[RegCNET] spin-up time. How long would you choose it to be

[Costas Douvis]

Dear colleagues

I intend to run a 40-year simulation over the Mediterranean with ERA-40
boundaries. I am facing the dilemma of doing one simulation for the whole
40-year period or doing 3 x 15-year simulations at three PCs thus
splitting the 40-year period into three sub-periods with an overlapping of
1-2 years from one sub-period to the other. This will save me time but I
am not sure if there will be any problems with the continuity of the
simulation by splitting one long simulation into 3 shorter ones. I assume
that for the atmospheric part of the model a spin-up time of one month
would be fine and so an overlapping of one year from one sub-period to the
other could be safe enough but how about the other parts of the model like
the land surface?
I would be grateful if you could give me your opinion.

Best regards
Costas Douvis