Role of Regional Ocean Dynamics in Dynamic Sea Level Projections by the end of the 21st Century over Southeast Asia

Author(s):  
Dhrubajyoti Samanta ◽  
Svetlana Jevrejeva ◽  
Hindumathi K. Palanisamy ◽  
Kristopher B. Karnauskas ◽  
Nathalie F. Goodkin ◽  
...  

<p>Southeast Asia is especially vulnerable to the impacts of sea-level rise due to the presence of many low-lying small islands and highly populated coastal cities. However, our current understanding of sea-level projections and changes in upper-ocean dynamics over this region currently rely on relatively coarse resolution (~100 km) global climate model (GCM) simulations and is therefore limited over the coastal regions. Here using GCM simulations from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP) of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) to (1) examine the improvement of mean-state biases in the tropical Pacific and dynamic sea-level (DSL) over Southeast Asia; (2) generate projection on DSL over Southeast Asia under shared socioeconomic pathways phase-5 (SSP5-585); and (3) diagnose the role of changes in regional ocean dynamics under SSP5-585. We select HighResMIP models that included a historical period and shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP) 5-8.5 future scenario for the same ensemble and estimate the projected changes relative to the 1993-2014 period. Drift corrected DSL time series is estimated before examining the projected changes. Due to improved simulation of heat, salt, and mass distribution in the ocean, HighResMIP models not only reduce mean state biases in the tropical Pacific (such as cold-tongue sea surface temperature bias), but also near Southeast Asia including DSL. Despite intermodel diversity, there is an overall agreement of increasing sea-level over Southeast Asia. The multimodel ensemble of HighResMIP models suggests a rise of 0.2 m sea level in dynamic sea level (combined with thermosteric component) over Southeast Asia by 2070. Sea-level rises further up to 0.5 m by the end of the 21<sup>st</sup> century. Further, we found regional heat and mass transport changes have a major role in the projected sea-level pattern over Southeast Asia. For example, heat convergence to the east of Vietnam can account for most of the sea-level rise in the region. Our study can provide better insight into the contribution of regional ocean dynamics to DSL projections and useful to suggest for further ocean modelling studies.</p>

Author(s):  
Isaac Kwesi Nooni ◽  
Daniel Fiifi T. Hagan ◽  
Guojie Wang ◽  
Waheed Ullah ◽  
Jiao Lu ◽  
...  

The main goal of this study was to assess the interannual variations and spatial patterns of projected changes in simulated evapotranspiration (ET) in the 21st century over continental Africa based on the latest Shared Socioeconomic Pathways and the Representative Concentration Pathways (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5) provided by the France Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques (CNRM-CM) model in the Sixth Phase of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) framework. The projected spatial and temporal changes were computed for three time slices: 2020–2039 (near future), 2040–2069 (mid-century), and 2080–2099 (end-of-the-century), relative to the baseline period (1995–2014). The results show that the spatial pattern of the projected ET was not uniform and varied across the climate region and under the SSP-RCPs scenarios. Although the trends varied, they were statistically significant for all SSP-RCPs. The SSP5-8.5 and SSP3-7.0 projected higher ET seasonality than SSP1-2.6 and SSP2-4.5. In general, we suggest the need for modelers and forecasters to pay more attention to changes in the simulated ET and their impact on extreme events. The findings provide useful information for water resources managers to develop specific measures to mitigate extreme events in the regions most affected by possible changes in the region’s climate. However, readers are advised to treat the results with caution as they are based on a single GCM model. Further research on multi-model ensembles (as more models’ outputs become available) and possible key drivers may provide additional information on CMIP6 ET projections in the region.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 375-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroto Shiraki ◽  
Masahiro Sugiyama ◽  
Yuhji Matsuo ◽  
Ryoichi Komiyama ◽  
Shinichiro Fujimori ◽  
...  

