We proved that our model, based on the Athena++ framework and its extension for planetary atmospheres—SNAP (Simulating Nonhydrostatic Atmospheres on Planets), rigorously conserves mass and energy in finite-volume simulations. We found that traditional numerical stabilizers such as hyperviscosity and divergence damping are not needed when using the VIC scheme, which greatly simplifies the numerical implementation and improves stability. We present simulation results ranging from 1D linear waves to 3D global circulations with and without the VIC scheme. These tests demonstrate that our formulation correctly tracks local turbulent motions, produces Kelvin–Helmholtz instability, and generates a super-rotating jet on hot Jupiters. Employing this VIC scheme improves the computational efficiency of global simulations by more than two orders of magnitude compared to an explicit model and facilitates the capability of simulating a wide range of planetary atmospheres both regionally and globally.

Deep learning approach for detecting tropical cyclones and their precursors in the simulation by a cloud-resolving global nonhydrostatic atmospheric model

We propose a deep learning approach for identifying tropical cyclones (TCs) and their precursors. Twenty year simulated outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) calculated using a cloud-resolving global atmospheric simulation is used for training two-dimensional deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs). The CNNs are trained with 50,000 TCs and their precursors and 500,000 non-TC data for binary classification. Ensemble CNN classifiers are applied to 10 year independent global OLR data for detecting precursors and TCs. The performance of the CNNs is investigated for various basins, seasons, and lead times. The CNN model successfully detects TCs and their precursors in the western North Pacific in the period from July to November with a probability of detection (POD) of 79.9–89.1% and a false alarm ratio (FAR) of 32.8–53.4%. Detection results include 91.2%, 77.8%, and 74.8% of precursors 2, 5, and 7 days before their formation, respectively, in the western North Pacific. Furthermore, although the detection performance is correlated with the amount of training data and TC lifetimes, it is possible to achieve high detectability with a POD exceeding 70% and a FAR below 50% during TC season for several ocean basins, such as the North Atlantic, with a limited sample size and short lifetime.

Long-Term Integration of a Global Non-Hydrostatic Atmospheric Model on an Aqua Planet

A global non-hydrostatic atmospheric model, i.e., GRAPES_YY (Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System on the Yin–Yang grid), with a semi-implicit semi-Lagrangian (SISL) dynamical core developed on the Yin–Yang grid was coupled with the physical parameterization package of the operational version of GRAPES. A 3.5-yr integration was carried out on an aqua planet to assess the numerical performance of this non-hydrostatic mo-del relative to other models. Specific aspects of precipitation and general circulation under two different sea surface temperature (SST) conditions (CONTROL and FLAT) were analyzed. The CONTROL SST peaked at the equator. The FLAT SST had its maximum gradient at about 20° latitude, giving a broad equatorial SST maximum in the tropics and flat profile approaching the equator. The tropical precipitation showed different propagation features in the CONTROL and FLAT simulations. The CONTROL showed tropical precipitation bands moving eastward with some envelopes of westward convective-scale disturbance. Less organized westward-propagating rainfall cells and bands were seen in the FLAT and the propagation of the tropical wave varied with the SST gradient. The Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), Hadley cell, and westerly jet core were weaker and more poleward as the SST profile flattened from the CONTROL to FLAT. The climatological structures simulated by GRAPES_YY, such as the distribution of precipitation and the large-scale circulation, fell within the bounds from other models. The stronger ITCZ precipitation, accompanied with stronger Hadley cells and convective heating in the CONTROL simulation, may be summed up as a result of stronger parameterized convection and the non-hydrostatic effects in GRAPES_YY. In addition, mechanism of the zonal mean circulation maintaining is analyzed for the different SST patterns referring the transient eddy flux.

Implicit–explicit (IMEX) Runge–Kutta methods for non-hydrostatic atmospheric models

Abstract. The efficient simulation of non-hydrostatic atmospheric dynamics requires time integration methods capable of overcoming the explicit stability constraints on time step size arising from acoustic waves. In this work, we investigate various implicit–explicit (IMEX) additive Runge–Kutta (ARK) methods for evolving acoustic waves implicitly to enable larger time step sizes in a global non-hydrostatic atmospheric model. The IMEX formulations considered include horizontally explicit – vertically implicit (HEVI) approaches as well as splittings that treat some horizontal dynamics implicitly. In each case, the impact of solving nonlinear systems in each implicit ARK stage in a linearly implicit fashion is also explored.The accuracy and efficiency of the IMEX splittings, ARK methods, and solver options are evaluated on a gravity wave and baroclinic wave test case. HEVI splittings that treat some vertical dynamics explicitly do not show a benefit in solution quality or run time over the most implicit HEVI formulation. While splittings that implicitly evolve some horizontal dynamics increase the maximum stable step size of a method, the gains are insufficient to overcome the additional cost of solving a globally coupled system. Solving implicit stage systems in a linearly implicit manner limits the solver cost but this is offset by a reduction in step size to achieve the desired accuracy for some methods. Overall, the third-order ARS343 and ARK324 methods performed the best, followed by the second-order ARS232 and ARK232 methods.

