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The PMIP4 contribution to CMIP6 - part 2: two interglacials, scientific objective and experimental design for Holocene and Last Interglacial simulations

Citation

Otto-Bliesner, BL and Braconnot, P and Harrison, SP and Lunt, DJ and Abe-Ouchi, A and Albani, S and Bartlein, PJ and Capron, E and Carlson, AE and Dutton, A and Fischer, H and Goelzer, H and Govin, A and Haywood, A and Joos, F and Legrande, AN and Lipscomb, WH and Lohmann, G and Mahowald, N and Nehrbass-Ahles, C and Pausata, FSR and Peterschmitt, JY and Phipps, SJ and Renssen, H and Zhang, Q, The PMIP4 contribution to CMIP6 - part 2: two interglacials, scientific objective and experimental design for Holocene and Last Interglacial simulations, Geoscientific Model Development, 10, (11) pp. 3979-4003. ISSN 1991-959X (2017) [Refereed Article]


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© Author(s) 2017. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

DOI: doi:10.5194/gmd-10-3979-2017

Abstract

Two interglacial epochs are included in the suite of Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project (PMIP4) simulations in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). The experimental protocols for simulations of the mid-Holocene (midHolocene, 6000 years before present) and the Last Interglacial (lig127k, 127 000 years before present) are described here. These equilibrium simulations are designed to examine the impact of changes in orbital forcing at times when atmospheric greenhouse gas levels were similar to those of the preindustrial period and the continental configurations were almost identical to modern ones. These simulations test our understanding of the interplay between radiative forcing and atmospheric circulation, and the connections among large-scale and regional climate changes giving rise to phenomena such as land–sea contrast and high-latitude amplification in temperature changes, and responses of the monsoons, as compared to today. They also provide an opportunity, through carefully designed additional sensitivity experiments, to quantify the strength of atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and land-surface feedbacks. Sensitivity experiments are proposed to investigate the role of freshwater forcing in triggering abrupt climate changes within interglacial epochs. These feedback experiments naturally lead to a focus on climate evolution during interglacial periods, which will be examined through transient experiments. Analyses of the sensitivity simulations will also focus on interactions between extratropical and tropical circulation, and the relationship between changes in mean climate state and climate variability on annual to multi-decadal timescales. The comparative abundance of paleoenvironmental data and of quantitative climate reconstructions for the Holocene and Last Interglacial make these two epochs ideal candidates for systematic evaluation of model performance, and such comparisons will shed new light on the importance of external feedbacks (e.g., vegetation, dust) and the ability of state-of-the-art models to simulate climate changes realistically.

Item Details

Item Type:Refereed Article
Keywords:PMIP, palaeoclimatology, climate modelling, Holocene, Last Interglacial
Research Division:Earth Sciences
Research Group:Physical geography and environmental geoscience
Research Field:Palaeoclimatology
Objective Division:Environmental Policy, Climate Change and Natural Hazards
Objective Group:Understanding climate change
Objective Field:Climate change models
UTAS Author:Phipps, SJ (Dr Steven Phipps)
ID Code:122540
Year Published:2017
Web of Science® Times Cited:116
Deposited By:Oceans and Cryosphere
Deposited On:2017-11-16
Last Modified:2018-05-25
Downloads:114 View Download Statistics

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