Description of the MIROC-ES2L Earth system model and evaluation of its climate–biogeochemical processes and feedbacks

Abstract. This study developed a new Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate, Earth System version2 for Long-term simulations (MIROC-ES2L) Earth system model (ESM) using a state-of-the-art climate model as the physical core. This model embeds a terrestrial biogeochemical component with explicit carbon–nitrogen interaction to account for soil nutrient control on plant growth and the land carbon sink. The model’s ocean biogeochemical component is largely updated to simulate biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and oxygen such that oceanic primary productivity can be controlled by multiple nutrient limitations. The ocean nitrogen cycle is coupled with the land component via river discharge processes, and external inputs of iron from pyrogenic and lithogenic sources are considered. Comparison of a historical simulation with observation studies showed the model could reproduce reasonable historical changes in climate, the carbon cycle, and other biogeochemical variables together with reasonable spatial patterns of distribution of the present-day condition. The model demonstrated historical human perturbation of the nitrogen cycle through land use and agriculture, and it simulated the resultant impact on the terrestrial carbon cycle. Sensitivity analyses in preindustrial conditions revealed modeled ocean biogeochemistry could be changed regionally (but substantially) by nutrient inputs from the atmosphere and rivers. Through an idealized experiment of a 1 %CO2 increase scenario, we found the transient climate response (TCR) in the model is 1.5 K, i.e., approximately 70 % that of our previous model. The cumulative airborne fraction (AF) is also reduced by 15 % because of the intensified land carbon sink, resulting in an AF close to the multimodel mean of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) ESMs. The transient climate response to cumulative carbon emission (TCRE) is 1.3 K EgC−1, i.e., slightly smaller than the average of the CMIP5 ESMs, suggesting optimistic model performance in future climate projections. This model and the simulation results are contributing to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). The ESM could help further understanding of climate–biogeochemical interaction mechanisms, projections of future environmental changes, and exploration of our future options regarding sustainable development by evolving the processes of climate, biogeochemistry, and human activities in a holistic and interactive manner.

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Development of the MIROC-ES2L Earth system model and the evaluation of biogeochemical processes and feedbacks

Geoscientific Model Development ◽

10.5194/gmd-13-2197-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 2197-2244 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Tomohiro Hajima ◽

Michio Watanabe ◽

Akitomo Yamamoto ◽

Hiroaki Tatebe ◽

Maki A. Noguchi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Cycle ◽

Nitrogen Cycle ◽

Carbon Sink ◽

Earth System Model ◽

System Model ◽

Climate Projections ◽

Climate Response ◽

Earth System ◽

Transient Climate Response ◽

Ocean Biogeochemistry

Abstract. This article describes the new Earth system model (ESM), the Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate, Earth System version 2 for Long-term simulations (MIROC-ES2L), using a state-of-the-art climate model as the physical core. This model embeds a terrestrial biogeochemical component with explicit carbon–nitrogen interaction to account for soil nutrient control on plant growth and the land carbon sink. The model's ocean biogeochemical component is largely updated to simulate the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and oxygen such that oceanic primary productivity can be controlled by multiple nutrient limitations. The ocean nitrogen cycle is coupled with the land component via river discharge processes, and external inputs of iron from pyrogenic and lithogenic sources are considered. Comparison of a historical simulation with observation studies showed that the model could reproduce the transient global climate change and carbon cycle as well as the observed large-scale spatial patterns of the land carbon cycle and upper-ocean biogeochemistry. The model demonstrated historical human perturbation of the nitrogen cycle through land use and agriculture and simulated the resultant impact on the terrestrial carbon cycle. Sensitivity analyses under preindustrial conditions revealed that the simulated ocean biogeochemistry could be altered regionally (and substantially) by nutrient input from the atmosphere and rivers. Based on an idealized experiment in which CO2 was prescribed to increase at a rate of 1 % yr−1, the transient climate response (TCR) is estimated to be 1.5 K, i.e., approximately 70 % of that from our previous ESM used in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). The cumulative airborne fraction (AF) is also reduced by 15 % because of the intensified land carbon sink, which results in an airborne fraction close to the multimodel mean of the CMIP5 ESMs. The transient climate response to cumulative carbon emissions (TCRE) is 1.3 K EgC−1, i.e., slightly smaller than the average of the CMIP5 ESMs, which suggests that “optimistic” future climate projections will be made by the model. This model and the simulation results contribute to CMIP6. The MIROC-ES2L could further improve our understanding of climate–biogeochemical interaction mechanisms, projections of future environmental changes, and exploration of our future options regarding sustainable development by evolving the processes of climate, biogeochemistry, and human activities in a holistic and interactive manner.

