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| FV3 | |
|---|---|
| Name | FV3 |
| Developer | Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; National Centers for Environmental Prediction |
| Initial release | 2017 |
| Written in | Fortran; Python (programming language) |
| Operating system | Linux; Unix |
| License | open-source |
| Website | See official repositories |
FV3 FV3 is a dynamical core and atmospheric modeling framework used for numerical weather prediction and climate research. It provides a finite-volume, flux-form representation of atmospheric dynamics that underpins operational systems and research codes across institutions such as the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. FV3 supports coupling to ocean, sea-ice, and wave components in configurations employed by agencies including the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and research centers like the Princeton University-linked groups.
FV3 implements a three-dimensional, nonhydrostatic, compressible set of equations on a logically rectangular, cubed-sphere grid developed to improve global and regional forecasting. The core was designed to address scale-awareness for convection and gravity waves relevant to centers like the National Weather Service, Met Office of the United Kingdom, and the Japan Meteorological Agency. FV3’s architecture facilitates coupling with components used by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Naval Research Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and academic consortia at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, and University of Washington.
Development originated at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory with input from groups at Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. The design uses a finite-volume discretization on a cubed-sphere grid inspired by work at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and earlier dynamical cores in the literature. FV3 emphasizes conservative flux-form transport akin to methods applied at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and shares engineering practices adopted by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction modernization efforts. Software engineering and community contributions have come from repositories hosted by organizations such as the Open Science Grid stakeholders and collaborative efforts with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The dynamical core employs flux-form finite-volume schemes, semi-implicit integration, and time-splitting procedures related to algorithms used at the Imperial College London atmospheric modeling groups. Vertical discretization and monotonic transport schemes reflect methodologies studied at Columbia University and the Pennsylvania State University. FV3 couples with physics packages for microphysics, convection, radiation, and boundary-layer processes developed or adapted from parameterizations used by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Rutgers University, and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. Radiation schemes and aerosol treatments draw on models validated at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. Land-surface interfaces and surface flux parameterizations integrate approaches from Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley.
Operational implementations include global medium-range and sub-seasonal-to-seasonal systems at the National Weather Service and regional configurations used by the Met Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency research groups. FV3 is the core of the Unified Forecast System initiatives coordinated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, and has been ported to high-performance computing platforms provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. International collaborations have led to use in systems at institutions like the Météo-France and the China Meteorological Administration research centers. Implementations for ensemble forecasting leverage assimilation systems akin to those at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the U.S. Air Force weather operations.
FV3-based systems have been evaluated against reanalyses produced by groups such as the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and validation datasets from satellite missions operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the European Space Agency. Performance profiling and optimization have been pursued on supercomputers at National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Department of Energy facilities, with parallelization strategies inspired by work at Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Applications span medium-range forecasting, hurricane prediction work alongside the National Hurricane Center, coupled climate simulations used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment teams, and research into convective-scale processes at universities including Stanford University and University of Chicago.
The FV3 dynamical core evolved from earlier finite-volume and flux-form research lines present at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and was incorporated into operational development pathways during modernization efforts led by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and partnerships with agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Future directions involve deeper coupling with ocean components developed at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and sea-ice models from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, expanded use in seasonal-to-decadal prediction with groups such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and community-driven enhancements coordinated through academic consortia at institutions including Princeton University and Columbia University. Continued validation and model intercomparison programs are anticipated with participation from the World Meteorological Organization and research initiatives supported by the National Science Foundation.
Category:Numerical weather prediction models