The Non-hydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model: description and development

• Published in: Progress in earth and planetary science Vol. 1; no. 1; p. 1
• Main Authors: Satoh, Masaki, Tomita, Hirofumi, Yashiro, Hisashi, Miura, Hiroaki, Kodama, Chihiro, Seiki, Tatsuya, Noda, Akira T, Yamada, Yohei, Goto, Daisuke, Sawada, Masahiro, Miyoshi, Takemasa, Niwa, Yosuke, Hara, Masayuki, Ohno, Tomoki, Iga, Shin-ichi, Arakawa, Takashi, Inoue, Takahiro, Kubokawa, Hiroyasu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 14.10.2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 2. Atmospheric and hydrospheric sciences; Atmospheric circulation; Atmospheric Sciences; Biogeosciences; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Geophysics/Geodesy; Hydrogeology; Planetology; Review; Global cloud-resolving simulations; Icosahedral grid; Global non-hydrostatic model
• ISSN: 2197-4284; 2197-4284
• DOI: 10.1186/s40645-014-0018-1

This article reviews the development of a global non-hydrostatic model, focusing on the pioneering research of the Non-hydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM). Very high resolution global atmospheric circulation simulations with horizontal mesh spacing of approximately O (km) were conducted using recently developed supercomputers. These types of simulations were conducted with a specifically designed atmospheric global model based on a quasi-uniform grid mesh structure and a non-hydrostatic equation system. This review describes the development of each dynamical and physical component of NICAM, the assimilation strategy and its related models, and provides a scientific overview of NICAM studies conducted to date.