13km to 3km: Where the E3SM Atmosphere Model Written in C++ Exhibit Resolution Sensitivites

In the last few years, simulations and analyses with the 3.25 km Simple Cloud Resolving E3SM Atmosphere Model (SCREAM) have revealed aspects of the atmosphere that km-scale models can and cannot improve on existing 100-km scale models. While we recently completed a decadal simulation with SCREAM, performing routine multi-year simulations at these resolutions remains computationally prohibitive. Therefore, the planned v4 release of E3SM will target an atmospheric resolution of ~13 km. This raises a question of which aspects are scale-sensitive and which aspects are not across these resolutions and whether qualitative differences exist.

Based on analyses of the recent decadal SCREAM simulation and Cess-Potter simulations with the 3km and 13km configurations, I will share results that show resolution sensitivities in the storm intensities, low-clouds, and the feedback strength, but many similarities in the mean-state and variability of the atmosphere and discuss the potential implications for their scientific applications.