The new GFDL global atmosphere and land model AM2/LM2

Abstract

The configuration and performance of a new global atmosphere and land model developed at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory for climate research is presented. The atmosphere model, known as AM2, includes a new gridpoint dynamical core, a prognostic cloud scheme, and a multi-species aerosol climatology, as well as components from previous models used at GFDL. The land model, known as LM2, includes soil heat storage, groundwater storage, and stomatal effects. The performance of the coupled model AM2/LM2 is evaluated with a series of prescribed sea-surface temperature (SST) simulations. Particular focus is given to the model's climatology and the characteristics of interannual variability related to El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO).