A PROPOSAL FOR THE INTERCOMPARISON OF THE DYNAMICAL CORES OF ATMOSPHERIC GENERAL-CIRCULATION MODELS

A benchmark calculation is proposed for evaluating the dynamical cores of atmospheric general circulation models independently of the physical parameterizations. The test focuses on the long-term statistical properties of a fully developed general circulation; thus, it is particularly appropriate for intercomparing the dynamics used in climate models. To illustrate the use of this benchmark, two very different atmospheric dynamical cores-one spectral, one finite difference-are compared. It is found that the long-term statistics produced by the two models are very similar. Selected results from these calculations are presented to initiate the intercomparison.