Impact of high resolution on Arctic Ocean simulations in Ocean Model Intercomparison Project phase 2 (OMIP-2)

• Main Authors: Wang, Qiang, Shu, Qi, Bozec, Alexandra, Chassignet, Eric P., Fogli, Pier Giuseppe, Fox-Kemper, Baylor, Hogg, Andy McC., Iovino, Doroteaciro, Kiss, Andrew E., Koldunov, Nikolay, Sommer, Julien, Li, Yiwen, Lin, Pengfei, Liu, Hailong, Polyakov, Igor, Scholz, Patrick, Sidorenko, Dmitry, Wang, Shizhu, Xu, Xiaobiao
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Ocean
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2023-123; https://gmd.copernicus.org/preprints/gmd-2023-123/

This study evaluates the impact of increasing resolution on Arctic Ocean simulations using five pairs of matched low- and high-resolution models within the OMIP-2 framework. The primary objective is to assess whether higher resolution can mitigate typical biases observed in low-resolution models and improve the representation of key climate-relevant variables. We reveal that increasing horizontal resolution contributes to a reduction in biases in mean temperature and salinity, and improves the simulation of the Atlantic Water layer and its decadal warming events. Higher resolution also leads to improved agreement with observed surface mixed layer depth, cold halocline base depth and Arctic gateway transports. However, the simulation of the mean state and temporal changes in Arctic freshwater content does not show improvement with increased resolution. While the use of higher resolution demonstrates positive outcomes for certain variables, it is crucial to recognize that model numerics and parameterizations also play a significant role in achieving faithful simulations. Overall, higher resolution shows promise in improving the simulation of key Arctic Ocean features and processes, but comprehensive model development is required to achieve more accurate representations across all climate-relevant variables.