Geoscientific Model Development
Geoscientific Model Development
GMD
Articles | Volume 8, issue 7
Articles | Volume 8, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2221-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2221-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Articles | Volume 8, issue 7
Development and technical paper
 | 
24 Jul 2015
Development and technical paper |  | 24 Jul 2015

Development of the Global Sea Ice 6.0 CICE configuration for the Met Office Global Coupled model

J. G. L. Rae, H. T. Hewitt, A. B. Keen, J. K. Ridley, A. E. West, C. M. Harris, E. C. Hunke, and D. N. Walters

Abstract. The new sea ice configuration GSI6.0, used in the Met Office global coupled configuration GC2.0, is described and the sea ice extent, thickness and volume are compared with the previous configuration and with observationally based data sets. In the Arctic, the sea ice is thicker in all seasons than in the previous configuration, and there is now better agreement of the modelled concentration and extent with the HadISST data set. In the Antarctic, a warm bias in the ocean model has been exacerbated at the higher resolution of GC2.0, leading to a large reduction in ice extent and volume; further work is required to rectify this in future configurations.

How to cite. Rae, J. G. L., Hewitt, H. T., Keen, A. B., Ridley, J. K., West, A. E., Harris, C. M., Hunke, E. C., and Walters, D. N.: Development of the Global Sea Ice 6.0 CICE configuration for the Met Office Global Coupled model, Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 2221–2230, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2221-2015, 2015.
Received: 10 Feb 2015 – Discussion started: 05 Mar 2015 – Revised: 30 Jun 2015 – Accepted: 03 Jul 2015 – Published: 24 Jul 2015
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Short summary
The paper presents a new sea ice configuration, GSI6.0, in the Met Office coupled atmosphere-ocean-ice model. Differences in the sea ice from a previous configuration (GSI4.0) are explained in the context of a previously published sensitivity study. In summer, Arctic sea ice is thicker and more extensive than in GSI4.0, bringing it closer to the observationally derived data sets. In winter, the Arctic ice is thicker but less extensive than in GSI4.0.
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