A second-order semi-Lagrangian exponential scheme with application to the shallow-water equations on the rotating sphere

In this work, we study and extend a class of semi-Lagrangian exponential methods, which combine exponential time integration techniques, suitable for integrating stiff linear terms, with a semi-Lagrangian treatment of nonlinear advection terms. Partial differential equations involving both processes arise for instance in atmospheric circulation models. Through a truncation error analysis, we first show that previously formulated semi-Lagrangian exponential schemes are limited to first-order accuracy due to the discretization of the linear term; we then formulate a new discretization leading to a second-order accurate method. Also, a detailed stability study, both considering a linear stability analysis and an empirical simulation-based one, is conducted to compare several Eulerian and semi-Lagrangian exponential schemes, as well as a well-established semi-Lagrangian semi-implicit method, which is used in operational atmospheric models. Numerical simulations of the shallow-water equations on the rotating sphere, considering standard and challenging benchmark test cases, are performed to assess the orders of convergence, stability properties, and computational cost of each method. The proposed second-order semi-Lagrangian exponential method was shown to be more stable and accurate than the previously formulated schemes of the same class at the expense of larger wall-clock times; however, the method is more stable and has a similar cost compared to the well-established semi-Lagrangian semi-implicit; therefore, it is a competitive candidate for potential operational applications in atmospheric circulation modeling.