Development of a high-resolution coupled SHiELD-MOM6 model – Part 1: Model overview, coupling technique, and validation in a regional setup

Mouallem, Joseph; Gao, Kun; Reichl, Brandon G.; Chilutti, Lauren; Harris, Lucas; Benson, Rusty; Zadeh, Niki; Chen, Jing; Chen, Jan-Huey; Zhang, Cheng

doi:10.5194/gmd-18-6461-2025

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Development of a high-resolution coupled SHiELD-MOM6 model – Part 1: Model overview, coupling technique, and validation in a regional setup

2025
By Mouallem, Joseph ; Gao, Kun ; Reichl, Brandon G. ; ...

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Journal Title:

Geoscientific Model Development
Personal Author:

Mouallem, Joseph ; Gao, Kun ; Reichl, Brandon G. ; Chilutti, Lauren ; Harris, Lucas ; Benson, Rusty ; Zadeh, Niki ; Chen, Jing ; Chen, Jan-Huey ; Zhang, Cheng
NOAA Program & Office:

OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; GFDL (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory)
Description:

We present a new high-resolution coupled atmosphere–ocean model, SHiELD-MOM6, which integrates the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) advanced atmospheric model, the System for High-resolution modeling for Earth-to-Local Domains (SHiELD), the Modular Ocean Model version 6 (MOM6), and the Sea Ice Simulator (SIS2). The model leverages the Flexible Modeling System (FMS) coupler and its innovative exchange grid to enable a robust and scalable two-way interaction between the atmosphere and ocean. The atmospheric component is built on the non-hydrostatic Finite-Volume Cubed-Sphere Dynamical Core (FV3) with the latest version of the SHiELD physics parameterization suite, while the ocean component is the latest version of MOM, supporting kilometer-scale, high-resolution and regional applications. Validation of this new coupled model is demonstrated through a suite of experiments, including idealized hurricane simulations and a realistic North Atlantic case study featuring Hurricane Helene of 2024. By analyzing the storm intensity, its structure, and its effects on the ocean phenomena such as the upwelling and sea-level changes, the results reveal that air–sea interactions are effectively captured. Scalability tests further confirm the model's computational efficiency. This work established a unified modular cornerstone for advancing high-resolution coupled modeling with significant implications for weather forecasting and climate research.
Source:

Geoscientific Model Development, 18(18), 6461-6478
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-6461-2025
ISSN:

1991-9603
Format:

pdf
Publisher:

Copernicus GmbH
Document Type:

Journal Article
Funding:

Grant no. NA18OAR4320123 ; Grant no. NA23OAR4320198 ; Grant no. NA23OAR4050432I
License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Rights Information:

CC BY
Compliance:

Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha-512:c0be12f3e32b90ca7f05e907972243890d7fe0a99f9b2f4f9a791d25991a259c4294767e69bfe694d5a5ea4246ab45cb84bc8756d111f4ccaa1b30e4fba608b8
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/72375/noaa_72375_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 8.76 MB ]

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