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Sensitivity of simulated wintertime Arctic atmosphere to vertical resolution in the ARPEGE/IFS model

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Abstract

The current state-of-the-art general circulation models, including several of those used by the IPCC, show considerable biases in the simulated present day high-latitude climate compared to observations and reanalysis data. These biases are most pronounced during the winter season. We here employ ideal vertical profiles of temperature and wind from turbulence-resolving simulations to perform a priori studies of the first-order eddy-viscosity closure scheme employed in the ARPEGE/IFS model. This reveals that the coarse vertical resolution (31 layers) of the model cannot be expected to realistically resolve the Arctic stable boundary layer. The curvature of the Arctic inversion and thus also the vertical turbulent-exchange processes cannot be reproduced by the coarse vertical mesh employed. To investigate how turbulent vertical exchange processes in the Arctic boundary layer are represented by the model parameterization, a simulation with high vertical resolution (90 layers in total) in the lower troposphere is performed. Results from the model simulations are validated against data from the ERA-40 reanalysis. The dependence of the surface air temperature on surface winds, surface energy fluxes, free atmosphere stability and boundary layer height is investigated. The coarse-resolution run reveals considerable biases in these parameters, and in their physical relations to surface air temperature. In the simulation with fine vertical resolution, these biases are clearly reduced. The physical relation between governing parameters for the vertical turbulent-exchange processes improves in comparison with ERA-40 data.

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Acknowledgments

ECMWF ERA-40 data used in this study have been obtained from the ECMWF data server. This work has been supported by the Norwegian project MACESIZ 155945/700, joint Norwegian-USA project ROLARC 151456/720, and the PAACSIZ 178908/S30. This is publication number A 177 from the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research. The authors whish to thank Dr. Martin Miles for valuable comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, Allegaten 55, 5007, Bergen, Norway

    Øyvind Byrkjedal, Igor Esau & Nils Gunnar Kvamstø

  2. Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, Allegaten 70, 5007, Bergen, Norway

    Øyvind Byrkjedal & Nils Gunnar Kvamstø

  3. Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Thormoehlensgate 47, 5006, Bergen, Norway

    Igor Esau

  4. Kjeller Vindteknikk, PO-Box 122, 2027, Kjeller, Norway

    Øyvind Byrkjedal

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  1. Øyvind Byrkjedal
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  2. Igor Esau
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  3. Nils Gunnar Kvamstø
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Correspondence to Øyvind Byrkjedal.

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Byrkjedal, Ø., Esau, I. & Kvamstø, N.G. Sensitivity of simulated wintertime Arctic atmosphere to vertical resolution in the ARPEGE/IFS model. Clim Dyn 30, 687–701 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-007-0316-z

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