GODAE is sponsored by
The CSS projects
Australia
P3 - CLAM-TC
Project name
Coupled Limited-Area Modelling for Tropical Cyclones (CLAM-TC)
Domain
A 27°x 27° domain incorporating tropical Australia
Objectives
To improve tropical cyclone forecasting by incorporating active coupling of the atmospheric model with an ocean model.
Operational objectives:
To provide the Australian Bureau of Meteorology with improved operational forecasting capability for tropical cyclones.
Downscaling strategy
The atmospheric model is downscaled, but the ocean model is run at the same scale as the global model. The atmospheric model is presently the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's tropical forecasting model TCLAPS, nested inside their Local Area Prediction System. The global ocean model is the Ocean Forecasting Australia Model, which is based on MOM. The local-area model is also MOM.
The present operational version of TCLAPS uses only satellite-derived sea-surface temperature. Within CLAM-TC, TCLAPS and MOM will be run with active coupling. Over the period of the study, various levels of coupling will be tested for their sensitivity, including the incorporation of surface wave dynamics. In spin-up mode, before real-time, the ocean model will use data assimilation (optimal ensemble interpolation) of SST and salinity-temperature profiles. The model will be validated against an extensive set of tropical cyclone observations, incorporating satellite and ground-station data.
Project status
The project is in its early stages, with implementation and initial testing of the models. It is due for completion by July 2010. By that time, a production version of CLAM-TC will be available for operational forecast trials at the Bureau of Meteorology.
(Last Updated: 17-01-2008)