Developed at GFDL, ZETANC is a high resolution, non-hydrostatic, fully compressible model of hemispheric extent. The model is being used for the simulation of the detailed structure of extra-tropical storms and storm tracks. The studies are aimed in particular at a more definitive understanding of the effects of moist convection on storm structure and evolution. These simulations will be used to evaluate parameterizations in global climate models. The model will also will be used to study the seasonal cycle and inter-annual variability of the storm tracks and their sensitivity to climate change, placing particular emphasis on extreme extra-tropical weather. ZETANC could be used to simulate phenomena at any meteorological scale since it does not require the standard restricted assumptions. In order to illustrate the versatility of the model, two extreme experiments are shown: a) Bubble convection in an isentropic environment, and b) the life-cycle of baroclinic eddies.

The eddy activity along the storm track has been simulated without the standard moist parameterizations. Actual individual clouds are explicitly resolved in these runs using explicit moist convection in the non hydrostatic compressible hemispheric model ZETANC. The animation shows only a very small portion of the total integration. The integrated column of liquid water is shown in gray.