HR: 0800h
AN: IN21C-1190 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Data Challenges Facing the Sea Ice and Ocean Climate Modeling Community
AU: * Holland, M M
EM: mholland@ucar.edu
AF: National Center for Atmospheric Research, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AB: Climate models are continuously becoming more complex, including more physical processes and degrees of freedom. Many modeling centers are now at work on "earth system models" that include representations of biology and interactive chemistry. However, much difficulty remains in validating and improving the physical climate systems that the existing models produce. Here we discuss examples of this from the perspective of the sea ice and ocean simulations produced in one such state-of-the-art climate model, the Community Climate System Model. We address a number of different data challenges including the difficulty in validating stand-alone component models that are forced with observed datasets, issues concerning parameterization improvements in these models, and the challenge of comparing climate of the 20th century simulations to the observed record. While the focus of these examples is on the sea ice and ocean systems, many of the issues discussed are applicable to climate modeling in general.
DE: 0750 Sea ice (4540)
DE: 0798 Modeling
DE: 4255 Numerical modeling (0545, 0560)
SC: Earth and Space Science Informatics [IN]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005