PNNL

Abstract

The Community Atmosphere Model, version 4 (CAM4) was released as the atmosphere component of the Community Climate System Model, version 4 (CCSM4) and is described. The finite volume dynamical core available in CAM3 is now the default due to its superior transport and conservation properties. Deep convection parameterization changes include a dilute plume calculation of convective available potential energy (CAPE) and the introduction of a formulation for Convective Momentum Transport (CMT). For the cloud fraction an additional calculation is performed following macrophysical state updates that provides improved thermodynamic condistancy. A freeze-drying modification is further made to the cloud fraction calculation in very dry environments, such as arctic Winter, where cloud fractionand cloud water estimates were often inconsistant in CAM3. In CAM4 the finite volume dynamical core leads to a degradation in the excessive trade-wind simulation, but with an accompanying reduction in zonal stresses at higher latitudes. Plume dilution leads to a moister deep tropics alleviating much of the mid-tropospheric dry biases and reduces the persistant precipitation biases over the Arabian peninsular and the southern Indian ocean during the Indian Monsoon. CMT reduces much of the excessive trade-wind biases in eastern ocean basins. The freeze drying modification alleviates much of the high latitude, winter-time excessive cloud bias and improves the associated surface cloud-related energy budget, but the updated cloud macrophysical calculation generally leads to reduced cloud fraction and cloud forcing away from high latitudes. Although there are marginal improvements in time-averaged, large-scale hydrology there are signficant improvements in regional climate features such as the generation of tropical and propagation of stationary waves from the Pacific into mid-latitudes and in the seasonal frequency of Northern Hemisphere blocking events. A 1? versus 2? horizontal resolution of the finite volume 24 dynamical core exhibits signficiant improvements in model climate. Improvements in the fully coupled mean climate between CAM3 and CAM4 are also much more signficant than in forced Sea Surface Temperature (SST) simulations. Furthermore, improvements in the transient characteristics ofthe model climate, documented elsewhere, are substantial.