Sensitivity of Simulated Climate to Horizontal and Vertical Resolution in the ECHAM5 Atmosphere Model
Open accessAbstract
The most recent version of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology atmospheric general circulation model, ECHAM5, is used to study the impact of changes in horizontal and vertical resolution on seasonal mean climate. In a series of Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP)-style experiments with resolutions ranging between T21L19 and T159L31, the systematic errors and convergence properties are assessed for two vertical resolutions. At low vertical resolution (L19) there is no evidence for convergence to a more realistic climate state for horizontal resolutions higher than T42. At higher vertical resolution (L31), on the other hand, the root-mean-square errors decrease monotonically with increasing horizontal resolution. Furthermore, except for T42, the L31 versions are superior to their L19 counterparts, and the improvements become more evident at increasingly higher horizontal resolutions. This applies, in particular, to the zonal mean climate state and to the stationary wave patterns in boreal winter. As in previous studies, increasing horizontal resolution leads to a warming of the troposphere, most prominently at midlatitudes, and to a poleward shift and intensification of the midlatitude westerlies. Increasing the vertical resolution has the opposite effect, almost independent of horizontal resolution. Whereas the atmosphere is colder at low and middle latitudes, it is warmer at high latitudes and close to the surface. In addition, increased vertical resolution results in a pronounced warming in the polar upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, where the cold bias is reduced by up to 50% compared to L19 simulations. Consistent with these temperature changes is a decrease and equatorward shift of the midlatitude westerlies. The substantial benefits in refining both horizontal and vertical resolution give some support to scaling arguments deduced from quasigeostrophic theory implying that horizontal and vertical resolution ought to be chosen consistently.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Mlawer, E. J., Taubman, S. J., Brown, P. D., Iacono, M. J., & Clough, S. A. (1997) · Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · doi:10.1029/97jd00237 · Cited by 8,438 · see citing works
Uppala, S. M., Kållberg, P. W., Simmons, A. J., Andrae, U., Bechtold, V. D. C., Fiorino, M., Gibson, J. K., Haseler, J., Hernandez, A., Kelly, G. A., et al. (2005) · Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society · doi:10.1256/qj.04.176 · Cited by 6,803 · see citing works
Self-citationA Comprehensive Mass Flux Scheme for Cumulus Parameterization in Large-Scale Models
Tiedtke, M. (1989) · Monthly Weather Review · doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1989)117 · Cited by 3,654 · see citing works
Line shape and the water vapor continuum
Clough, S. A., Kneizys, F. X., & Davies, R. W. (1989) · Atmospheric Research · doi:10.1016/0169-8095(89)90020-3 · Cited by 703 · see citing works
A new subgrid‐scale orographic drag parametrization: Its formulation and testing
Lott, F., & Miller, M. J. (1997) · Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society · doi:10.1002/qj.49712353704 · Cited by 662 · see citing works
The ARPEGE/IFS atmosphere model: a contribution to the French community climate modelling
Déqué, M., Dreveton, C., Braun, A., & Cariolle, D. (1994) · Climate Dynamics · doi:10.1007/bf00208992 · Cited by 589 · see citing works
A System Simulation Approach to Ensemble Prediction
Houtekamer, P. L., Lefaivre, L., Derome, J., Ritchie, H., & Mitchell, H. L. (1996) · Monthly Weather Review · doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1996)124 · Cited by 582 · see citing works
Lohmann, U., & Roeckner, E. (1996) · Climate Dynamics · doi:10.1007/bf00207939 · Cited by 430 · see citing works
Self-citationA parameterization of ice cloud optical properties for climate models
Ebert, E. E., & Curry, J. A. (1992) · Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · doi:10.1029/91jd02472 · Cited by 380 · see citing works
Entekhabi, D., Asrar, G., Betts, A. K., Beven, K. J., Bras, R. L., Duffy, C. J., Dunne, T., Koster, R. D., Lettenmaier, D. P., McLaughlin, D. B., et al. (1999) · Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society · doi:10.1175/1520-0477(1999)080 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
Evaluation of the Hydrological Cycle in the ECHAM5 Model
Hagemann, S., Arpe, K., & Roeckner, E. (2006) · Journal of Climate · doi:10.1175/jcli3831.1 · Cited by 148 · see citing works
