Weather/Climate and Ocean-Circulation Simulations?

[lpetrich]

I'm curious about the amount of computing that it takes to do weather/climate and ocean-circulation simulations. Does it usually take some supercomputer?

Has anyone ever tried doing both climate and oceans? That's because poleward circulation warms high-latitude areas, something familiar for the Gulf Stream. http://www.geo.arizona.edu/~rees/Jurassic.html mentions how climate simulations make the far northern and southern latitudes too cold for the late Jurassic. But a common approximation is the swamp approximation, where oceans are stationary. It seems to me that Gulf-Stream-like currents could warm up the far-from-equator latitudes.

This could also be worthwhile for exoplanet climate simulations. For a tidally-locked one with a big ocean, ocean currents could carry heat from the day side to the night side.

 

[Nidum]

Does it usually take some supercomputer?

Yes . Actually can require several running in parallel .

Read first and then follow the links out of the computation section :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerical_weather_prediction

 

[AlexTheParticle]

As a fellow forum user, I can offer some insight into your question. Yes, it does typically take supercomputers to run weather/climate and ocean-circulation simulations. These simulations involve complex mathematical models and require a large amount of data and computing power to accurately simulate the intricate processes involved in weather and ocean circulation.

To answer your second question, yes, there have been attempts to combine climate and ocean simulations. In fact, many climate models do include ocean circulation as a component. However, as you mentioned, there are still limitations and approximations in these models, which can lead to discrepancies in the results.

Your point about the Gulf Stream and its impact on high-latitude areas is valid. Ocean currents do play a significant role in regulating global temperatures and can affect the climate in different regions. However, these currents are just one piece of the puzzle, and there are many other factors that need to be considered in climate simulations.

As for exoplanet climate simulations, I'm not familiar with any specific attempts to incorporate ocean currents, but it's definitely an interesting idea to explore. Tidal locking and the transport of heat through ocean currents could have a significant impact on the climate of these planets.

Overall, weather/climate and ocean-circulation simulations are incredibly complex and require a lot of computing power. While there have been attempts to combine these simulations and incorporate ocean currents, there are still many challenges and limitations in accurately simulating our planet's climate. But as technology and our understanding of these processes continue to advance, we may eventually be able to create more comprehensive and accurate simulations.