Aqua-planet configurationof the Unified Model |
Centre for Global Atmospheric Modelling
The University of Reading |
An aqua-planet general circulation model (GCM) is simply a version of a GCM which includes the full physics and dynamics but with the Earth's surface entirely covered in oceans. The sea-surface temperature (SST) distribution is usually specified to be zonally symmetric, and to further simplify matters, solar radiation is often fixed to an equinoctial value.
An aqua-planet GCM is a useful tool for investigating the interaction between model dynamics and physics or the response of a GCM to a change in formulation. Click here for a brief description of the uses of an aqua-planet model and some example studies which have used the Unified Model or other GCMs in aqua-planet mode.
Click here for a description of the things you need to do to set up an aqua-planet integration with the Unified Model. You can also download a set of ancillary files and code modifications for an aqua-planet integration.
email: pete@met.reading.ac.uk phone: 0118 3785583