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This paper describes and analyzes the Reed–Jablonowski (RJ) tropical cyclone (TC) test case used in the 2016 Dynamical Core Model Intercomparison Project (DCMIP2016). This intermediate-complexity test case analyzes the evolution of a weak vortex into a TC in an idealized tropical environment. Reference solutions from nine general circulation models (GCMs) with identical simplified physics parameterization packages that participated in DCMIP2016 are analyzed in this study at 50 km horizontal grid spacing, with five of these models also providing solutions at 25 km grid spacing. Evolution of minimum surface pressure (MSP) and maximum 1 km azimuthally averaged wind speed (MWS), the wind–pressure relationship, radial profiles of wind speed and surface pressure, and wind composites are presented for all participating GCMs at both horizontal grid spacings. While all TCs undergo a similar evolution process, some reach significantly higher intensities than others, ultimately impacting their horizontal and vertical structures. TCs simulated at 25 km grid spacings retain these differences but reach higher intensities and are more compact than their 50 km counterparts. These results indicate that dynamical core choice is an essential factor in GCM development, and future work should be conducted to explore how specific differences within the dynamical core affect TC behavior in GCMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes and analyzes the Reed-Jablonowski (RJ) tropical cyclone (TC) test case used in the 2016 Dynamical Core Model Intercomparison Project (DCMIP2016). The intermediate complexity test case analyzes the evolution of a weak vortex into a TC in an idealized tropical environment. Simulations from general circulation models (GCMs) that participated in DCMIP2016 are analyzed in this study at 50 km horizontal grid spacing, with 5 of these models also providing simulations at 25 5 km grid spacing for an analysis on the impact of finer grid spacing. Evolution of minimum surface pressure (MSP) and maximum 1 km azimuthally averaged wind speed (MWS), the wind-pressure relationship, radial profiles of wind speed and surface pressure, and wind composites are documented for all participating GCMs at both horizontal grid spacings. While results are generally similar between all models, some GCMs reach significantly higher storm intensities than others, ultimately impacting specific characteristics of their horizontal and vertical structure. TCs simulated at 25 km grid spacings retained these differences, but reach higher intensities and are more compact than their 50 km counterparts. These results indicate dynamical core choice is an essential factor in GCM development, and future work should be conducted to explore how specific differences within the dynamical core affect TC behavior in GCMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The typical resolution used in CMIP-class Earth system models limits, among others, the ability to assess climate risks that are associated with smaller-scale weather phenomena such as tropical cyclones. We introduce higher-resolution atmosphere-only simulations following the HighResMIP Tier1 protocol. A baseline simulation (LMDZ-OR) is run with LMD-Z, the atmospheric component of the IPSL-CM Earth System model, with CMIP6 physics including the land-surface model ORCHIDEE, at a resolution equivalent to 50km at mid-latitudes. Large-scale parallel I/O with on-the-fly data processing is enabled by the XIOS I/O server. In two additional simulations (ICO-LMDZ-OR), the LMD-Z latitude-longitude dynamical core is replaced by the more scalable DYNAMICO dynamical core, using icosahedral-hexagonal meshes with quasi-uniform resolution of 50km and 25km.We provide a description and preliminary analysis of these simulations. We present the scalability and throughput of LMDZ-OR and ICO-LMDZ-OR. Some differences between LMDZ-OR and ICO-LMDZ-OR with respect to the processing of input datasets, especially orography, are discussed. The climates in LMDZ-OR and ICO-LMD-OR simulations at similar resolutions are compared. Dependence on resolution of key climate features is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]