Custom mesh: 60-15 km tropical Pacific refinement

[zmenzo]

Hello,

I am planning on running a series of simulations for the Tropical Pacific. Unfortunately, the current meshes do not provide the necessary spatial coverage. Is there any way I could have access to make my own custom mesh? For example, I want to cover (-30S to 30N), (90E to 330E) at a 15-60km resolution (see attached image).

Also, technically I can survive with an eastern boundary closer to 310E (vs. 330E). Are you able to estimate the difference in running the additional 20˚ longitude?

Thanks as always,

Zach

 

[mgduda]

We haven't yet released the software that we in the MMM Lab use to generate MPAS-Atmosphere meshes. But, I think a 60-15 km refined mesh that covers a larger range of longitudes would be a nice complement to the other 60-15 km mesh that is available on the download page, so I'd be willing to generate the mesh for you.

I may just be missing it, but can you check whether the image of the proposed refinement area was attached to your post?

 

[zmenzo]

I apologize, I must have forgotten to attach the image.

 

[mgduda]

Thanks very much for the figure. With the refinement region spanning around 240 degrees of longitude, it may be worth considering whether an entire tropical channel from 30S latitude to 30N latitude would be viable. There would be at most 50% more grid cells (not quite 50%, since some of the non-refined longitudes in the proposed mesh are already covered at 60 km grid spacing), but if there's any expectation that interactions with, for example, African easterly waves or the MJO may be important for your simulations, the additional computational cost may be justifiable. I'm not necessarily trying to push you toward one mesh or another, but just putting forward the idea that, if the computational expense will ultimately not be problematic, sometimes just expanding the refinement region can be beneficial. Part of the decision may rest on whether you'll be essentially performing a few one-off simulations or whether you'll be regularly running simulations on this mesh with time or other cost constraints.

 

[zmenzo]

That's a great suggestion. I am fine with doing an equatorial channel (-30S - 30N), (0 - 360E). Thanks again.

And just for scheduling purposes, do you have an estimation on when I can expect the new mesh?

Thank you, thank you, thank you,
Zach

 

[mgduda]

Sorry for the delayed reply. It could take a couple of weeks before the equatorial refinement mesh is ready; I'll keep you updated. I'd estimate that the mesh will ultimately have around 1,570,000 grid cells.

 

[zmenzo]

No, worries at all. I appreciate all your effort and assistance.

Zach

 

[zmenzo]

Hello,

I hope you're doing well. Can you please update me on the new mesh timeline?

Thanks as always,
Zach

 

[mgduda]

Apologies for the delay in all this. The 60-15 km tropical refinement mesh is now available through the mesh download page (you can find it easily by searching the page for the word "tropical"). Cheers!