CGD/CISL Joint Seminar- CESM at kilometer-scale/UXarray: Building upon Xarray to support analysis and visualization of kilometer-scale model outputs in native unstructured grids

Title: CESM at kilometer-scale
Presenters: Brian Medeiros & Brian Dobbins
Time: 15 minutes
Abstract:  Over the past several years there has been a proliferation of “ultra-high resolution” global atmosphere models with grid spacing less than 5km. These resolutions resolve the mesoscale, and permit explicit representation of deep convection. These models have the potential to ameliorate long-standing biases in conventional climate models, such as the diurnal cycle of continental convection and the double-ITCZ bias. They come with a host of technical challenges, however, and an overwhelming data volume. Several current projects are working to run CESM at these resolutions, necessitating changes in the dynamical core, adjustments in model physics, and upgrades to the modeling framework. This presentation provides a brief overview of these efforts, including recent achievements in producing a global simulation at 3.75km grid spacing. The opportunities provided by such experiments as well as the data and computational challenges will be discussed. Possible next steps in modeling and analysis will be presented, and opened for discussion.

Title: UXarray: Building upon Xarray to support analysis and visualization of kilometer-scale model outputs in native unstructured grids
Presenter: Orhan Eroglu
Time: 25 minutes
Abstract: UXarray provides scalable data analysis and visualization functionality to be operated directly (without regridding) on unstructured grids, which are outputs of various climate and global weather models including CESM, MPAS, etc. UXarray has matured significantly both in functionality and performance over the last year, and it is now capable of supporting real-world analysis workflows, including at km-scale resolutions. This talk will highlight UXarray’s current capabilities and the roadmap, discuss how UXarray and the rest of the GeoCAT tool stack can help address Earth system science community's present and future workflow needs, and emphasize the importance of ongoing and upcoming community events for further collaborations.