A high-resolution, three-dimensional, time dependent, nested grid model of the coupled thermosphere–ionosphere

✍ Scribed by W Wang; T.L Killeen; A.G Burns; R.G Roble

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 851 KB
• Volume: 61
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1364-6826
• DOI: 10.1016/s1364-6826(98)00079-0

✦ Synopsis

First results are presented from a 2!D\ time dependent\ high resolution\ nested grid model that has been developed to study mesoscale processes in the global\ coupled thermosphereÐionosphere system[ This new ThermosphereÐIonosphere Nested Grid "TING# model\ which is an extension of the National Center for Atmospheric Research|s thermosphereÐ ionosphere general circulation model "NCARÐTIGCM#\ runs on a UNIX workstation[ The TING model simultaneously calculates global "coarse resolution# and local "high resolution# distributions of neutral and plasma winds\ temperature and composition[ It is comprised of two coupled codes*a global TIGCM and an adjustable nested grid code which uses the same solvers as the TIGCM\ but has higher spatial and temporal resolution[ The size\ location and level of nesting of the high resolution grid"s# are adjustable to suit the speci_c application[ The coupling between the coarse "TIGCM# grid and the nested interior grids is via a {one!way interaction| scheme[ In this scheme\ the TIGCM output in~uences the nested grid model by providing initial conditions and temporally evolving boundary conditions\ but the outputs from the nested grid are not permitted to in~uence the TIGCM[ Diurnally!reproducible results of the TING model are presented for solar!maximum\ winter solstice\ geomagnetically!quiet conditions[ The TING model successfully simulates well!known thermosphereÐionosphere features that are smeared or not modeled at the spatial resolutions used in standard TIGCM|s[ These include the sub!auroral electron density trough\ the polar cap {hole| and the polar cap {tongue of ionization|[ Þ 0888 Elsevier Science Ltd[ All rights reserved[