MPAS Version 3.0

This is a major feature release for the following MPAS models. Below, subsections include relevant changes from each core.

• MPAS Framework
  • As a significant step in preparing the MPAS framework for support of multiple MPAS cores being compiled together in the same executable, the internal storage of fields and namelist options has been rewritten; this change principally affects model developers who need to access fields inside the MPAS code.
  • To enable full run-time control over file input and output, a new I/O layer has been developed for MPAS. In past releases of MPAS, control over input, restart, and history files took place in the namelist file. Now, all configuration of model input, restart, and history files makes use of separate XML configuration files. A new chapter has been added to the core-specific users' guides to describe the use of this new I/O system.
• MPAS Atmosphere and Init-Atmosphere
  • Support for soil moisture and soil temperature from ERA-I levels (0-7, 7-28, 28-100, and 100-25 cm);
  • a significant reduction in the print statements written to the log files;
  • a reduction in the set of fields written to the default model history files; and
  • miscellaneous minor bugfixes.
• MPAS Land Ice
  • updates to support pools and streams
  • fix bug in calculation of slope used for SIA velocity
• MPAS Ocean
  • Support for Gent-McWilliams parameterization
  • Support for CVMix including support for KPP
  • Addition of the ocean analysis run mode including:
    • Global statistics analysis member
    • Zonal mean analysis member
  • Corrections for horizontal pressure gradient when using tilted layers