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Estimated effect of the permafrost carbon feedback on the zero emissions commitment to climate change

10.5194/bg-2021-136 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andrew Hugh MacDougall

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Carbon Cycle ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

System Model ◽

Earth System ◽

Model Intercomparison ◽

Lag Effect ◽

Intercomparison Project ◽

Potential Impact ◽

Earth System Models

Abstract. Zero Emissions Commitment (ZEC), the expected change in global temperature following the cessation of CO2 emissions has recently been assessed by the Zero Emissions Commitment Model Intercomparison Project (ZECMIP). ZECMIP concluded that the component of ZEC from CO2 emissions will likely be close to zero in the decades following the cessation of emissions. However, of the 18 Earth system models that participated in ZECMIP only two included a representation of the permafrost carbon feedback to climate change. To better assess the potential impact of permafrost carbon decay on ZEC a series of perturbed parameter experiments are here conducted with an Earth system model of intermediate complexity. The experiment suggest that the permafrost carbon cycle feedback will directly add 0.06 [0.02 to 0.14] °C to the benchmark ZEC value assesses 50 years after 1000 PgC of CO2 has been emitted to the atmosphere. An additional 0.04 [0 to 0.06] °C is likely to been added relative to the benchmark ZEC value from the thaw-lag effect unaccounted for in the ZECMIP experiment design. Overall we assess that the permafrost carbon feedback is unlikely to change the assessment that ZEC is close to zero on decadal timescales, however the feedback is expected to become more important over the coming centuries.

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Context for interpreting equilibrium climate sensitivity and transient climate response from the CMIP6 Earth system models

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.aba1981 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (26) ◽

pp. eaba1981 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Gerald A. Meehl ◽

Catherine A. Senior ◽

Veronika Eyring ◽

Gregory Flato ◽

Jean-Francois Lamarque ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Sensitivity ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Cmip5 Models ◽

Climate Response ◽

Earth System ◽

Transient Climate Response ◽

Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity ◽

System Models ◽

Intercomparison Project ◽

Earth System Models

For the current generation of earth system models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6), the range of equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS, a hypothetical value of global warming at equilibrium for a doubling of CO2) is 1.8°C to 5.6°C, the largest of any generation of models dating to the 1990s. Meanwhile, the range of transient climate response (TCR, the surface temperature warming around the time of CO2 doubling in a 1% per year CO2 increase simulation) for the CMIP6 models of 1.7°C (1.3°C to 3.0°C) is only slightly larger than for the CMIP3 and CMIP5 models. Here we review and synthesize the latest developments in ECS and TCR values in CMIP, compile possible reasons for the current values as supplied by the modeling groups, and highlight future directions. Cloud feedbacks and cloud-aerosol interactions are the most likely contributors to the high values and increased range of ECS in CMIP6.

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Estimated effect of the permafrost carbon feedback on the zero emissions commitment to climate change

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-18-4937-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (17) ◽

pp. 4937-4952

Author(s):

Andrew H. MacDougall

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Carbon Cycle ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

