ICON-waves: a new ocean surface waves component of the ICON modeling framework.

We present ICON-waves, a new component of the ICOsahedral Non-hydrostatic (ICON) modeling system, designed to explicitly model ocean surface gravity waves and their feedbacks on the atmosphere and ocean within the Earth system. Until now, the ICON-NWP model, developed and routinely operated by the German Weather Service (DWD), has not fully captured the impact of wave-induced interactions. Waves influence the sea surface state, generate turbulence, modify ocean currents, and affect air-sea exchanges of heat, matter, and momentum. ICON-waves addresses these processes by providing a wave-spectrum-dependent interface within the ICON framework, enabling more realistic simulations of atmosphere-ocean interactions. The integration of ICON-waves represents a significant advancement in modeling the complexity of atmosphere-ocean feedbacks, offering potential benefits for weather and climate prediction. This presentation outlines the ICON-waves model, including its concept, wave physics, and its role in improving overall model physics. We demonstrate results from both stand-alone ICON-waves and coupled ICON-NWP-waves simulations, focusing on the effects of wave-dependent sea surface roughness in the coupled atmosphere-waves system.