Self-citationThe processes governing horizontal resolution sensitivity in a climate model
Pope, V., & Stratton, R. A. (2002) · Climate Dynamics · doi:10.1007/s00382-001-0222-8 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Inness, P. M., Slingo, J., Woolnough, S. J., Neale, R., & Pope, V. D. (2001) · Climate Dynamics · doi:10.1007/s003820000148 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Climate sensitivity of the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM2) to horizontal resolution
Williamson, D. L., Kiehl, J. T., & Hack, J. J. (1995) · Climate Dynamics · doi:10.1007/bf00209513 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Assessment of Snow Cover and Surface Albedo in the ECHAM5 General Circulation Model
Roesch, A., & Roeckner, E. (2006) · Journal of Climate · doi:10.1175/jcli3825.1 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Self-citationA high resolution AMIP integration using the Hadley Centre model HadAM2b
Stratton, R. A. (1999) · Climate Dynamics · doi:10.1007/s003820050265 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Radiative Fluxes in the ECHAM5 General Circulation Model
Wild, M., & Roeckner, E. (2006) · Journal of Climate · doi:10.1175/jcli3823.1 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Self-citationCloud effects on the radiation budget based on ISCCP data (1991 to 1995)
Raschke, E., Ohmura, A., Rossow, W. B., et al. (2005) · International Journal of Climatology · doi:10.1002/joc.1157 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
The vertical resolution sensitivity of simulated equilibrium temperature and water‐vapour profiles
Tompkins, A. M., & Emanuel, K. (2000) · Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society · doi:10.1002/qj.49712656502 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Numerical convergence of the dynamics of a GCM
Boer, G. J., & Denis, B. (1997) · Climate Dynamics · doi:10.1007/s003820050171 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Impact of horizontal resolution on seasonal integrations
Branković, Č., & Gregory, D. (2001) · Climate Dynamics · doi:10.1007/s003820100165 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Radiative effects of clouds on Earth's climate
Hartmann, D. L. (1993) · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Williamson, D. L. (1999) · Tellus A Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography · doi:10.3402/tellusa.v51i5.14485 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Vertical Transports by Plumes within the Moderately Convective Marine Atmospheric Surface Layer
Mason, R. A., Shirer, H. N., Wells, R., & Young, G. S. (2002) · Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences · doi:10.1175/1520-0469(2002)059 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Quesada (2001) · doi:10.1175/1520-0442(2001)014
Chenoweth, M. (1993) · Journal of Climate · doi:10.1175/1520-0442(1993)006
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [9]9. Gibson, J. K., P. Kallberg, S. Uppala, A. Hernandez, A. Nomura, and E. Serrano, 1997: ERA description. ECMWF Reanalysis Project Report Series, Vol. 1, European Centre for Medium- Range Weather Forecasts, Reading, United Kingdom, 72 pp.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Development cycle 2 of the Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy2)
Jöckel, P., Kerkweg, A., Pozzer, A., Sander, R., Tost, H., Riede, H., Baumgaertner, A., Gromov, S., & Kern, B. (2010) · Geoscientific Model Development · doi:10.5194/gmd-3-717-2010 · Cited by 551 · see citing works
Hourdin, F., Foujols, M.-A., Codron, F., Guemas, V., Dufresne, J.-L., Bony, S., Denvil, S., Guez, L., Lott, F., Ghattas, J., et al. (2013) · Climate Dynamics · doi:10.1007/s00382-012-1411-3 · Cited by 302 · see citing works
Kravitz, B., MacMartin, D. G., Mills, M. J., Richter, J. H., Tilmes, S., Lamarque, J., Tribbia, J. J., & Vitt, F. (2017) · Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres · doi:10.1002/2017jd026874 · Cited by 275 · see citing works
Lauer, A., Eyring, V., Hendricks, J., Jöckel, P., & Lohmann, U. (2007) · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · doi:10.5194/acp-7-5061-2007 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Mitigating the contrail cirrus climate impact by reducing aircraft soot number emissions
Burkhardt, U., Bock, L., & Bier, A. (2018) · npj Climate and Atmospheric Science · doi:10.1038/s41612-018-0046-4 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
What is the limit of climate engineering by stratospheric injection of SO <sub>2</sub> ?
