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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:

    Graph showing WACCM-X (2.0) simulated summer temperature profiles of year 1974 and year 2003
    The long-term trends of nocturnal mesopause temperature and altitude revealed by the Na lidar observations between 1990 and 2018 at mid-latitude
    December 2, 2018

    The nighttime mesopause, marking the boundary of mesosphere and thermosphere and having the coldest atmospheric temperature, is formed mainly by the combination of radiative cooling by CO2, and the adiabatic flow in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere.

    Time and altitude distribution
    A Numerical Investigation on the Thermospheric Sodium Layer
    October 2, 2018

    The extension of the neutral atomic Na layer into thermosphere (up to 170 km) was observed in low and high latitudes.

    Amplitudes of the Q6DW as a function of latitude and time
    Sources, sinks and propagation characteristics of the quasi 6-day wave and its impact on the residual mean circulation
    August 25, 2018

    This study, by Pedatella and others, employs a troposphere to lower thermosphere reanalysis dataset generated by the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with data assimilation provided by the Data Assimilation Research Testbed (WACCM+DART).

    Change in WACCMX simulated total electron content (TEC) during a geomagnetic
    The influence of internal atmospheric variability on the ionosphere response to a geomagnetic storm
    June 18, 2018

    Nicholas Pedatella notes that geomagnetic storms are an important driver of variability in Earth’s ionosphere, and can have significant societal impacts through the ionosphere’s impact on communications and navigation systems (e.g., GPS).

    Gravity wave drag anomaly
    WACCM Simulations of Zonal Mean Gravity Wave Drag Short-term Variability in the Southern Hemisphere Mesosphere
    March 16, 2018

    Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) simulations are used to investigate the short-term (30-day) temporal variability in the mid- and high-latitude Southern Hemisphere mesosphere.

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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.