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Improve documentation of glacier region namelist options
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billsacks committed Aug 22, 2024
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28 changes: 21 additions & 7 deletions bld/namelist_files/namelist_definition_ctsm.xml
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -564,7 +564,15 @@ Allowed values are:
whose elevation matches the atmosphere's topographic height (so that there is no
adjustment due to downscaling)
'UNSET': place-holder for non-existent regions
Behavior of 'virtual' is required in the region(s) where SMB is being sent to an ice sheet model
Most (if not all) of the region where there is an ice sheet model should have a behavior
of 'virtual': This behavior is needed to compute surface mass balance (SMB) in all
elevation classes for the sake of vertical downscaling, and is needed to allow two-way
feedbacks of glacier areas. You are allowed to have gridcells with non-virtual behavior in
this domain, but this should be minimized: SMB cannot be computed there, and CLM subgrid
areas will not remain in sync with the GLC model. (Within the icemask - i.e., the active
glc domain - you are NOT allowed to have gridcells with non-virtual behavior that also
have glacier_region_melt_behavior='replaced_by_ice': within the icemask, you're only
allowed to have non-virtual behavior in places where you are not computing SMB).
</entry>

<entry id="glacier_region_melt_behavior" type="char*32(10)" category="clm_physics"
Expand All @@ -579,11 +587,12 @@ Allowed values are:
'remains_in_place': any melted ice remains in place as liquid until it refreezes;
thus, ice melt does not result in any runoff
'UNSET': place-holder for non-existent regions
IMPORTANT NOTE: Regions with the 'remains_in_place' behavior also do not
compute SMB (because negative SMB would be pretty much meaningless in
those regions). Thus, you cannot use this behavior where SMB is being sent to an ice sheet model.
Regions with the 'replaced_by_ice' behavior also compute SMB for the
vegetated column.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Regions with the 'remains_in_place' behavior also do not compute SMB
(because negative SMB would be pretty much meaningless in those regions). Thus, most (if
not all) of the region where there is an ice sheet model should have the 'replaced_by_ice'
behavior; the SMB sent to the GLC model will be 0 in any gridcells with the
'remains_in_place' behavior.
Regions with the 'replaced_by_ice' behavior also compute SMB for the vegetated column.
</entry>

<entry id="glacier_region_ice_runoff_behavior" type="char*32(10)" category="clm_physics"
Expand All @@ -599,7 +608,12 @@ Allowed values are:
'melted': ice runoff generated by the CLM physics (primarily due to snow capping) is melted
(generating a negative sensible heat flux) and runs off as liquid; this is appropriate in
regions that have little iceberg calving in reality. This can be important to avoid unrealistic
cooling of the ocean and consequent runaway sea ice growth.
cooling of the ocean and consequent runaway sea ice growth. This option cannot be
combined with glacier_region_melt_behavior='replaced_by_ice': While there is nothing
fundamentally wrong with this combination, it can result in problematic, non-physical
fluxes (particularly, a large positive sensible heat flux during glacial melt in
regions where the ice sheet is not fully dynamic and two-way-coupled; see
https://github.com/ESCOMP/ctsm/issues/423 for details).
'UNSET': place-holder for non-existent regions
Only applies when melt_non_icesheet_ice_runoff is .true.
</entry>
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