Model

The GFDL Finite Volume Cubed-Sphere Dynamical Core (FV3) is a scalable and flexible dynamical core capable of both hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic atmospheric simulations. The key components of FV3 can be found from the official FV3 website.
 

Grid Resolution

FV3 employs horizontal grid spacing of approximately 3.25 km (C3072), comprising 56,623,104 grid columns (3072 by 3072 by 6). The number of vertical levels is chosen as 79. The top of the model is at 3hPa. Both horizontal and vertical grid information can be found from the standard
FV3 output files.
 

Output List

Model Level Variables (3D), Output Interval: PT03H

Variable Description Units Level Freq
u zonal wind m/s model level 3h
v meridional wind m/s model level 3h
w vertical wind m/s model level 3h
temp temperature K model level 3h
pres pressure Pa model level 3h
qv specific humidity kg/kg model level 3h
ql cloud water mass mixing ratio kg/kg model level 3h
qi cloud ice mass mixing ratio kg/kg model level 3h
qr rain mass mixing ratio kg/kg model level 3h
qs snow mass mixing ratio kg/kg model level 3h
qg graupel mass mixing ratio kg/kg model level 3h
dp pressure thickness Pa model level 3h
dz height thickness m model level 3h

 

3D Variables Interpolated to 31 Pressure Levels. Output Interval: PT03H

Variable Description Units Level Freq
u_plev zonal wind m/s Pressure level 3h
v_plev meridional wind m/s Pressure level 3h
t_plev temperature K Pressure level 3h
h_plev height m Pressure level 3h
q_plev specific humidity kg/kg Pressure level 3h
ql_plev cloud water mass mixing ratio kg/kg Pressure level 3h
qi_plev cloud ice mass mixing ratio kg/kg Pressure level 3h
qr_plev rain mass mixing ratio kg/kg Pressure level 3h
qs_plev snow mass mixing ratio kg/kg Pressure level 3h
qg_plev graupel mass mixing ratio kg/kg Pressure level 3h
omg_plev omega Pa/s Pressure level 3h

 

Selected Horizontal Slices (2D), Output Interval: PT15M

Variable Description Units Level Freq
u10m zonal wind at 10m m/s 10m 15min
v10m meridional wind at 10m m/s 10m 15min
t2m temperature at 2m K 2m 15min
q2m specific humidity at 2m kg/kg 2m 15min
ps surface pressure Pa surface 15min
intqv vertically integrated water vapor kg/m^2 - 15min
intql vertically integrated cloud water kg/m^2 - 15min
intqi vertically integrated cloud ice kg/m^2 - 15min
intqr vertically integrated rain kg/m^2 - 15min
intqs vertically integrated snow kg/m^2 - 15min
intqg vertically integrated graupel kg/m^2 - 15min
cldc vertically projected cloud cover - - 15min
lhflx surface latent heat flux W/m^2 surface 15min
shflx surface sensible heat flux W/m^2 surface 15min
ustrs surface zonal momentum flux N/s/m^2 surface 15min
vstrs surface meridional momentum flux N/s/m^2 surface 15min
pr total precipitation (accumulated) kg/m^2/s surface 15min
ts ground temperature K surface 15min
qs surface specific humidity kg/kg surface 15min
fsdt TOA downward shortwave (accumulated) W/m^2 TOA 15min
fsut TOA upward shortwave (accumulated) W/m^2 TOA 15min
flut TOA upward longwave (accumulated) W/m^2 TOA 15min
fsds surface downward shortwave (accumulated) W/m^2 surface 15min
fsus surface upward shortwave (accumulated) W/m^2 surface 15min
flds surface downward longwave (accumulated) W/m^2 surface 15min
flus surface upward longwave (accumulated) W/m^2 surface 15min
cape convective available potential energy J/kg - 15min
cin convective inhibition J/kg - 15min
slp sea level pressure Pa Zero height 15min
tm 300-500hPa mean temperature K 300-500 15min
rh relative humidity - 500,850,700hPa 15min
vort vorticity 1/s 850hPa 15min

 

Soil Initialisation

Initial land data (soil temperature, soil moisture, soil type, vegetation type, surface roughness, surface albedo properties, etc.) are from the GFS initial condition at 00Z August 1st, 2016.

Input Data

FV3 uses the IFS initial condition for atmosphere initialisation at August 1st, 2016.
 

Treatment of SST and Sea Ice

FV3 uses the provided IFS data (7 day means).