scholarly journals Northern high-latitude climate change between the mid and late Holocene – Part 2: Model-data comparisons

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 1659-1696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Zhang ◽  
H. Sundqvist ◽  
A. Moberg ◽  
K. Holmgren ◽  
H. Körnich ◽  
...  

Abstract. The solar orbital forcing induced changes in insolation at the mid-Holocene compared to the late Holocene, which causes an amplification of the seasonal cycle in the Northern Hemisphere in the earlier period. The climate response over northern high latitudes, to this change in forcing has been investigated in three types of PMIP (Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project) simulations with different complexity of the climate system. The model results have also been compared with available reconstructions from temperature proxy data. Both the reconstructions and the PMIP2 models show a warm response in annual mean temperature, as well as in summer and winter temperature. The model-model comparisons indicate the importance of including the different physical feedbacks (ocean, sea-ice, vegetation) in the climate model. An objective selection method is applied in the model-data comparison to evaluate the capability of the climate model in reproducing the spatial response pattern. The comparisons between the reconstructions and the best-fit selected simulations show that over the northern high latitudes, summer temperature change follows closely to the insolation and shows a common feature with strong warming over land and relatively weak warming over ocean. A pronounced warming centre is found over Barents Sea in winter in model simulations, which is also supported by the nearby northern Eurasian continental reconstructions. The warming over Barents Sea corresponds to a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The strengthened sea level pressure gradient may have caused a northward shift of the Atlantic storm track. It results in enhanced westerlies towards the northern Eurasia, which may be responsible for the winter warming over northern Fennoscandia and northern Siberia.

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 609-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Zhang ◽  
H. S. Sundqvist ◽  
A. Moberg ◽  
H. Körnich ◽  
J. Nilsson ◽  
...  

Abstract. The climate response over northern high latitudes to the mid-Holocene orbital forcing has been investigated in three types of PMIP (Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project) simulations with different complexity of the modelled climate system. By first undertaking model-data comparison, an objective selection method has been applied to evaluate the capability of the climate models to reproduce the spatial response pattern seen in proxy data. The possible feedback mechanisms behind the climate response have been explored based on the selected model simulations. Subsequent model-model comparisons indicate the importance of including the different physical feedbacks in the climate models. The comparisons between the proxy-based reconstructions and the best fit selected simulations show that over the northern high latitudes, summer temperature change follows closely the insolation change and shows a common feature with strong warming over land and relatively weak warming over ocean at 6 ka compared to 0 ka. Furthermore, the sea-ice-albedo positive feedback enhances this response. The reconstructions of temperature show a stronger response to enhanced insolation in the annual mean temperature than winter and summer temperature. This is verified in the model simulations and the behaviour is attributed to the larger contribution from the large response in autumn. Despite a smaller insolation during winter at 6 ka, a pronounced warming centre is found over Barents Sea in winter in the simulations, which is also supported by the nearby northern Eurasian continental and Fennoscandian reconstructions. This indicates that in the Arctic region, the response of the ocean and the sea ice to the enhanced summer insolation is more important for the winter temperature than the synchronous decrease of the insolation.


arktos ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Pathirana ◽  
Jochen Knies ◽  
Maarten Felix ◽  
Ute Mann ◽  
Ingrid Ellingsen

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 1819-1852 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. Sundqvist ◽  
Q. Zhang ◽  
A. Moberg ◽  
K. Holmgren ◽  
H. Körnich ◽  
...  

Abstract. In this paper we try to develop a quantitative understanding of the absolute change in climate between the mid-Holocene ~6000 yr BP (6 ka) and the preindustrial period ~1750 AD (0 ka) in the northern high latitudes. This has been performed using available quantitative reconstructions of temperature and precipitation from proxy data. The main reason for comparing these two periods is that the summer insolation in the northern high latitudes was higher at 6 ka than 0 ka due to orbital forcing. Another reason is that it gives us the opportunity to quantitatively compare results from proxy data with results from several climate model simulations for the same periods by using data from the Palaeoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project. Another aim has been to try and quantify the uncertainties in the proxy data reconstructions. The reconstructions indicate that the northern high latitudes were 0.96±0.42°C warmer in summer, 1.71±1.70°C warmer in winter and 2.02±0.72 warmer in the annual mean temperature at 6 ka compared to 0 ka. The warmer climate in summer around 6 ka BP was most likely directly related to the higher summer insolation whereas the warmer climate in annual mean and winter temperature may possibly be explained by internal physical mechanisms such as heat stored in the oceans during summer and released during the cold season or by changes in the vegetation causing albedo changes that may affect seasonal temperatures differentially. For the future there is a great need to reduce the errors of the predictions as well as improving our understanding of how a proxys respond to changes in environmental variables.