Impact of Precipitating Ice Hydrometeors on Longwave Radiative Effect Estimated by a Global Cloud‐System Resolving Model

AbstractSatellite observation and general circulation model (GCM) studies suggest that precipitating ice makes nonnegligible contributions to the radiation balance of the Earth. However, in most GCMs, precipitating ice is diagnosed and its radiative effects are not taken into account. Here we examine the longwave radiative impact of precipitating ice using a global nonhydrostatic atmospheric model with a double‐moment cloud microphysics scheme. An off‐line radiation model is employed to determine cloud radiative effects according to the amount and altitude of each type of ice hydrometeor. Results show that the snow radiative effect reaches 2 W m−2 in the tropics, which is about half the value estimated by previous studies. This effect is strongly dependent on the vertical separation of ice categories and is partially generated by differences in terminal velocities, which are not represented in GCMs with diagnostic precipitating ice. Results from sensitivity experiments that artificially change the categories and altitudes of precipitating ice show that the simulated longwave heating profile and longwave radiation field are sensitive to the treatment of precipitating ice in models. This study emphasizes the importance of incorporating appropriate treatments for the radiative effects of precipitating ice in cloud and radiation schemes in GCMs in order to capture the cloud radiative effects of upper level clouds.

Intraseasonal variability and tropical cyclogenesis in the western North Pacific simulated by a global nonhydrostatic atmospheric model

AbstractThirty‐one successive daily experiments for extended‐range (30 day) forecasts are conducted using a global nonhydrostatic atmospheric model without convective parameterization. The model successfully reproduces tropical cyclogenesis (TCG) in six out of eight cases in the western North Pacific in August 2004, up to 2 weeks prior to cyclone formation. Detailed analyses reveal that Typhoon Songda's genesis is related to the eastward extension of the monsoon trough associated with the intraseasonal variability (ISV). The successful simulation of the migration and extension of the monsoon trough leads to a 2 week forecast for Songda's genesis. These findings highlight the need for a model capable of predicting the modulation of large‐scale fields by ISV for TCG forecasts and that a global nonhydrostatic cloud‐system‐resolving model is a promising tool for TCG forecasts.

An assessment of the cloud signals simulated by NICAM using ISCCP, CALIPSO, and CloudSat satellite simulators

This study presents an assessment of three‐dimensional structures of hydrometeors simulated by the NICAM, global nonhydrostatic atmospheric model without cumulus parameterization, using multiple satellite data sets. A satellite simulator package (COSP: the CFMIP Observation Simulator Package) is employed to consistently compare model output with ISCCP, CALIPSO, and CloudSat satellite observations. Special focus is placed on high thin clouds, which are not observable in the conventional ISCCP data set, but can be detected by the CALIPSO observations. For the control run, the NICAM simulation qualitatively captures the geographical distributions of the high, middle, and low clouds, even though the horizontal mesh spacing is as coarse as 14 km. The simulated low cloud is very close to that of the CALIPSO low cloud. Both the CloudSat observations and NICAM simulation show a boomerang‐type pattern in the radar reflectivity‐height histogram, suggesting that NICAM realistically simulates the deep cloud development process. A striking difference was found in the comparisons of high thin cirrus, showing overestimated cloud and higher cloud top in the model simulation. Several model sensitivity experiments are conducted with different cloud microphysical parameters to reduce the model‐observation discrepancies in high thin cirrus. In addition, relationships among clouds, Hadley circulation, outgoing longwave radiation and precipitation are discussed through the sensitivity experiments.

Normal Modes of a Global Nonhydrostatic Atmospheric Model

Abstract Anticipating use of a very high resolution global atmospheric model for numerical weather prediction in the future without a traditional hydrostatic assumption, this article describes a unified method to obtain the normal modes of a nonhydrostatic, compressible, and baroclinic global atmospheric model. A system of linearized equations is set up with respect to an atmosphere at rest. An eigenvalue–eigenfunction problem is formulated, consisting of horizontal and vertical structure equations with suitable boundary conditions. The wave frequency and the separation parameter, referred to as “equivalent height,” appear in both the horizontal and vertical equations. Hence, these two equations must be solved as a coupled problem. Numerical results are presented for an isothermal atmosphere. Since the solutions of the horizontal structure equation can only be obtained numerically, the coupled problem is solved by an iteration method. In the primitive-equation (hydrostatic) models, there are two kinds of ...