Local versus nonlocal boundary-layer diffusion in a global climate model

Abstract

The global model is an updated version of the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM2). The local diffusion scheme uses an eddy diffusivity determined independently at each point in the vertical, based on local vertical gradients of wind and virtual potential temperature, similar to the usual approach in global atmospheric models. The nonlocal scheme determines an eddy-diffusivity profile based on a diagnosed boundary-layer height and a turbulent velocity scale. It also incorporates nonlocal (vertical) transport effects for heat and moisture. The nonlocal scheme transports moisture away from the surface more rapidly than the local scheme, and deposits the moisture at higher levels. The local scheme tends to saturate the lowest model levels unrealistically, which typically leads to clouds too low in the atmosphere. The nonlocal scheme has been chosen for CCM2 because of its more comprehensive representation of the physics of boundary-layer transport in dry convective conditions. -from Authors