Resolution dependence of tropical poleward energy transport in aquaplanet GCMs

The tropical atmosphere plays an important role in transporting energy poleward and driving the global circulation. However, understanding and simulating this fundamental aspect of our climate remains difficult due to its sensitivity to convective parameterizations and horizontal resolution. This st...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Chang, Chiung‐Yin, Lin, Pu, Held, Isaac M., Merlis, Timothy M., Zurita Gotor, Pablo
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/129372
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/129372
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:551.5
Radiative-convective equilibrium
Gross moist stability
General-circulation
Hadley circulation
Model
Precipitation
Aquachannel
Temperature
Sensititivity
Meteorología (Física)
2502 Climatología
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oai_identifier_str oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/129372
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repository_id_str
spelling Resolution dependence of tropical poleward energy transport in aquaplanet GCMsChang, Chiung‐YinLin, PuHeld, Isaac M.Merlis, Timothy M.Zurita Gotor, Pablo551.5Radiative-convective equilibriumGross moist stabilityGeneral-circulationHadley circulationModelPrecipitationAquachannelTemperatureSensititivityMeteorología (Física)2502 ClimatologíaThe tropical atmosphere plays an important role in transporting energy poleward and driving the global circulation. However, understanding and simulating this fundamental aspect of our climate remains difficult due to its sensitivity to convective parameterizations and horizontal resolution. This study focuses on benchmarking the resolution dependence of tropical poleward energy transport in two aquaplanet atmospheric general circulation models with disabled convective parameterizations: a nonhydrostatic high-resolution (100–6 km) finite-volume cubed-sphere model with a full physics package and a lower-resolution (300–100 km) hydrostatic spectral model with idealized moist physics. Despite differences in their physics and numerics, both models demonstrate that column-integrated poleward moist static energy transport by the mean meridional circulation increases with resolution in the deep tropics, while transport by transient eddies decreases. These changes are associated with enhanced gross moist stability that switches from negative to positive due to an increasingly top-heavy mean circulation and reduced eddy activity diffusing water vapor along an unchanging mean moisture gradient. Further analysis rules out extratropical baroclinic eddies and radiation as the main drivers of these changes. Instead, the resolution dependence of both the mean meridional circulation and transient eddies appears to reflect the resolution dependence of tropical explicit (unparameterized) deep convection. We speculate the multiscale interactions of convection allow for a coupling between gross moist stability and eddy moisture flux, leading to their concurrent changes with resolution. We discuss the implications of this resolution dependence for developing theories and models of the tropical atmosphere.American Geophysical UnionUniversidad Complutense de Madrid20252025-11-2820252025-11-28journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/129372reponame:Docta Complutenseinstname:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)InglésengAgencia Estatal de Investigación http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023 PID2022-136316NB-I00 INVESTIGACION DEL IMPACTO DE LA INTERACCION DE KELVIN-ROSSBY EN LA CIRCULACION GENERAL ATMOSFERICAopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/1293722026-06-02T12:44:21Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Resolution dependence of tropical poleward energy transport in aquaplanet GCMs
title Resolution dependence of tropical poleward energy transport in aquaplanet GCMs
spellingShingle Resolution dependence of tropical poleward energy transport in aquaplanet GCMs
Chang, Chiung‐Yin
551.5
Radiative-convective equilibrium
Gross moist stability
General-circulation
Hadley circulation
Model
Precipitation
Aquachannel
Temperature
Sensititivity
Meteorología (Física)
2502 Climatología
title_short Resolution dependence of tropical poleward energy transport in aquaplanet GCMs
title_full Resolution dependence of tropical poleward energy transport in aquaplanet GCMs
title_fullStr Resolution dependence of tropical poleward energy transport in aquaplanet GCMs
title_full_unstemmed Resolution dependence of tropical poleward energy transport in aquaplanet GCMs
title_sort Resolution dependence of tropical poleward energy transport in aquaplanet GCMs
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Chang, Chiung‐Yin
Lin, Pu
Held, Isaac M.
Merlis, Timothy M.
Zurita Gotor, Pablo
author Chang, Chiung‐Yin
author_facet Chang, Chiung‐Yin
Lin, Pu
Held, Isaac M.
Merlis, Timothy M.
Zurita Gotor, Pablo
author_role author
author2 Lin, Pu
Held, Isaac M.
Merlis, Timothy M.
Zurita Gotor, Pablo
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Universidad Complutense de Madrid
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv 551.5
Radiative-convective equilibrium
Gross moist stability
General-circulation
Hadley circulation
Model
Precipitation
Aquachannel
Temperature
Sensititivity
Meteorología (Física)
2502 Climatología
topic 551.5
Radiative-convective equilibrium
Gross moist stability
General-circulation
Hadley circulation
Model
Precipitation
Aquachannel
Temperature
Sensititivity
Meteorología (Física)
2502 Climatología
description The tropical atmosphere plays an important role in transporting energy poleward and driving the global circulation. However, understanding and simulating this fundamental aspect of our climate remains difficult due to its sensitivity to convective parameterizations and horizontal resolution. This study focuses on benchmarking the resolution dependence of tropical poleward energy transport in two aquaplanet atmospheric general circulation models with disabled convective parameterizations: a nonhydrostatic high-resolution (100–6 km) finite-volume cubed-sphere model with a full physics package and a lower-resolution (300–100 km) hydrostatic spectral model with idealized moist physics. Despite differences in their physics and numerics, both models demonstrate that column-integrated poleward moist static energy transport by the mean meridional circulation increases with resolution in the deep tropics, while transport by transient eddies decreases. These changes are associated with enhanced gross moist stability that switches from negative to positive due to an increasingly top-heavy mean circulation and reduced eddy activity diffusing water vapor along an unchanging mean moisture gradient. Further analysis rules out extratropical baroclinic eddies and radiation as the main drivers of these changes. Instead, the resolution dependence of both the mean meridional circulation and transient eddies appears to reflect the resolution dependence of tropical explicit (unparameterized) deep convection. We speculate the multiscale interactions of convection allow for a coupling between gross moist stability and eddy moisture flux, leading to their concurrent changes with resolution. We discuss the implications of this resolution dependence for developing theories and models of the tropical atmosphere.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2025-11-28
2025
2025-11-28
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/129372
url https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/129372
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Agencia Estatal de Investigación http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023 PID2022-136316NB-I00 INVESTIGACION DEL IMPACTO DE LA INTERACCION DE KELVIN-ROSSBY EN LA CIRCULACION GENERAL ATMOSFERICA
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv American Geophysical Union
publisher.none.fl_str_mv American Geophysical Union
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Docta Complutense
instname:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
instname_str Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
reponame_str Docta Complutense
collection Docta Complutense
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
_version_ 1869424568289984512
score 15,812455

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