High Resolution Explorations of Data Assimilation
PI: Max Suarez, NASA/GMAO
Code: GEOS-5
Allocation: 20 million hours
Current climate models ignore the effects of mesoscale weather events on variations in global climate. A research team of NASA and NOAA scientists will take a substantial step toward filling this gap with two 10-year simulations using the petascale power of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Jaguar supercomputer. The simulations will tackle the problem at unprecedented resolution, with grids of about 14 kilometers rather than the 55- to 110-kilometer grids that are currently typical. By determining how robust the impacts of weather resolution are in climate runs, this research will make it possible to resolve down to regional scale the predictions and projections of climate change, using global models that will contribute to the 2011 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 5th Assessment Report. As such, the simulations have the potential to transform climate change projection for regional scales. The team will also conduct a few very high-resolution forecasts for the Year of Tropical Convection. These forecasts will be evaluated alongside other forecasts, especially for their ability to represent hurricanes and the Madden-Julian Oscillation, a recurring pattern of rainfall in the tropics that has planetary consequences.
Code: GEOS-5
Allocation: 20 million hours
Current climate models ignore the effects of mesoscale weather events on variations in global climate. A research team of NASA and NOAA scientists will take a substantial step toward filling this gap with two 10-year simulations using the petascale power of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Jaguar supercomputer. The simulations will tackle the problem at unprecedented resolution, with grids of about 14 kilometers rather than the 55- to 110-kilometer grids that are currently typical. By determining how robust the impacts of weather resolution are in climate runs, this research will make it possible to resolve down to regional scale the predictions and projections of climate change, using global models that will contribute to the 2011 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 5th Assessment Report. As such, the simulations have the potential to transform climate change projection for regional scales. The team will also conduct a few very high-resolution forecasts for the Year of Tropical Convection. These forecasts will be evaluated alongside other forecasts, especially for their ability to represent hurricanes and the Madden-Julian Oscillation, a recurring pattern of rainfall in the tropics that has planetary consequences.
