Local Grid Refinement in New Zealand's Earth System Model: Tasman Sea Ocean Circulation Improvements and Super-Gyre Circulation Implications

This paper describes the development of New Zealand’s Earth System Model (NZESM) and evaluates its performance against its parent model (United Kingdom Earth System Model, UKESM) and observations. The main difference between the two earth system models is an embedded high-resolution (1/5°) nested region over the oceans around New Zealand in the NZESM. Due to this finer ocean model mesh, boundary currents such as the East Australian Current, East Australian Current Extension, Tasman Front and Tasman Leakage and their transports are better simulated in NZESM. The improved oceanic transports have led to a reduction in upper ocean temperature and salinity biases over the nested region. In addition, net transports through the Tasman Sea of volume, heat and salt in the NZESM agree better with previously reported estimates. A consequence of the increased cross-Tasman transports in the NZESM is increased temperatures and salinity west of Australia and in the Southern Ocean reducing the meridional sea su...