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WACCM-X

Sample template image
WACCM-X simulation of the "April Fools" geomagnetic storm in 2001, showing the global electron column density in units of 10^12 cm^-2. Note the "tongue of ionization" extending out of both the north and south auroral regions into the dayside low-latitudes, and the highly distorted equatorial ionosphere.

The Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere extension (WACCM-X) is a comprehensive numerical model, spanning the range of altitude from the Earth’s surface to the upper thermosphere.

The scientific goals of the model include studying solar impacts on the Earth atmosphere, couplings between atmosphere layers through chemical, physical and dynamical processes, and the implications of the coupling for the climate and for the near space environment. The development of the model is inter-divisional collaboration that unifies certain aspects of the upper atmospheric modeling of HAO, the middle atmosphere modeling of ACOM, and the tropospheric modeling of CGD, using the NCAR Community Earth System Model (CESM) as a common numerical framework.

Overview:

More Information:

    • WACCM-X information and tutorials at CESM:

-CESM main page
-CESM quick start guide
-WACCM-X Compsets
-CESM/WACCM-X description

    • Whole Atmosphere Working Group:

-http://www.cesm.ucar.edu/working_groups/Whole-Atmosphere/

    • WACCM at ACOM:

-https://www2.acom.ucar.edu/gcm/waccm

    • Sign up for WACCM-X Mailing list

-/modeling/waccm-x/mailing-list

News and Updates:

    • Extended runs of WACCM-X v. 2.1 with specified dynamics forcing available for analysis

-/modeling/sd/waccm-x/ExtendedRuns

    • Climate change model output archived (Solomon et al., 2018; 2019)

-https://doi.org/10.26024/ypnz-d857

    • WACCM-X v. 2.1, is released as part of the Community Earth System Model, v. 2.1, January 2019.

-Release Notes for WACCM-X v.2.1

    • WACCM-X v. 2.0, with fully-interactive ionosphere, is released as part of the Community Earth System Model, v. 2.0, June 2018.

-Release Notes for WACCM-X v.2.0
-http://www.cesm.ucar.edu/models/cesm2
-http://www.cesm.ucar.edu/models/cesm2/whatsnew.html

Recent Workshops and Symposia:

    • System Science Workshop 2018
-Toward a Whole Geospace Model

    • CEDAR Workshop 2018
-Hanli Liu's CEDAR Prize Lecture

    • Whole Atmosphere Modeling Workshop, June 13-15, 2018
-http://www.elecnor-deimos.com/wam-workshop-2018/
  • Whole Atmosphere Data Assimilation in WACCMX+DART
  • CESM: A platform for atmospheric prediction from the surface to geospace
  • Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with Thermosphere/Ionosphere Extension (WACCM-X)

      • Whole Atmosphere Working Group Meeting, Feb. 12–14, 2018
    -http://www.cesm.ucar.edu/events/wg-meetings/2018/am.html

      • WACCM-X Users Group tutorial session at the CEDAR Workshop, June 22, 2017
    -http://cedarweb.vsp.ucar.edu/wiki/index.php/2017_Workshop:WACCM_X_Users_Group

      • Whole Atmosphere Variability session at the CEDAR Workshop, June 22, 2017
    -http://cedarweb.vsp.ucar.edu/wiki/index.php/2017_Workshop:Whole_Atmosphere_Variability

      • Whole Atmosphere Working Group meeting at the CESM Workshop, June 20, 2017
    -http://www.cesm.ucar.edu/events/workshops/ws.2017/

    WACCM-X Highlights:

    Graphic image depicting effective diffusion coefficient
    Effective vertical diffusion by atmospheric gravity waves
    December 16, 2020

    Han-Li Liu has observed that atmospheric gravity waves may transport heat and chemical species in the vertical direction.

    Graphic depicting the whole atmosphere temperature profiles
    Impact of GOLD Retrieved Thermospheric Temperatures on a Whole Atmosphere Data Assimilation Model
    November 10, 2020

    The present investigation evaluates the assimilation of synthetic data which has properties similar to actual Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) level-2 (L2) and other conventional lower atmospheric observations.

    Graphic image of WACCMX+DART experiments
    Assimilation of Ionosphere Observations in the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere-ionosphere eXtension (WACCMX)
    July 16, 2020

    The Earth’s upper atmosphere impacts a wide range of technologies, including satellite communication and navigation signals. Specification and forecasting of the upper atmosphere are critical for mitigating these effects.

    Graphic image of the comparison of 135.6 nm emissions
    Global Modeling of Equatorial Spread F with SAMI3/WACCM-X
    June 2, 2020

    We report the first results of a global ionosphere/thermosphere simulation study that self-consistently generates large-scale equatorial spread F (ESF) plasma bubbles in the post-sunset ionosphere.

    Graphic image of variability vertical ExB drift
    Quiet-time Day-to-day Variability of Equatorial Vertical E×B Drift from Atmosphere Perturbations at Dawn
    March 20, 2020

    The ionosphere is different from one day to the next, even under geomagnetic and solar quiet condition. The vertical E×B drift at the geomagnetic equator is a key parameter that influences the state of the ionosphere and atmosphere.

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    The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.