A Positivity-preserving Conservative Semi-Lagrangian Multi-moment Global Transport Model on the Cubed Sphere

A positivity-preserving conservative semi-Lagrangian transport model by multi-moment finite volume method has been developed on the cubed-sphere grid. Two kinds of moments (i.e., point values (PV moment) at cell interfaces and volume integrated average (VIA moment) value) are defined within a single cell. The PV moment is updated by a conventional semi-Lagrangian method, while the VIA moment is cast by the flux form formulation to assure the exact numerical conservation. Different from the spatial approximation used in the CSL2 (conservative semi-Lagrangian scheme with second order polynomial function) scheme, a monotonic rational function which can effectively remove non-physical oscillations is reconstructed within a single cell by the PV moments and VIA moment. To achieve exactly positive-definite preserving, two kinds of corrections are made on the original conservative semi-Lagrangian with rational function (CSLR) scheme. The resulting scheme is inherently conservative, non-negative, and allows a Courant number larger than one. Moreover, the spatial reconstruction can be performed within a single cell, which is very efficient and economical for practical implementation. In addition, a dimension-splitting approach coupled with multi-moment finite volume scheme is adopted on cubed-sphere geometry, which benefitsthe implementation of the 1D CSLR solver with large Courant number. The proposed model is evaluated by several widely used benchmark tests on cubed-sphere geometry. Numerical results show that the proposed transport model can effectively remove nonphysical oscillations and preserve the numerical non-negativity, and it has the potential to transport the tracers accurately in a real atmospheric model.

Automated summary

A positivity-preserving conservative semi-Lagrangian transport model using a multi-moment finite volume method has been developed on the cubed-sphere grid. Through defining two kinds of moments within a single cell and making corrections to ensure positive definiteness, the model effectively removes non-physical oscillations and preserves numerical non-negativity. Evaluation on benchmark tests shows the potential of accurately transporting tracers in a real atmospheric model.