Transferability as a Strategy for Researching the Water Cycle and Energy Budget at Regional Scales

1. Transferability as a Strategy for Researching the Water Cycle and Energy Budget at Regional Scales E. S. Takle1, J. Roads2, W. J. Gutowski, Jr.1, B. Rockel3, R. W. Arritt1, and I. Meinke2 1Iowa State University, Ames, IA 2Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD,LaJolla, CA 3GKSS Research Centre, Geesthacht , Germany gstakle@iastate.edu

2. Objective Regional climate model transferability experiments are designed to advance the science of high-resolution climate modeling by taking advantage of continental-scale observations and analyses.

3. Objective Regional climate model transferability experiments are designed to advance the science of high-resolution climate modeling by taking advantage of continental-scale observations and analyses. At the GHP-9 in September 2003 interest emerged for creating a working group to actively promote this approach to study the energy budget and water cycle.

4. Use of Regional Models to Study Climate • How portable are our models?

5. Use of Regional Models to Study Climate • How portable are our models? • How much does “tuning” limit the general applicability to a range of climatic regions?

6. Use of Regional Models to Study Climate • How portable are our models? • How much does “tuning” limit the general applicability to a range of climatic regions? • Can we recover some of the generality of “first-principles” models by examining their behavior on a wide range of climates?

7. Transferability Working Group (TWG) Overall Objective To understand physical processes underpinning the global energy budget, the global water cycle, and their predictability through systematic intercomparisons of regional climate simulations on several continents and through comparison of these simulated climates with coordinated continental-scale observations and analyses

8. Types of Experiments • Multiple models on multiple domains (MM/MD) • Hold model choices constant for all domains

9. Types of Experiments • Multiple models on multiple domains (MM/MD) • Hold model choices constant for all domains • Not • Single models on single domains • Single models on multiple domains • Multiple models on single domains

10. ARCMIP GLIMPSE BALTEX BALTIMOS BALTEX GKSS/ICTS PRUDENCE MAGS SGMIP QUIRCS RMIP TRANSFERABILITY EXPERIMENTS FOR ADDRESSING CHALLENGES TO UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL WATER CYCLE AND ENERGY BUDGET PIRCS CAMP GAPP GAPP GAME GAME LBA LBA IRI/ARC AMMA CATCH MDB LA PLATA MDB

11. Specific Objectives of TWG • Provide a framework for systematic evaluation of simulations of dynamical and climate processes arising in different climatic regions

12. Specific Objectives of TWG • Provide a framework for systematic evaluation of simulations of dynamical and climate processes arising in different climatic regions • Evaluate “transferability”, that is, quality of model simulations in “non-native” regions

13. Specific Objectives of TWG • Provide a framework for systematic evaluation of simulations of dynamical and climate processes arising in different climatic regions • Evaluate “transferability”, that is, quality of model simulations in “non-native” regions • “Meta-comparison” among models and among domains

14. We recognize that… • The water cycle introduces exponential, binary, and other non-linear processes into the climate system

15. We recognize that… • The water cycle introduces exponential, binary, and other non-linear processes into the climate system • Water cycle processes occur on a wide range of scales, many being far too small to simulate in global or regional models

16. We recognize that… • The water cycle introduces exponential, binary, and other non-linear processes into the climate system • Water cycle processes occur on a wide range of scales, many being far too small to simulate in global or regional models • The water cycle creates spatial heterogeneities that feed back strongly on the energy budget and also the circulation system

17. Strategy • Identify key processes relating to the water cycle and energy budget that express themselves to different degrees in different climatic regions

18. Strategy • Identify key processes relating to the water cycle and energy budget that express themselves to different degrees in different climatic regions • Create hypotheses that can be tested by use of MM/MD experiments. Candidate examples: • “Physical parameterizations connected with the water cycle cause all models to have a cool bias” • “Physical parameterizations connected with the water cycle are the largest source of error in simulating the diurnal cycle”

19. Expected Outcomes • Improved understanding of the water cycle and its feedbacks on the energy budget and circulation system

20. Expected Outcomes • Improved understanding of the water cycle and its feedbacks on the energy budget and circulation system • Improved capability to model climate processes at regional scales

21. Expected Outcomes • Improved understanding of the water cycle and its feedbacks on the energy budget and circulation system • Improved capability to model climate processes at regional scales • Improved applicability to impacts models

22. Plan of Work • Phase 0: Write an article for BAMS summarizing lessons learned from various “MIPs” and how “transferability experiments will provide new insight on the global climate system, particularly the water cycle and energy budget, report preliminary results

23. Plan of Work • Phase 0: Write an article for BAMS summarizing lessons learned from various “MIPs” and how “transferability experiments will provide new insight on the global climate system, particularly the water cycle and energy budget, report preliminary results • Phase 1: Conduct pilot studies

24. Plan of Work • Phase 0: Write an article for BAMS summarizing lessons learned from various “MIPs” and how “transferability experiments will provide new insight on the global climate system, particularly the water cycle and energy budget, report preliminary results • Phase 1: Conduct pilot studies • Phase 2: Perform sensitivity studies on key processes relating to the water cycle. Create and test hypotheses by MM/MD

25. Plan of Work • Phase 0: Write an article for BAMS summarizing lessons learned from various “MIPs” and how “transferability experiments will provide new insight on the global climate system, particularly the water cycle and energy budget, report preliminary results • Phase 1: Conduct pilot studies • Phase 2: Perform sensitivity studies on key processes relating to the water cycle. Create and test hypotheses by MM/MD • Phase 3: Prediction, global change, new parameterizations

26. Transferability Consolidates Lessons Learned from Modeling and Observations • Models: Use experience gained from simulating “home domains”

27. Transferability Consolidates Lessons Learned from Modeling and Observations • Models: Use experience gained from simulating “home domains” • CEOPS: Use dominant features of the water cycle and energy budget of each CSE to generate testable hypotheses • Review what has been learned • Identify unique climate features

28. Transferability Experiments Meet GEWEX Phase II Objectives: • “Produce consistent descriptions of the Earth’s energy budget and water cycle…”

29. Transferability Experiments Meet GEWEX Phase II Objectives: • “Produce consistent descriptions of the Earth’s energy budget and water cycle…” • “Enhance the understanding of how the energy and water cycle processes contribute to climate feedback”

30. Transferability Experiments Meet GEWEX Phase II Objectives: • “Produce consistent descriptions of the Earth’s energy budget and water cycle…” • “Enhance the understanding of how the energy and water cycle processes contribute to climate feedback” • “Develop parameterizations encapsulating these processes and feedbacks for atmospheric circulation models”

31. Current Status • Three models (RSM/Scripps, Lokalmodell/GKSS, RegCM3/ISU) simulating four domains (GAPP&MAGS - North America, MDB - Australia, LBA - South America, and BALTEX - Europe)

32. Current Status • Three models (RSM/Scripps, Lokalmodell/GKSS, RegCM3/ISU) simulating four domains (GAPP&MAGS - North America, MDB - Australia, LBA - South America, and BALTEX - Europe) • More collaborating modeling groups are being sought

33. Current Status • Three models (RSM/Scripps, Lokalmodell/GKSS, RegCM3/ISU) simulating four domains (GAPP&MAGS - North America, MDB - Australia, LBA - South America, and BALTEX - Europe) • More collaborating modeling groups are being sought • Contact E. S. Takle (gstakle@iastate.edu)

34. Transferability Domains and CSE Reference Sites • Reference Sites