AbstractThe Japanese power system has unique characteristics with regard to variable renewable energies (VREs), such as higher costs, lower potentials, and less flexibility with the grid connection compared to other major greenhouse-gas-emitting countries. We analyzed the role of renewable energies (REs) in the future Japanese power sector using the results from the model intercomparison project Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) 35 Japan Model Intercomparison Project (JMIP) using varying emission reduction targets and key technological conditions across scenarios. We considered the uncertainties for future capital costs of solar photovoltaics, wind turbines, and batteries in addition to the availability of nuclear and carbon dioxide capture and storage. The results show that REs supply more than 40% of electricity in most of the technology sensitivity scenarios (median 51.0%) when assuming an 80% emission reduction in 2050. The results (excluding scenarios that assume the continuous growth of nuclear power and/or the abundant availability of domestic biomass and carbon-free hydrogen) show that the median VRE shares reach 52.2% in 2050 in the 80% emission reduction scenario. On the contrary, the availability of newly constructed nuclear power, affordable biomass, and carbon-free hydrogen can reduce dependence on VREs to less than 20%. The policy costs were much more sensitive to the capital costs and resource potential of VREs than the battery cost uncertainties. Specifically, while the doubled capital costs of VRE resulted in a 13.0% (inter-model median) increase in the policy cost, the halved capital costs of VREs reduced 8.7% (inter-model median) of the total policy cost. These results imply that lowering the capital costs of VREs would be effective in achieving a long-term emission reduction target considering the current high Japanese VRE costs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Nowicki ◽  
Antony J. Payne ◽  
Heiko Goelzer ◽  
Helene Seroussi ◽  
William H. Lipscomb ◽  
...  

Abstract. Projection of the contribution of ice sheets to sea-level change as part of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project – phase 6 (CMIP6) takes the form of simulations from coupled ice-sheet-climate models and standalone ice sheet models, overseen by the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for CMIP6 (ISMIP6). This paper describes the experimental setup for process-based sea-level change projections to be performed with standalone Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet models in the context of ISMIP6. The ISMIP6 protocol relies on a suite of polar atmospheric and oceanic CMIP-based forcing for ice sheet models, in order to explore the uncertainty in projected sea-level change due to future emissions scenarios, CMIP models, ice sheet models, and parameterizations for ice-ocean interactions. We describe here the approach taken for defining the suite of ISMIP6 standalone ice sheet simulations, document the experimental framework and implementation, as well as present an overview of the ISMIP6 forcing to be used by participating ice sheet modeling groups.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 2331-2368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Nowicki ◽  
Heiko Goelzer ◽  
Hélène Seroussi ◽  
Anthony J. Payne ◽  
William H. Lipscomb ◽  
...  

Abstract. Projection of the contribution of ice sheets to sea level change as part of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) takes the form of simulations from coupled ice sheet–climate models and stand-alone ice sheet models, overseen by the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for CMIP6 (ISMIP6). This paper describes the experimental setup for process-based sea level change projections to be performed with stand-alone Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet models in the context of ISMIP6. The ISMIP6 protocol relies on a suite of polar atmospheric and oceanic CMIP-based forcing for ice sheet models, in order to explore the uncertainty in projected sea level change due to future emissions scenarios, CMIP models, ice sheet models, and parameterizations for ice–ocean interactions. We describe here the approach taken for defining the suite of ISMIP6 stand-alone ice sheet simulations, document the experimental framework and implementation, and present an overview of the ISMIP6 forcing to be used by participating ice sheet modeling groups.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 1015-1030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélien Quiquet ◽  
Christophe Dumas

