Simulations of the Global Ocean in E3SM

This video shows simulations from the variable-resolution ocean model, the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS-Ocean), which is developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. MPAS-Ocean model is a component of the DOE’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM). These simulations focus on currents, freshwater pulses, and variations in temperature and salinity in select locations around the globe.

Research activities of E3SM include the simulation of 20th-century and future climate, as well as special configurations where model resolution is enhanced in regions of particular interest, like coastal areas, the Arctic, or below Antarctic ice shelves. The variable resolution horizontal mesh in MPAS-Ocean, and shown in this movie, varies from 6 km to 18 km. The E3SM simulations in this video include an active ocean and sea ice and were forced by observational atmospheric data.

Video created by: Mark R. Petersen, Kristin Hoch, Christie Djidjev
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Code for all of the MPAS components – Atmosphere, Land ice, Ocean, and Sea ice – is found at: https://github.com/MPAS-Dev/MPAS-Model.

Documentation for all MPAS components is located at: https://github.com/MPAS-Dev/MPAS-Documents.