2016 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Lockart ◽  
Garry Willgoose ◽  
George Kuczera ◽  
Anthony Kiem ◽  
AFM Kamal Chowdhury ◽  
...  

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 625
Author(s):  
Ansgar Schanz ◽  
Klemens Hocke ◽  
Niklaus Kämpfer ◽  
Simon Chabrillat ◽  
Antje Inness ◽  
...  

In this study, we compare the diurnal variation in stratospheric ozone of the MACC (Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate) reanalysis, ECMWF Reanalysis Interim (ERA-Interim), and the free-running WACCM (Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model). The diurnal variation of stratospheric ozone results from photochemical and dynamical processes depending on altitude, latitude, and season. MACC reanalysis and WACCM use similar chemistry modules and calculate a similar diurnal cycle in ozone when it is caused by a photochemical variation. The results of the two model systems are confirmed by observations of the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) experiment and three selected sites of the Network for Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) at Mauna Loa, Hawaii (tropics), Bern, Switzerland (midlatitudes), and Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard (high latitudes). On the other hand, the ozone product of ERA-Interim shows considerably less diurnal variation due to photochemical variations. The global maxima of diurnal variation occur at high latitudes in summer, e.g., near the Arctic NDACC site at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. The local OZORAM radiometer observes this effect in good agreement with MACC reanalysis and WACCM. The sensed diurnal variation at Ny-Ålesund is up to 8% (0.4 ppmv) due to photochemical variations in summer and negligible during the dynamically dominated winter. However, when dynamics play a major role for the diurnal ozone variation as in the lower stratosphere (100–20 hPa), the reanalysis models ERA-Interim and MACC which assimilate data from radiosondes and satellites outperform the free-running WACCM. Such a domain is the Antarctic polar winter where a surprising novel feature of diurnal variation is indicated by MACC reanalysis and ERA-Interim at the edge of the polar vortex. This effect accounts for up to 8% (0.4 ppmv) in both model systems. In summary, MACC reanalysis provides a global description of the diurnal variation of stratospheric ozone caused by dynamics and photochemical variations. This is of high interest for ozone trend analysis and other research which is based on merged satellite data or measurements at different local time.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Bravo ◽  
Deniz Bozkurt ◽  
Andrew N. Ross ◽  
Duncan J. Quincey

AbstractThe Northern Patagonian Icefield (NPI) and the Southern Patagonian Icefield (SPI) have increased their ice mass loss in recent decades. In view of the impacts of glacier shrinkage in Patagonia, an assessment of the potential future surface mass balance (SMB) of the icefields is critical. We seek to provide this assessment by modelling the SMB between 1976 and 2050 for both icefields, using regional climate model data (RegCM4.6) and a range of emission scenarios. For the NPI, reductions between 1.5 m w.e. (RCP2.6) and 1.9 m w.e. (RCP8.5) were estimated in the mean SMB during the period 2005–2050 compared to the historical period (1976–2005). For the SPI, the estimated reductions were between 1.1 m w.e. (RCP2.6) and 1.5 m w.e. (RCP8.5). Recently frontal ablation estimates suggest that mean SMB in the SPI is positively biased by 1.5 m w.e., probably due to accumulation overestimation. If it is assumed that frontal ablation rates of the recent past will continue, ice loss and sea-level rise contribution will increase. The trend towards lower SMB is mostly explained by an increase in surface melt. Positive ice loss feedbacks linked to increasing in meltwater availability are expected for calving glaciers.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda C. Maycock ◽  
Katja Matthes ◽  
Susann Tegtmeier ◽  
Hauke Schmidt ◽  
Rémi Thiéblemont ◽  
...  

