Separating Physics and Dynamics Grids for Improved Computational Efficiency in Spectral Element Earth System Models

Abstract Previous studies have shown that atmospheric models with a spectral element grid can benefit from putting physics calculations on a relatively coarse finite volume grid. Here we demonstrate an alternative high‐order, element‐based mapping approach used to implement a quasi‐equal‐area, finite volume physics grid in E3SM. Unlike similar methods, the new method in E3SM requires topology data purely local to each spectral element, which trivially allows for regional mesh refinement. Simulations with physics grids defined by 2 × 2, 3 × 3, and 4 × 4 divisions of each element are shown to verify that the alternative physics grid does not qualitatively alter the model solution. The model performance is substantially affected by the reduction of physics columns when using the 2 × 2 grid, which can increase the throughput of physics calculations by roughly 60%–120% depending on whether the computational resources are configured to maximize throughput or efficiency. A pair of regionally refined cases are also shown to highlight the refinement capability.