2009 Performance Metrics

Improve Climate Models – Develop a coupled climate model with fully interactive carbon and sulfur cycles, as well as dynamic vegetation to enable simulations of aerosol effects, carbon chemistry, and carbon sequestration by the land surface and oceans and the interactions between the carbon cycle and climate. In fiscal year 2009: Provide improved climate simulations on subcontinental, regional, and large watershed scales, with an emphasis on improved simulation of precipitation and produce new continuous time series of retrieved cloud, aerosol, and radiation for Arctic region.

Overall Performance Measures

This metric is a joint activity between ARM and the Climate Change Prediction Program (CCPP). For CCPP, the goal is to provide subcontinental, regional, and large watershed scales, with an emphasis on improved simulation of precipitation. For ARM, the goal is provide a new continuous time series of cloud, aerosol, and radiation for the arctic region. These time series will be derived from 2008 observations (part of the International Polar Year) at the Barrow, Alaska site.

The overall performance measure includes specific metrics for reporting progress each quarter. This reporting process includes support documentation (usually a report or data file) appropriate for the metric.

1st Quarter Metric—Completed

Establish protocol and metrics for model-observation comparison.

Product Definition/Description – Set up protocol and metrics for testing the effects of dynamics and model physics on the Community Climate System Model.

Product Documentation/Deliverables - The first quarter milestone was met and reported in Set Up Protocol and Metrics for Model-Observation Comparison (PDF). The protocol and metrics for model-observation comparison have been developed.

2nd Quarter Metric—Completed

Undertake model-observation comparison with the baseline coupled model. Describe algorithms for climate data products and report the Barrow radiation times series data set.

Product Definition/Description – Produce and make available new continuous time series of radiative fluxes based on one year of observations from Barrow, Alaska, during the International Polar Year and report on comparisons of observations with baseline simulations of the Community Climate System Model.

Product Documentation/Deliverables - The second quarter milestone—undertake model-observation comparison with the baseline coupled model—was met and reported in A Year of Radiation Measurements at the North Slope of Alaska (PDF) and Evaluation of Simulated Precipitation in CCSM3: Annual Cycle Performance Metrics at Watershed Scales (PDF). The Barrow radiation time series data set was developed and is available at the ARM Climate Research Facility Data Archive.

3rd Quarter Metric

Undertake model-observation comparison with improved dynamics of the coupled model at coarse resolution. Report the Barrow cloud time series data set.

Product Definition/Description – Produce and make available new continuous time series of cloud frequency based on one year of observations from Barrow, Alaska, during the International Polar Year and report on comparisons of observations with simulations of the Community Climate System Model with improved dynamics.

Product Documentation/Deliverables –

4th Quarter Metric

Undertake model-observation comparison with improved dynamics and model physics of the coupled model at higher resolution. Report the Barrow aerosol time series data set.

Product Definition/Description – Produce and make available new continuous time series of aerosol total column depth based on one year of observations from Barrow, Alaska, during the International Polar Year and report on comparisons of observations with simulations of the Community Climate System Model with improved dynamics and model physics.