A 20-Year Climatology of a NICAM AMIP-Type Simulation

Abstract

 A 20-year integration by the nonhydrostatic icosahedral atmospheric model (NICAM) with a 14 km mesh was conducted for the first time to obtain a climatological mean and diurnal to interannual variability of a simulated atmosphere. Clouds were explicitly calculated using a cloud microphysics scheme without cumulus convection scheme. The simulation was performed under the atmospheric model intercomparison project-type conditions, except that sea surface temperature was nudged toward observed historical values using the slab ocean model. The results are analyzed with a focus on tropical disturbances, including tropical cyclones (TCs) and the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO).
 NICAM simulates many aspects of atmospheric climatological mean state and variability. The geographical distributions of precipitation, including interannual, seasonal, and diurnal variations, are well reproduced. Zonal mean basic states, clouds, and top-of-atmosphere radiation are qualitatively simulated, though some severe biases such as underestimated low clouds, shortwave reflection, warmer surface, and tropical upper troposphere exist.
 TCs and MJO are the main focus of the simulation. In the simulation, TCs are detected with the objective thresholds of maximum wind speed due to the realistic intensity of simulated TCs. The seasonal march of TC genesis in each ocean basin is well simulated. The statistical property of the MJO and tropical waves is well reproduced in the space-time power spectra, consistent with previous NICAM studies. This implies that the stratospheric variability is also reproduced, as partially revealed in this study. Asian monsoon analysis shows that climatological western North Pacific monsoon onset occurs near the observed onset, and that the Baiu front is reproduced to some extent. Some significant model biases still exist, which indicates a need for further model improvements. The results indicate that a high-resolution global nonhydrostatic model has the potential to reveal multiscale phenomena in the climate system.