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MPDATA-A Multipass Donor Cell Solver for Geophysical Flows

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Abstract

This article is a summary of MPDATA, a class of methods for the numerical simulation of fluid flows based on the sign-preserving properties of upstream differencing. MPDATA was designed originally as an inexpensive alternative to flux-limited schemes for evaluating the advection of nonnegative thermodynamic variables (such as liquid water or water vapor) in atmospheric models. During the last decade, MPDATA has evolved from a simple advection scheme to a general approach for integrating the conservation laws of geophysical fluids on micro-to-planetary scales. The purpose of this paper is to outline the basic concepts leading to a family of MPDATA schemes, highlight existing MPDATA options, and to comment on the use of MPDATA to model complex geophysical flows.

Keywords

  • Large Eddy Simulation
  • Donor Cell
  • Truncation Error
  • Convective Boundary Layer
  • Advection Equation

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© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Smolarkiewicz, P.K., Margolin, L.G. (2001). MPDATA-A Multipass Donor Cell Solver for Geophysical Flows. In: Toro, E.F. (eds) Godunov Methods. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0663-8_81

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0663-8_81

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5183-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-0663-8

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