Destination Earth

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First-time explicit simulation of a tropical wind system in the upper atmosphere

A wind system in the tropical stratosphere that can influence the seasonal weather along many latitudes – the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) – could change in the course of global warming. However, the simulation of the QBO has so far been a weak point in many climate models, even for current climate conditions. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology have now tested a new approach to simulating the QBO with the high-resolution climate model ICON – with promising results.

Home - Aspect

Facilitatingseamless climateadaptation Improving existing climate prediction and projections, and merging their outputs across timescales to provide seamless climate information, spanning for the next months to 30 years Read More Objective A step change​ The overall objective of ASPECT is to improve and produce seamless climate predictions covering the next 30 years. Working closely with stakeholders […]

Sensitivity of the Lorenz energy cycle of the global ocean - Ocean Dynamics

We re-examine the Lorenz energy cycle (LEC) for the global ocean by assessing its sensitivity to model and forcing differences. We do so by comparing LECs derived from two simulations based on different eddy-rich ocean models, ICON-O and MPI-OM, both driven by NCEP/NCAR reanalysis, and by comparing LECs derived from two simulations generated using ICON-O model but driven by two different reanalyses, NCEP/NCAR and ERA5. Regarding model difference, we find weaker eddy kinetic energy, $$k_e$$ k e , in the ICON-O simulation than in the MPI-OM simulation. We attribute this to the higher horizontal resolution of MPI-OM in the Southern Ocean. The weaker $$k_e$$ k e in ICON-O is not caused by the lack of eddy available potential energy, $$p_e$$ p e , but by the strong dissipation of $$p_e$$ p e and the resulting weak conversion from $$p_e$$ p e to $$k_e$$ k e . Regarding forcing difference, we find that considerably more mechanical energy is generated by the ERA5 forcing, which has a higher spatial-temporal resolution compared to the NCEP/NCAR forcing. In particular, the generation of $$k_e$$ k e , which also contains the resolved part of the internal wave spectrum, is enhanced by about 1 TW (40%). However, the dominance of the baroclinic and the barotropic pathways forces the enhanced generation of $$k_e$$ k e to be balanced by an enhanced dissipation in the surface layer. The gross features of LEC are insensitive to both model and forcing differences, picturing the ocean as an inefficient “windmill” that converts only a small portion of the inputted mechanical energy into the interior mean and transient circulations.

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