A Global–Regional-Unified Atmospheric Dynamical Core on the Yin–Yang Grid

Abstract

Abstract A global–regional-unified nonhydrostatic dynamical core was constructed on the Yin–Yang grid using a semi-implicit semi-Lagrangian solver. Arbitrary coordinate rotation was possible for both global and limited-area models with a multilevel nesting capability. Significant flexibility is available when configuring the model’s horizontal mesh using coordinate rotation. The performance of the dynamical core was assessed using a series of numerical tests in Cartesian and spherical coordinates. The results illustrate the reasonable ability of the piecewise rational method to manage sharp gradient advection and the capability of the dry dynamical core to simulate fine structures in target systems in the Cartesian and spherical configurations. An average convergence rate of 2.43 was confirmed for the dry dynamical core in the balanced flow test. The nested grid improved the fine structure simulation of the baroclinic wave development without affecting wave propagation. The propagating speed of the vortex remained unchanged in the nested grid in the colliding modons test, although the vorticity amplitude decayed more slowly than that in the coarse grid. Proper development of topographic waves was achieved for both large- and small-scale mountains with a clear damping effect in association with the off-center semi-implicit average. A deepened trough in the nesting region, in comparison with that in the parent grid, was simulated in a topographic Rossby wave test. The implementation of coordinate rotation and grid nesting improved the numerical performance when managing atmospheric dynamical problems at relatively low cost.