CL4.7 | Earth system models at km-scale and beyond: Implications of resolving smaller scale processes on the climate and challenges
EDI
Earth system models at km-scale and beyond: Implications of resolving smaller scale processes on the climate and challenges
Co-organized by AS5/OS1
Convener: Hans SeguraECSECS | Co-conveners: Audrey Delpech, Tobias Becker, Daisuke Takasuka, Thomas Rackow

The modeling of the Earth Climate System has undergone outstanding advances to the point of resolving atmospheric and oceanic processes on kilometer-scale, thanks to the development of high-performance computing systems. Models resolving km-scale processes (or storm-and-eddy-resolving models) on a global scale are also able to resolve the interaction between the large and small-scale processes, as evidenced by atmosphere- and ocean-only simulations. More importantly, this added value comes at the expense of avoiding the use of parameterizations that interrupts the interaction between scales, i.e., convective parameterization in the atmosphere or mesoscale eddy parameterization in the ocean. These advantages are the bases for the development of global-coupled storm-and-eddy-resolving models, and even at their first steps, such simulations can offer new insights into the importance of capturing the air-sea interface and their associated small-scale processes in the representation of the climate system.
The objective of this session is to have an overview of the added values of global simulations using storm-resolving atmosphere-only configuration, eddy-resolving ocean-only models, and to identify which added values stay after coupling both components, i.e., mechanisms not distorted by the misrepresentation of sub-grid scale processes in the atmosphere and ocean. In addition to highlighting the importance of the already resolved processes in shaping the climate system in global storm-and-eddy-resolving models, this session is also dedicated to presenting the current challenges in global storm-and-eddy-resolving models (identification of biases and possible solutions) by pointing to the role of the sub-grid scale processes in shaping processes on the large scale.
We call for studies contributing to highlighting the advantages and challenges of using global storm-and-eddy-resolving models in ocean-only, atmosphere-only, and coupled configurations, such as the ones proposed by NextGEMS, EERIE, DestinE, and WarmWorld, as well as studies coming from independent institutions around the world

The modeling of the Earth Climate System has undergone outstanding advances to the point of resolving atmospheric and oceanic processes on kilometer-scale, thanks to the development of high-performance computing systems. Models resolving km-scale processes (or storm-and-eddy-resolving models) on a global scale are also able to resolve the interaction between the large and small-scale processes, as evidenced by atmosphere- and ocean-only simulations. More importantly, this added value comes at the expense of avoiding the use of parameterizations that interrupts the interaction between scales, i.e., convective parameterization in the atmosphere or mesoscale eddy parameterization in the ocean. These advantages are the bases for the development of global-coupled storm-and-eddy-resolving models, and even at their first steps, such simulations can offer new insights into the importance of capturing the air-sea interface and their associated small-scale processes in the representation of the climate system.
The objective of this session is to have an overview of the added values of global simulations using storm-resolving atmosphere-only configuration, eddy-resolving ocean-only models, and to identify which added values stay after coupling both components, i.e., mechanisms not distorted by the misrepresentation of sub-grid scale processes in the atmosphere and ocean. In addition to highlighting the importance of the already resolved processes in shaping the climate system in global storm-and-eddy-resolving models, this session is also dedicated to presenting the current challenges in global storm-and-eddy-resolving models (identification of biases and possible solutions) by pointing to the role of the sub-grid scale processes in shaping processes on the large scale.
We call for studies contributing to highlighting the advantages and challenges of using global storm-and-eddy-resolving models in ocean-only, atmosphere-only, and coupled configurations, such as the ones proposed by NextGEMS, EERIE, DestinE, and WarmWorld, as well as studies coming from independent institutions around the world