Simulation of an intense tropical cyclone in the conformal cubic atmospheric model and its sensitivity to horizontal resolutionhttps://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/

In this study, we evaluated the Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model's (CCAM) ability to simulate the characteristics of severe Tropical Cyclone (TC) Hina, which occurred in the Southwest Pacific in 1985. We compared the model's performance using both a quasi-uniform grid and a variable-resol...

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Main Authors: Son C. H. Truong, Hamish A. Ramsay, Tony Rafter, Marcus J. Thatcher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Weather and Climate Extremes
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094725000027
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author Son C. H. Truong
Hamish A. Ramsay
Tony Rafter
Marcus J. Thatcher
author_facet Son C. H. Truong
Hamish A. Ramsay
Tony Rafter
Marcus J. Thatcher
author_sort Son C. H. Truong
collection DOAJ
description In this study, we evaluated the Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model's (CCAM) ability to simulate the characteristics of severe Tropical Cyclone (TC) Hina, which occurred in the Southwest Pacific in 1985. We compared the model's performance using both a quasi-uniform grid and a variable-resolution grid to investigate differences in the representation of TC Hina's properties, such as tracks and intensity. We further examined the impact of horizontal resolutions (50 km, 25 km, and 12.5 km) on the wind structure, surface fluxes, and precipitation. Our findings indicate that CCAM reasonably reproduces the TC Hina's track, aligning with IBTrACS and ERA5 data. Higher resolutions in both quasi-uniform and variable resolution configurations result in improved representation of Hina's intensity, with the 12.5 km resolution showing the best performance. Both grid configurations show similar time series of maximum wind speed (Vmax) and minimum sea level pressure (SLPmin). The model is able to accurately represent a range of synoptic meteorological phenomena surrounding the TC centre, as well as the moisture sources feeding into the inner-core of the TC at higher resolutions. Furthermore, we find that the simulated structures of the TC, including primary and secondary circulations, surface fluxes, and precipitation are strongly influenced by horizontal resolution. Our findings suggest that higher resolutions promote greater precipitation and larger latent heat fluxes near the TC centre (facilitating TC intensification). While challenges remain in simulating TCs over the entire Australasian CORDEX domain, the study demonstrates CCAM's capability to simulate intense TCs at high resolution. These findings provide valuable insights into the understanding of how CCAM can be effectively utilised for regional climate projections of TCs.
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spelling doaj-art-d41b1619a84c4fcead8a75bcb9cedabb2025-02-07T04:47:29ZengElsevierWeather and Climate Extremes2212-09472025-03-0147100744Simulation of an intense tropical cyclone in the conformal cubic atmospheric model and its sensitivity to horizontal resolutionhttps://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/Son C. H. Truong0Hamish A. Ramsay1Tony Rafter2Marcus J. Thatcher3Corresponding author.; CSIRO Environment, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, AustraliaIn this study, we evaluated the Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model's (CCAM) ability to simulate the characteristics of severe Tropical Cyclone (TC) Hina, which occurred in the Southwest Pacific in 1985. We compared the model's performance using both a quasi-uniform grid and a variable-resolution grid to investigate differences in the representation of TC Hina's properties, such as tracks and intensity. We further examined the impact of horizontal resolutions (50 km, 25 km, and 12.5 km) on the wind structure, surface fluxes, and precipitation. Our findings indicate that CCAM reasonably reproduces the TC Hina's track, aligning with IBTrACS and ERA5 data. Higher resolutions in both quasi-uniform and variable resolution configurations result in improved representation of Hina's intensity, with the 12.5 km resolution showing the best performance. Both grid configurations show similar time series of maximum wind speed (Vmax) and minimum sea level pressure (SLPmin). The model is able to accurately represent a range of synoptic meteorological phenomena surrounding the TC centre, as well as the moisture sources feeding into the inner-core of the TC at higher resolutions. Furthermore, we find that the simulated structures of the TC, including primary and secondary circulations, surface fluxes, and precipitation are strongly influenced by horizontal resolution. Our findings suggest that higher resolutions promote greater precipitation and larger latent heat fluxes near the TC centre (facilitating TC intensification). While challenges remain in simulating TCs over the entire Australasian CORDEX domain, the study demonstrates CCAM's capability to simulate intense TCs at high resolution. These findings provide valuable insights into the understanding of how CCAM can be effectively utilised for regional climate projections of TCs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094725000027Tropical CycloneRegional Climate ModelCCAMVariable-resolution GridAustralasianCORDEX
spellingShingle Son C. H. Truong
Hamish A. Ramsay
Tony Rafter
Marcus J. Thatcher
Simulation of an intense tropical cyclone in the conformal cubic atmospheric model and its sensitivity to horizontal resolutionhttps://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/
Weather and Climate Extremes
Tropical Cyclone
Regional Climate Model
CCAM
Variable-resolution Grid
Australasian
CORDEX
title Simulation of an intense tropical cyclone in the conformal cubic atmospheric model and its sensitivity to horizontal resolutionhttps://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/
title_full Simulation of an intense tropical cyclone in the conformal cubic atmospheric model and its sensitivity to horizontal resolutionhttps://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/
title_fullStr Simulation of an intense tropical cyclone in the conformal cubic atmospheric model and its sensitivity to horizontal resolutionhttps://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/
title_full_unstemmed Simulation of an intense tropical cyclone in the conformal cubic atmospheric model and its sensitivity to horizontal resolutionhttps://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/
title_short Simulation of an intense tropical cyclone in the conformal cubic atmospheric model and its sensitivity to horizontal resolutionhttps://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/
title_sort simulation of an intense tropical cyclone in the conformal cubic atmospheric model and its sensitivity to horizontal resolutionhttps cds climate copernicus eu
topic Tropical Cyclone
Regional Climate Model
CCAM
Variable-resolution Grid
Australasian
CORDEX
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094725000027
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