Articles | Volume 18, issue 22
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-8535-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-8535-2025
Model evaluation paper
 | 
14 Nov 2025
Model evaluation paper |  | 14 Nov 2025

Evaluating the E3SMv2-MPAS ocean–sea ice coupled unstructured model in the Arctic: Atlantification processes and systematic biases

Xinyuan Lv, Huizan Wang, Yu Cao, Kaijun Ren, Yangjun Wang, and Hao Ding

Cited articles

Aagaard, K. and Carmack, E. C.: The role of sea ice and other fresh water in the Arctic circulation, J. Geophys. Res., 94, 14485–14498, https://doi.org/10.1029/JC094iC10p14485, 1989. 
Aagaard, K., Coachman, L. K., and Carmack, E.: On the halocline of the Arctic Ocean, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. A, 28, 529–545, https://doi.org/10.1016/0198-0149(81)90115-1, 1981. 
Aksenov, Y., Karcher, M., Proshutinsky, A., Gerdes, R., De Cuevas, B., Golubeva, E., Kauker, F., Nguyen, A. T., Platov, G. A., Wadley, M., Watanabe, E., Coward, A. C., and Nurser, A. J. G.: Arctic pathways of Pacific Water: Arctic Ocean Model Intercomparison experiments, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 121, 27–59, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC011299, 2016. 
Årthun, M., Eldevik, T., Smedsrud, L. H., Skagseth, Ø., and Ingvaldsen, R. B.: Quantifying the Influence of Atlantic Heat on Barents Sea Ice Variability and Retreat, J. Climate, 25, 4736–4743, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00466.1, 2012. 
Årthun, M., Eldevik, T., and Smedsrud, L. H.: The Role of Atlantic Heat Transport in Future Arctic Winter Sea Ice Loss, J. Climate, 32, 3327–3341, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0750.1, 2019. 
Download
Short summary
This study evaluates the performance of the varying-resolution mesh model, E3SMv2-MPAS, in simulating key Arctic processes—from sea ice distribution and surface properties to the complex, three-dimensional structures of the Atlantic Water layer. We also pinpoint specific areas where the model still struggles, providing valuable directions for future model development. This progress means scientists can now use this tool more confidently to understand how Arctic ocean layers work and change.
Share