Interested.
Discussion
Started 18th Aug, 2023
CMIP6 grid resolution in km?
What is the standard grid resolution for the CMIP6 model in km?
Is it possible to downscale it to 1x1 km?
Most recent answer
Thank you very much for your take Sean.
All replies (4)
The standard grid resolution for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models can vary significantly depending on the specific model and component being used (atmosphere, ocean, land, etc.). CMIP6 models generally have resolutions ranging from coarse (e.g., hundreds of kilometers) to finer scales (e.g., tens of kilometers) for atmosphere and ocean components.
However, downscaling CMIP6 models to a resolution of 1x1 km is generally not feasible or practical due to a few reasons:
- Computational Resources: Running global climate models at such high resolutions requires massive amounts of computational power and resources. The computational demands increase significantly as the resolution becomes finer, making it challenging to perform simulations at very high resolutions.
- Model Dynamics: Many climate models have physical parameterizations that are designed and tuned for certain resolutions. At extremely high resolutions, these parameterizations might not accurately represent processes occurring at smaller scales, leading to unrealistic simulations.
- Data Availability: Generating and managing data at 1x1 km resolution for global simulations would result in vast amounts of data that can be difficult to store, transfer, and analyze effectively.
- Model Complexity: Climate models are complex systems that represent a wide range of interacting processes. Increasing the resolution to 1x1 km introduces a level of detail that might not necessarily provide significant benefits in terms of understanding large-scale climate patterns and trends.
In practice, researchers often employ regional climate models (RCMs) or other downscaling techniques to achieve higher resolutions for specific regions of interest while still relying on the outputs of global CMIP6 models as boundary conditions. This approach allows for more detailed analyses of local or regional climate impacts without the computational and practical challenges of running the entire global model at such high resolutions.
Interested.
Dear Professor Tandon, thank you for your input. In the meantime, I have stumbled across a 1x1 km grid resolution.
At Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum, powered by Max Planck Institue for general interest and curiosity.
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Walden University
The grid resolution is about 250km within the atmosphere and 100km within the ocean which is typical. The better resolution is 25km in the atmosphere and a range of 8-25km for the ocean. A nominal resolution calculation would be needed to scale down to your preferred size. Note: The nominal resolution calculation needs to be done in python.
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