Effect of including high-resolution ocean models in climate simulations of the north-west Atlantic and US East coast

Justin Small1, Enrique N Curchitser2, Raphael Dussin3 and Frank Bryan1, (1)National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, United States, (2)Rutgers University New Brunswick, Department of Environmental Sciences, New Brunswick, NJ, United States, (3)Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
Abstract:
Global climate simulations often exhibit a warm sea surface temperature bias off the US East coast, hypothesised to be due to errors in the Gulf Stream path and width. Here we investigate whether the inclusion of a high resolution ocean model can improve the sea surface temperature error, and what effect this has on the regional climate. Simulations of the Community Earth System Model, with an embedded Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS), and global high-resolution Parallel Ocean Program models will be compared against standard resolution runs.