Abstract. Polar amplification will result in amplified temperature changes in the Arctic with respect to the rest of the globe, making the Greenland ice sheet particularly vulnerable to global warming. While the ice sheet has been showing an increased mass loss in the past decades, its contribution to global sea level rise in the future is of primary importance since it is at present the largest single-source contribution after the thermosteric contribution. The question of the fate of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets for the next century has recently gathered various ice sheet models in a common framework within the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project – phase 6 (ISMIP6). While in a companion paper we present the GRISLI-LSCE (Grenoble Ice Sheet and Land Ice model of the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement) contribution to ISMIP6-Antarctica, we present here the GRISLI-LSCE contribution to ISMIP6-Greenland. We show an important spread in the simulated Greenland ice loss in the future depending on the climate forcing used. The contribution of the ice sheet to global sea level rise in 2100 can thus be from as low as 20 mm sea level equivalent (SLE) to as high as 160 mm SLE. Amongst the models tested in ISMIP6, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project – phase 6 (CMIP6) models produce larger ice sheet retreat than their CMIP5 counterparts. Low-emission scenarios in the future drastically reduce the ice mass loss. The oceanic forcing contributes to about 10 mm SLE in 2100 in our simulations. In addition, the dynamical contribution to ice thickness change is small compared to the impact of surface mass balance. This suggests that mass loss is mostly driven by atmospheric warming and associated ablation at the ice sheet margin. With additional sensitivity experiments we also show that the spread in mass loss is only weakly affected by the choice of the ice sheet model mechanical parameters.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf Greve ◽  
Christopher Chambers ◽  
Reinhard Calov ◽  
Takashi Obase ◽  
Fuyuki Saito ◽  
...  

<p>The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) is a major international climate modelling initiative. As part of it, the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for CMIP6 (ISMIP6) was devised to assess the likely sea-level-rise contribution from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets until the year 2100. This was achieved by defining a set of future climate scenarios by evaluating results of CMIP5 and CMIP6 global climate models (GCMs, including MIROC) over and surrounding the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. These scenarios were used as forcings for a variety of ice-sheet models operated by different working groups worldwide (Goelzer et al. 2020, doi: 10.5194/tc-14-3071-2020; Seroussi et al. 2020, doi: 10.5194/tc-14-3033-2020).</p><p>Here, we use the model SICOPOLIS to carry out extended versions of the ISMIP6 future climate experiments for the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets until the year 3000. For the atmospheric forcing (anomalies of surface mass balance and temperature) beyond 2100, we sample randomly the ten-year interval 2091-2100, while the oceanic forcing beyond 2100 is kept fixed at 2100 conditions. We conduct experiments for the pessimistic, "business as usual" pathway RCP8.5 (CMIP5) / SSP5-8.5 (CMIP6), and for the optimistic RCP2.6 (CMIP5) / SSP1-2.6 (CMIP6) pathway that represents substantial emissions reductions. For the unforced, constant-climate control runs, both ice sheets are stable until the year 3000. For RCP8.5/SSP5-8.5, they suffer massive mass losses: For Greenland, ~1.7 m SLE (sea-level equivalent) for the 12-experiment mean, and ~3.5 m SLE for the most sensitive experiment. For Antarctica, ~3.3 m SLE for the 14-experiment mean, and ~5.3 m SLE for the most sensitive experiment. For RCP2.6/SSP1-2.6, the mass losses are limited to a two-experiment mean of ~0.26 m SLE for Greenland, and a three-experiment mean of ~0.25 m SLE for Antarctica. Climate-change mitigation during the next decades will therefore be an efficient means for limiting the contribution of the ice sheets to sea-level rise in the long term.</p>


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison A. Wing ◽  
Kevin A. Reed ◽  
Masaki Satoh ◽  
Bjorn Stevens ◽  
Sandrine Bony ◽  
...  

Abstract. RCEMIP, an intercomparison of multiple types of models configured in radiative-convective equilibrium (RCE), is proposed. RCE is an idealization of the climate system in which there is a balance between radiative cooling of the atmosphere and heating by convection. The scientific objectives of RCEMIP are three-fold. First, clouds and climate sensitivity will be investigated in the RCE setting. This includes determining how cloud fraction changes with warming and the role of self-aggregation of convection. Second, RCEMIP will quantify the dependence of the degree of convective aggregation and tropical circulation regimes on temperature. Finally, by providing a common baseline, RCEMIP will allow the robustness of the RCE state, cloud feedbacks, and convective aggregation across the spectrum of models to be assessed. A novel aspect and major advantage of RCEMIP is the accessibility of the RCE framework to a variety of models, including cloud-resolving models, general circulation models, global cloud-resolving models, and single column models.


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