How to set up an ACCESS1.3 AMIP job with COSP

  1. Include the branch: fcm:um_br/dev/fra298/ACCESS1.3_cosp1.3.1/src
  2. Include the hand edit: ~fra298/hand_edits/vn7.3_cosp_stash.ed
  3. Include the STASH master file: ~fra298/cosp/edits/COSP_stash
  4. Copy the STASH domains from an example job (cherax: xakob, collab: uaihb) DCOSP7x7, DCOSP_5, DCOSPCFH, DCOSPCFL, DCOSP40H

The table below shows the STASH settings for the CloudSat, CALIPSO, PARASOL and ISCCP diagnostics.

The masks are the missing data masks and must be selected when the partner diagnostic is selected. Mask values are 0 for missing and 1 for defined.

The CloudSat and CALIPSO diagnostics as a function of altitude can be output on either the standard 40 levels with constant altitude (2.370, 2.371, 2.372 as in the example below) or on the model vertical levels (2.342, 2.343, 2.350).The choice of which grid to use is controlled by the logical COSP_USE_VGRID in the hand edit file. If this is true then the 40 levels are used, if it is false the model levels are used.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The hand edit file contains the logicals to turn on/off the different simulators and these may need to be modified. A full list of the descriptions of what is included in this file is in the COSP user’s guide (see below for web address). Note that COSP includes a number of other simulators not just CloudSat, CALIPSO, PARASOL and ISCCP; however, these other diagnostics have not been coded.

The CloudSat simulator is slow and isgenerally not used in long simulations. To turn the CloudSat simulator off change the hand edit file so that COSP_CLOUDSAT_SIM=.false.

The logical COSP_LIDAR_SIM controls the CALIPSO and PARASOL simulators.

The logical COSP_ISCCP_SIM controls the ISCCP simulator.

It is recommended that you run your experiment for only a short time initially to check that the COSP outputs look ok before running a longer simulation.

Finally, this set up is for ACCESS1.3. Any changes to the microphysical settings, the radiation settings, the treatment of clouds within the radiation scheme etc will require changes to the implementation of the COSP code within the model.

References and useful information

Descriptions of COSP:

Bodas-Salcedo, A., 2010: COSP users’s manual version 1.3.1. Available from:

Bodas-Salcedo, A., M.J. Webb, S. Bony, H. Chepfer, J.-L. Dufresne, S.A. Klein, Y. Zhang, R. Marchand, J.M. Haynes, R. Pincus and V.O. John, 2011: COSP: Satellite simulation software for model development. Bull. Amer. Met. Soc., 92(8) 1023-1043

Example results for ACCESS1.3 using COSP and information on the implementation:

Franklin, C.N., Z. Sun, D. Bi, M. Dix, H. Yan and A. Bodas-Salcedo, 2012: Evaluation of clouds in ACCESS using the satellite simulator package COSP. Part I: Global, seasonal and regional cloud properties. J. Geophys. Res., doi: 10.1029/2012JD018469 in press