Abstract. The impact of changes in incoming solar irradiance on stratospheric ozone abundances should be included in climate model simulations to fully capture the atmospheric response to solar variability. This study presents the first systematic comparison of the solar-ozone response (SOR) during the 11 year solar cycle amongst different chemistry-climate models (CCMs) and ozone databases specified in climate models that do not include chemistry. We analyse the SOR in eight CCMs from the WCRP/SPARC Chemistry-Climate Model Initiative (CCMI-1) and compare these with three ozone databases: the Bodeker Scientific database, the SPARC/AC&C database for CMIP5, and the SPARC/CCMI database for CMIP6. The results reveal substantial differences in the representation of the SOR between the CMIP5 and CMIP6 ozone databases. The peak amplitude of theSOR in the upper stratosphere (1–5 hPa) decreases from 5 % to 2 % between the CMIP5 and CMIP6 databases. This difference is because the CMIP5 database was constructed from a regression model fit to satellite observations, whereas the CMIP6 database is constructed from CCM simulations, which use a spectral solar irradiance (SSI) dataset with relatively weak UV forcing. The SOR in the CMIP6 ozone database is therefore implicitly more similar to the SOR in the CCMI-1 models than to the CMIP5 ozone database, which shows a greater resemblance in amplitude and structure to the SOR in the Bodeker database. The latitudinal structure of the annual mean SOR in the CMIP6 ozone database and CCMI-1 models is considerably smoother than in the CMIP5 database, which shows strong gradients in the SOR across the midlatitudes owing to the paucity of observations at high latitudes. The SORs in the CMIP6 ozone database and in the CCMI-1 models show a strong seasonal dependence, including large meridional gradients at mid to high latitudes during winter; such seasonal variations in the SOR are not included in the CMIP5 ozone database. Sensitivity experiments with a global atmospheric model without chemistry (ECHAM6.3) are performed to assess the impact of changes in the representation of the SOR and SSI forcing between CMIP5 and CMIP6. The experiments show that the smaller amplitude of the SOR in the CMIP6 ozone database compared to CMIP5 causes a decrease in the modelled tropical stratospheric temperature response over the solar cycle of up to 0.6 K, or around 50 % of the total amplitude. The changes in the SOR explain most of the difference in the amplitude of the tropical stratospheric temperature response in the case with combined changes in SOR and SSI between CMIP5 and CMIP6. The results emphasise the importance of adequately representing the SOR in climate models to capture the impact of solar variability on the atmosphere. Since a number of limitations in the representation of the SOR in the CMIP5 ozone database have been identified, CMIP6 models without chemistry are encouraged to use the CMIP6 ozone database to capture the climate impacts of solar variability.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 3587-3603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Didier M. Roche ◽  
Claire Waelbroeck ◽  
Brett Metcalfe ◽  
Thibaut Caley

Abstract. The oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 ratio recorded in fossil planktonic foraminifer shells has been used for over 50 years in many geoscience applications. However, different planktonic foraminifer species generally yield distinct signals, as a consequence of their specific living habitats in the water column and along the year. This complexity is usually not taken into account in model–data integration studies. To overcome this shortcoming, we developed the Foraminifers As Modeled Entities (FAME) module. The module predicts the presence or absence of commonly used planktonic foraminifers and their oxygen-18 values. It is only forced by hydrographic data and uses a very limited number of parameters, almost all derived from culture experiments. FAME performance is evaluated using the Multiproxy Approach for the Reconstruction of the Glacial Ocean surface (MARGO) Late Holocene planktonic foraminifer calcite oxygen-18 and abundance datasets. The application of FAME to a simple cooling scenario demonstrates its utility to predict changes in planktonic foraminifer oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 ratio in response to changing climatic conditions.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (14) ◽  
pp. 5601-5610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sigmond ◽  
Theodore G. Shepherd

Abstract Following recent findings, the interaction between resolved (Rossby) wave drag and parameterized orographic gravity wave drag (OGWD) is investigated, in terms of their driving of the Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC), in a comprehensive climate model. To this end, the parameter that effectively determines the strength of OGWD in present-day and doubled CO2 simulations is varied. The authors focus on the Northern Hemisphere during winter when the largest response of the BDC to climate change is predicted to occur. It is found that increases in OGWD are to a remarkable degree compensated by a reduction in midlatitude resolved wave drag, thereby reducing the impact of changes in OGWD on the BDC. This compensation is also found for the response to climate change: changes in the OGWD contribution to the BDC response to climate change are compensated by opposite changes in the resolved wave drag contribution to the BDC response to climate change, thereby reducing the impact of changes in OGWD on the BDC response to climate change. By contrast, compensation does not occur at northern high latitudes, where resolved wave driving and the associated downwelling increase with increasing OGWD, both for the present-day climate and the response to climate change. These findings raise confidence in the credibility of climate model projections of the strengthened BDC.


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