A fast and physically grounded ocean model for GCMs: the Dynamical Slab Ocean Model of the Generic-PCM (rev. 3423)

Bhatnagar, Siddharth; Codron, Francis; Millour, Ehouarn; Bolmont, Emeline; Brunetti, Maura; Kasparian, Jérôme; Turbet, Martin; Chaverot, Guillaume

doi:10.5194/gmd-19-3285-2026

Articles | Volume 19, issue 8

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-3285-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-3285-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 19, issue 8

Development and technical paper

|

24 Apr 2026

Development and technical paper |

| 24 Apr 2026

A fast and physically grounded ocean model for GCMs: the Dynamical Slab Ocean Model of the Generic-PCM (rev. 3423)

Siddharth Bhatnagar, Francis Codron, Ehouarn Millour, Emeline Bolmont, Maura Brunetti, Jérôme Kasparian, Martin Turbet, and Guillaume Chaverot

Data sets

Simulation data for analysis and reproducibility of select simulations of the paper Siddharth Bhatnagar et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18771594

Dataset for A Fast and Physically Grounded Ocean Model for GCMs: The Dynamical Slab Ocean Model of the Generic-PCM (rev. 3423) Siddharth Bhatnagar et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16417154

Sea Ice Index, Version 3 F. Fetterer et al. https://doi.org/10.7265/N5K072F8

Model code and software

Frozen version of the Generic-PCM code (rev. 3423) featuring the dynamical slab ocean model Siddharth Bhatnagar et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18771594

Video supplement

Sea surface temperature evolution for the zero-obliquity aquaplanet simulations (OHT on, off and difference) Siddharth Bhatnagar et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18771594

Short summary

We present an efficient ocean model coupled to a 3-D climate model (the Generic-PCM) that captures key features of ocean heat transport, matching well the global heat flows of more complex models. It closely reproduces Earth’s sea surface temperatures and sea ice, while influencing atmospheric circulation consistently. Balancing speed and accuracy, the model is ideal for exoplanet and paleoclimate studies, where observations are limited and broad parameter exploration is necessary.