Decadal simulation and comprehensive evaluation of CESM/CAM5.1 with advanced chemistry, aerosol microphysics, and aerosol-cloud interactions

• Published in: Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
• Main Authors: He, J., Zhang, Y., Glotfelty, T., He, R. Y., Bennartz, R., Rausch, J., Sartelet, K.
• Other Authors: Institut Parisien de Chimie Moléculaire (IPCM), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Dept. of Composites, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Centre d'Enseignement et de Recherche en Environnement Atmosphérique (CEREA), École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-EDF R&D (EDF R&D), EDF (EDF)-EDF (EDF)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://hal-enpc.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01238315; https://doi.org/10.1002/2014ms000360

International audience Earth system models have been used for climate predictions in recent years due to their capabilities to include biogeochemical cycles, human impacts, as well as coupled and interactive representations of Earth system components (e.g., atmosphere, ocean, land, and sea ice). In this work, the Community Earth System Model (CESM) with advanced chemistry and aerosol treatments, referred to as CESM-NCSU, is applied for decadal (2001-2010) global climate predictions. A comprehensive evaluation is performed focusing on the atmospheric component-the Community Atmosphere Model version 5.1 (CAM5.1) by comparing simulation results with observations/reanalysis data and CESM ensemble simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5). The improved model can predict most meteorological and radiative variables relatively well with normalized mean biases (NMBs) of -14.1 to -9.7% and 0.7-10.8%, respectively, although temperature at 2 m (T2) is slightly underpredicted. Cloud variables such as cloud fraction (CF) and precipitating water vapor (PWV) are well predicted, with NMBs of -10.5 to 0.4%, whereas cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), cloud liquid water path (LWP), and cloud optical thickness (COT) are moderately-to-largely underpredicted, with NMBs of -82.2 to -31.2%, and cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) is overpredictd by 26.7%. These biases indicate the limitations and uncertainties associated with cloud microphysics (e.g., resolved clouds and subgrid-scale cumulus clouds). Chemical concentrations over the continental U.S. (CONUS) (e.g., SO42-, Cl-, OC, and PM2.5) are reasonably well predicted with NMBs of -12.8 to -1.18%. Concentrations of SO2, SO42-, and PM10 are also reasonably well predicted over Europe with NMBs of -20.8 to -5.2%, so are predictions of SO2 concentrations over the East Asia with an NMB of -18.2%, and the tropospheric ozone residual (TOR) over the globe with an NMB of -3.5%. Most meteorological and radiative variables predicted by CESM-NCSU agree well ...