Open AccessEffect of horizontal grid resolution on the near‐equilibrium solution of a global ocean–sea ice model
Author(s) -
Duffy P. B.,
Wickett M. E.,
Caldeira K.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2000jc000658
Subject(s) - eddy , climatology , geology , sea ice , climate model , ocean surface topography , latitude , ocean current , grid , arctic , longitude , horizontal resolution , environmental science , meteorology , climate change , geodesy , oceanography , turbulence , physics
We compare the near‐equilibrium solution of a global ocean/sea ice model at a horizontal grid resolution of 1° × 1° to near‐equilibrium solutions obtained in two configurations at 4° (longitude) × 2° (latitude) resolution. All simulations use realistic, smoothed topography and monthly averaged climatological forcings. Our comparison of the results emphasizes large‐scale features relevant to global climate change. Since neither the 1° × 1° simulation nor the 4° × 2° simulations resolves ocean eddies, our results do not address the possible importance of resolving eddies in ocean‐climate simulations. There are significant differences between the 1° × 1° and 4° × 2° simulations, most notably in the Arctic Ocean. However, the large‐scale features of the model solutions are very similar at the two resolutions and in many cases are more sensitive to a large difference in horizontal viscosity than to the difference in resolution. This suggests that other approaches to improving the solution of ocean‐climate models will be more effective than increases in horizontal resolution outside the eddy‐resolving regime.