System Model ◽

Earth System ◽

Model Intercomparison ◽

Lag Effect ◽

Intercomparison Project ◽

Potential Impact ◽

Earth System Models

Abstract. Zero Emissions Commitment (ZEC), the expected change in global temperature following the cessation of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, has recently been assessed by the Zero Emissions Commitment Model Intercomparison Project (ZECMIP). ZECMIP concluded that the component of ZEC from CO2 emissions will likely be close to zero in the decades following the cessation of emissions. However, of the 18 Earth system models that participated in ZECMIP only 2 included a representation of the permafrost carbon feedback to climate change. To better assess the potential impact of permafrost carbon decay on ZEC, a series of perturbed parameter experiments are here conducted with an Earth system model of intermediate complexity. The experiment suggests that the permafrost carbon cycle feedback will directly add 0.06 [0.02 to 0.14] ∘C to the benchmark the ZEC value assesses 50 years after 1000 Pg C of CO2 has been emitted to the atmosphere. An additional 0.04 [0 to 0.06] ∘C is likely to been added relative to the benchmark ZEC value from the thaw-lag effect unaccounted for in the ZECMIP experiment design. Overall I assess that the permafrost carbon feedback is unlikely to change the assessment that ZEC is close to zero on decadal timescales; however, the feedback is expected to become more important over the coming centuries.

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The Norwegian Earth System Model, NorESM2 – Evaluation of theCMIP6 DECK and historical simulations

10.5194/gmd-2019-378 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Øyvind Seland ◽

Mats Bentsen ◽

Lise Seland Graff ◽

Dirk Olivié ◽

Thomas Toniazzo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Deep Convection ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Momentum Conservation ◽

Earth System Model ◽

System Model ◽

Earth System ◽

Model Intercomparison ◽

Intercomparison Project ◽

The Stability

Abstract. The second version of the fully coupled Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM2) is presented and evaluated. NorESM2 is based on the second version of the Community Earth System Model (CESM2), but has entirely different ocean and ocean biogeochemistry models; a new module for aerosols in the atmosphere model along with aerosol-radiation-cloud interactions and changes related to the moist energy formulation, deep convection scheme and angular momentum conservation; modified albedo and air-sea turbulent flux calculations; and minor changes to land and sea ice models. We show results from low (∼2°) and medium (∼1°) atmosphere-land resolution versions of NorESM2 that have both been used to carry out simulations for the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). The stability of the pre-industrial climate and the sensitivity of the model to abrupt and gradual quadrupling of CO2 is assessed, along with the ability of the model to simulate the historical climate under the CMIP6 forcings. As compared to observations and reanalyses, NorESM2 represents an improvement over previous versions of NorESM in most aspects. NorESM2 is less sensitive to greenhouse gas forcing than its predecessors, with an equilibrium climate sensitivity of 2.5 K in both resolutions on a 150 year frame. We also consider the model response to future scenarios as defined by selected shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP) from the Scenario Model Intercomparison Project defined under CMIP6. Under the four scenarios SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5, the warming in the period 2090–2099 compared to 1850–1879 reaches 1.3, 2.2, 3.0, and 3.9 K in NorESM2-LM, and 1.3, 2.1, 3.1, and 3.9 K in NorESM–MM, robustly similar in both resolutions. NorESM2-LM shows a rather satisfactorily evolution of recent sea ice area. In NorESM2-LM an ice free Arctic Ocean is only avoided in the SSP1-2.6 scenario.

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Overview of the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM2) and key climate response of CMIP6 DECK, historical, and scenario simulations

Geoscientific Model Development ◽

10.5194/gmd-13-6165-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 6165-6200

Author(s):

Øyvind Seland ◽

Mats Bentsen ◽

Dirk Olivié ◽

Thomas Toniazzo ◽

Ada Gjermundsen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Climate Sensitivity ◽

Time Window ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Momentum Conservation ◽

Earth System Model ◽

System Model ◽

Earth System ◽

Model Intercomparison ◽

Intercomparison Project

Abstract. The second version of the coupled Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM2) is presented and evaluated. NorESM2 is based on the second version of the Community Earth System Model (CESM2) and shares with CESM2 the computer code infrastructure and many Earth system model components. However, NorESM2 employs entirely different ocean and ocean biogeochemistry models. The atmosphere component of NorESM2 (CAM-Nor) includes a different module for aerosol physics and chemistry, including interactions with cloud and radiation; additionally, CAM-Nor includes improvements in the formulation of local dry and moist energy conservation, in local and global angular momentum conservation, and in the computations for deep convection and air–sea fluxes. The surface components of NorESM2 have minor changes in the albedo calculations and to land and sea-ice models. We present results from simulations with NorESM2 that were carried out for the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). Two versions of the model are used: one with lower (∼ 2∘) atmosphere–land resolution and one with medium (∼ 1∘) atmosphere–land resolution. The stability of the pre-industrial climate and the sensitivity of the model to abrupt and gradual quadrupling of CO2 are assessed, along with the ability of the model to simulate the historical climate under the CMIP6 forcings. Compared to observations and reanalyses, NorESM2 represents an improvement over previous versions of NorESM in most aspects. NorESM2 appears less sensitive to greenhouse gas forcing than its predecessors, with an estimated equilibrium climate sensitivity of 2.5 K in both resolutions on a 150-year time frame; however, this estimate increases with the time window and the climate sensitivity at equilibration is much higher. We also consider the model response to future scenarios as defined by selected Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) from the Scenario Model Intercomparison Project defined under CMIP6. Under the four scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5), the warming in the period 2090–2099 compared to 1850–1879 reaches 1.3, 2.2, 3.0, and 3.9 K in NorESM2-LM, and 1.3, 2.1, 3.1, and 3.9 K in NorESM-MM, robustly similar in both resolutions. NorESM2-LM shows a rather satisfactory evolution of recent sea-ice area. In NorESM2-LM, an ice-free Arctic Ocean is only avoided in the SSP1-2.6 scenario.

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Caracterização dos Diferentes Tipos de El Niño e seus Impactos na América do Sul a Partir de Dados Observados e Modelados

Revista Brasileira de Meteorologia ◽

10.1590/0102-7786334015 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 43-67

Author(s):

Juarez Viegas ◽

Rita Valéria Andreoli ◽

Mary Toshie Kayano ◽

Luiz Antonio Candido ◽

Rodrigo Augusto Ferreira de Souza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

El Niño ◽

El Nino ◽

Coupled Model ◽

System Model ◽

Earth System ◽

Model Intercomparison ◽

Environmental Model ◽

Global Environmental ◽

Intercomparison Project ◽

Hadley Centre

Resumo Estudos recentes têm apontado para a existência de dois tipos de eventos de El Niño (EN): EN do Pacífico oriental ou Canônico (EP, sigla em inglês) e EN do Pacífico Central ou Modoki (CP, sigla em inglês). Neste estudo, foram utilizados dados observados e de três modelos do Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) para avaliar o impacto dos dois tipos de EN na precipitação da América do Sul desde o trimestre de Junho-Agosto do ano inicial do evento até Março-Maio do ano seguinte. O modelo do Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques (CNRM-CM5) apresentou o melhor desempenho para reproduzir os padrões anômalos observados de TSM para os tipos de EN CP e EP. O padrão anômalo da precipitação observada associado a eventos EN foi mais marcante durante o verão austral. No caso do EN EP, tal padrão caracterizou-se por precipitação acima (abaixo) da normal no sudeste (norte/noroeste) da América do Sul. Este padrão foi reproduzido pelos modelos CNRM-CM5 e Hadley Centre Global Environmental Model (HadGEM2-ES). O Max Plank Institute Earth System model (MPI-ESM-LR) reproduziu a redução de chuva no norte, porém não reproduziu o aumento anômalo no sudeste e redução no noroeste do continente. No caso do EN CP, o impacto observado nas chuvas da América do Sul durante o verão caracterizou-se por escassez (excesso) no norte/noroeste (sudeste). Este padrão foi reproduzido pelos modelos, entretanto, os modelos HadGEM2-ES e MPI-ESM-LR mostraram índices pluviométricos no nordeste do Brasil menores do que os observados. As diferenças na representação dos padrões de teleconexões em resposta ao EN explicam as diferenças entre os padrões simulados.

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Differences in carbon cycle and temperature projections from emission- and concentration-driven earth system model simulations

Earth System Dynamics Discussions ◽

10.5194/esdd-5-991-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 991-1012 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

P. Shao ◽

X. Zeng ◽

X. Zeng

Keyword(s):

Coupled Model ◽

System Model ◽

Carbon Uptake ◽

Earth System ◽

Average Difference ◽

Model Intercomparison ◽

Feedback Parameter ◽

Intercomparison Project ◽

Atmospheric Co2 Concentrations ◽

Earth System Models

Abstract. The influence of prognostic and prescribed atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) on the carbon uptake and temperature is investigated using all eight Earth System Models (ESMs) with relevant output variables from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Under the RCP8.5 scenario, the projected [CO2] differences in 2100 vary from −19.7 to +207.3 ppm in emission-driven ESMs. Incorporation of the interactive concentrations also increases the range of global warming, computed as the 20 year average difference between 2081–2100 and 1850–1869/1861–1880, by 49% from 2.36 K (i.e. ranging from 3.11 to 5.47 K) in the concentration-driven simulations to 3.51 K in the emission-driven simulations. The observed seasonal amplitude of global [CO2] from 1980–2011 is about 1.2–5.3 times as large as those from the eight emission-driven ESMs, while the [CO2] seasonality is simply neglected in concentration-driven ESMs, suggesting the urgent need of ESM improvements in this area. The temperature-concentration feedback parameter α is more sensitive to [CO2] (e.g. during 1980–2005 versus 2075–2100) than how [CO2] is handled (i.e. prognostic versus prescribed). This sensitivity can be substantially reduced by using a more appropriate parameter α' computed from the linear regression of temperature change versus that of the logarithm of [CO2]. However, the inter-model relative variations of both α and α' remain large, suggesting the need of more detailed studies to understand and hopefully reduce these discrepancies.

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Description and evaluation of NorESM1-F: A fast version of the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM)

10.5194/gmd-2018-217 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Chuncheng Guo ◽

Mats Bentsen ◽

Ingo Bethke ◽

Mehmet Ilicak ◽

Jerry Tjiputra ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Cycle ◽

Sea Ice ◽

Large Scale ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Coupled System ◽

Internal Variability ◽

Earth System Model ◽

Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽

System Model ◽

Earth System

Abstract. A new computationally efficient version of the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM) is presented. This new version (here termed NorESM1-F) runs about 2.5 times faster (e.g. 90 model years per day on current hardware) than the version that contributed to the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison project (CMIP5), i.e., NorESM1-M, and is therefore particularly suitable for multi-millennial paleoclimate and carbon cycle simulations or large ensemble simulations. The speedup is primarily a result of using a prescribed atmosphere aerosol chemistry and a tripolar ocean-sea ice horizontal grid configuration that allows an increase of the ocean-sea ice component time steps. Ocean biogeochemistry can be activated for fully coupled and semi-coupled carbon cycle applications. This paper describes the model and evaluates its performance using observations and NorESM1-M as benchmarks. The evaluation emphasises model stability, important large-scale features in the ocean and sea ice components, internal variability in the coupled system, and climate sensitivity. Simulation results from NorESM1-F in general agree well with observational estimates, and show evident improvements over NorESM1-M, for example, in the strength of the meridional overturning circulation and sea ice simulation, both important metrics in simulating past and future climates. Whereas NorESM1-M showed a slight global cool bias in the upper oceans, NorESM1-F exhibits a global warm bias. In general, however, NorESM1-F has more similarities than dissimilarities compared to NorESM1-M, and some biases and deficiencies known in NorESM1-M remain.

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Workflow and tools to analyse the PMIP4-CMIP6 ensemble

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-2476 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anni Zhao ◽

Chris Brierley

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Important Case ◽

Earth System ◽

Model Intercomparison ◽

Past Climate ◽

The Past ◽

The Earth ◽

Intercomparison Project

Experiment outputs are now available from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project&#8217;s 6th phase (CMIP6) and the past climate experiments defined in the Model Intercomparison Project&#8217;s 4th phase (PMIP4). All of this output is freely available from the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF). Yet there are overheads in analysing this resource that may prove complicated or prohibitive. Here we document the steps taken by ourselves to produce ensemble analyses covering past and future simulations. We outline the strategy used to curate, adjust the monthly calendar aggregation and process the information downloaded from the ESGF. The results of these steps were used to perform analysis for several of the initial publications arising from PMIP4. We provide post-processed fields for each simulation, such as climatologies and common measures of variability. Example scripts used to visualise and analyse these fields is provided for several important case studies.

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