[Seminar] Dr. Hanli Liu

Development of NCAR WACCM-X and Its Research Applications

As a research laboratory under the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is responsible for developing and maintaining research facilities for community use. Community models are an important part of this service. The High Altitude Observatory (HAO) has led the development of community models for studying the space environment, including the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere General Circulation Model (TIE-GCM) and the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere extension (WACCM-X). WACCM-X is a first-principle model that simulates processes from the Earth surface to the upper thermosphere, including radiative, physical, chemical, dynamical, and electrodynamical processes. It is used to study various coupling processes for Sun-Earth connection. In this talk, I will briefly describe the numerical requirements for developing a whole atmosphere model, and the structure, components, and current capabilities of WACCM-X. I will show examples applying the model for studying (1) lower atmospheric forcing of the upper atmosphere, and (2) climate response to solar forcing. I will also present an outlook of future development.