Next Generation NWP Using a Spectral Element Dynamical Core

The Navy Environmental Prediction System Using the NUMA Core (NEPTUNE) is a next generation global cloud resolving numerical weather prediction (NWP) system being developed at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS).  NEPTUNE makes use of the Nonhydrostatic Unified Model of the Atmosphere (NUMA) three-dimensional spectral element dynamical core and represents the first ever non-hydrostatic NWP system using a three-dimensional spectral element method.  In this talk we will discuss the implementation and testing of NEPTUNE using real-data initial conditions and the performance of different physics packages in the spectral element framework.  The computational attributes of the NEPTUNE model will be discussed. Examples will be presented from both a global and limited area configurations of NEPTUNE highlighting real data and idealized model evaluations.