A Proposal for the Intercomparison of the Dynamical Cores of Atmospheric General Circulation Models

TLDR

The test focuses on long‑term statistical properties of a fully developed general circulation, making it suitable for intercomparing the dynamics used in climate models. The authors propose a benchmark calculation to evaluate atmospheric general circulation model dynamical cores independently of physical parameterizations. They illustrate the benchmark by comparing two distinct dynamical cores—one spectral and one finite difference. The two models produce very similar long‑term statistics, and selected results are presented to initiate the intercomparison.

Abstract

A benchmark calculation is proposed for evaluating the dynamical cores of atmospheric general circulation models independently of the physical parameterizations. The test focuses on the long-term statistical properties of a fully developed general circulation; thus, it is particularly appropriate for intercomparing the dynamics used in climate models. To illustrate the use of this benchmark, two very different atmospheric dynamical cores—one spectral, one finite difference—are compared. It is found that the long-term statistics produced by the two models are very similar. Selected results from these calculations are presented to initiate the intercomparison.