Niemeier, U., & Timmreck, C. (2015) · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · doi:10.5194/acp-15-9129-2015 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
McConnell, J. R., Burke, A., Dunbar, N. W., Köhler, P., Thomas, J. L., Arienzo, M. M., Chellman, N. J., Maselli, O. J., Sigl, M., Adkins, J. F., et al. (2017) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1705595114 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Severe ozone air pollution in the Persian Gulf region
Lelieveld, J., Hoor, P., Jöckel, P., Pozzer, A., Hadjinicolaou, P., Cammas, J.-P., & Beirle, S. (2009) · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · doi:10.5194/acp-9-1393-2009 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Lauer, A., & Hamilton, K. (2013) · Journal of Climate · doi:10.1175/jcli-d-12-00451.1 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
The dependency of geoengineered sulfate aerosol on the emission strategy
Niemeier, U., Schmidt, H., & Timmreck, C. (2011) · Atmospheric Science Letters · doi:10.1002/asl.304 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Righi, M., Hendricks, J., & Sausen, R. (2013) · Atmospheric chemistry and physics · doi:10.5194/acp-13-9939-2013 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Estimating the effective radiative forcing of contrail cirrus
Bickel, M., Ponater, M., Bock, L., Burkhardt, U., & Reineke, S. (2020) · Journal of Climate · doi:10.1175/jcli-d-19-0467.1 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Bourtsoukidis, E., Ernle, L., Crowley, J. N., Lelieveld, J., Paris, J.-D., Pozzer, A., Walter, D., & Williams, J. (2019) · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · doi:10.5194/acp-19-7209-2019 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
de Szoeke, S. P., Fairall, C. W., Wolfe, D. E., Bariteau, L., & Zuidema, P. (2010) · Journal of Climate · doi:10.1175/2010jcli3411.1 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Bier, A., Burkhardt, U., & Bock, L. (2017) · Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · doi:10.1002/2017jd027011 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
The Red Sea Deep Water is a potent source of atmospheric ethane and propane
Bourtsoukidis, E., Pozzer, A., Sattler, T., Matthaios, V. N., Ernle, L., Edtbauer, A., Fischer, H., Könemann, T., Osipov, S., Paris, J.-D., et al. (2020) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-020-14375-0 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
On the impact of future climate change on tropopause folds and tropospheric ozone
Akritidis, D., Pozzer, A., & Zanis, P. (2019) · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · doi:10.5194/acp-19-14387-2019 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Franke, H., Niemeier, U., & Visioni, D. (2021) · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · doi:10.5194/acp-21-8615-2021 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Gottschaldt, K., Voigt, C., Jöckel, P., Righi, M., Deckert, R., & Dietmüller, S. (2013) · Atmospheric chemistry and physics · doi:10.5194/acp-13-3003-2013 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Dafka, S., Akritidis, D., Zanis, P., Pozzer, A., Xoplaki, E., Luterbacher, J., & Zerefos, C. (2021) · Atmospheric Research · doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2020.105161 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Vattioni, S., Weber, R., Feinberg, A., Stenke, A., Dykema, J. A., Luo, B., Kelesidis, G. A., Bruun, C. A., Sukhodolov, T., Keutsch, F. N., et al. (2024) · Geoscientific Model Development · doi:10.5194/gmd-17-7767-2024 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
- Authors
- Roeckner, E., Brokopf, R., Esch, M., Giorgetta, M., Hagemann, S., Kornblueh, L., Manzini, E., Schlese, U., & Schulzweida, U.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Society (DE)
- Venue
- Journal of Climate
- Publisher
- American Meteorological Society
- Published
- 2006-08-15
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 16
- Pages
- 3771-3791
- ISSN
- 0894-8755 (ISSN-L)
- 1520-0442
- OpenAlex
- W2042290651
- Cited by
- 1,183
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 67 · 2023: 77 · 2022: 72 · 2021: 88 · 2020: 52 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 49 · 2017: 51 · 2016: 69 · 2015: 71 · 2014: 84 · 2013: 83 · 2012: 86
- FWCI
- 35.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Climate (publishedVersion)
- Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (submittedVersion)
- Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
- Keywords
- ECHAM5, horizontal resolution, vertical resolution, resolution sensitivity, standing waves, mid-latitude westerlies, tropospheric warming, atmospheric general circulation model
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
