scholarly journals Assessment of sea ice simulations in the CMIP5 Models

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 3413-3435
Author(s):  
Q. Shu ◽  
Z. Song ◽  
F. Qiao
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Linear Trend ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Ocean Modeling ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Sea Ice Thickness ◽  
Almost All

Abstract. The historical simulations of sea ice during 1979 to 2005 by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) are compared with satellite observations and Global Ice–Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (GIOMAS) data in this study. Forty-nine models, almost all of the CMIP5 climate models and Earth System Models, are used. For the Antarctic, multi-model ensemble mean (MME) results can give good climatology of sea ice extent (SIE), but the linear trend is incorrect. The linear trend of satellite-observed Antarctic SIE is 1.56 × 105 km2 decade−1; only 1/7 CMIP5 models show increasing trends, and the linear trend of CMIP5 MME is negative (−3.36 × 105 km2 decade−1). For the Arctic, both climatology and linear trend are better reproduced. Sea ice volume (SIV) is also evaluated in this study, and this is a first attempt to evaluate the SIV in all CMIP5 models. Compared with the GIOMAS data, the SIV values in both Antarctic and Arctic are too small, especially in spring and winter. The GIOMAS SIV in September is 16.7 × 103 km3, while the corresponding Antarctic SIV of CMIP5 MME is 13.0 × 103 km3, almost 22% less. The Arctic SIV of CMIP5 in April is 26.8 × 103 km3, which is also less than the GIOMAS SIV (29.3 × 103 km3). This means that the sea ice thickness simulated in CMIP5 is too thin although the SIE is fairly well simulated.

scholarly journals Assessment of sea ice simulations in the CMIP5 models

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 399-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Shu ◽  
Z. Song ◽  
F. Qiao
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Linear Trend ◽  
Ocean Modeling ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Output Data ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Assimilation System

Abstract. The historical simulations of sea ice during 1979 to 2005 by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) are compared with satellite observations, Global Ice-Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (GIOMAS) output data and Pan-Arctic Ice Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS) output data in this study. Forty-nine models, almost all of the CMIP5 climate models and earth system models with historical simulation, are used. For the Antarctic, multi-model ensemble mean (MME) results can give good climatology of sea ice extent (SIE), but the linear trend is incorrect. The linear trend of satellite-observed Antarctic SIE is 1.29 (±0.57) × 105 km2 decade−1; only about 1/7 CMIP5 models show increasing trends, and the linear trend of CMIP5 MME is negative with the value of −3.36 (±0.15) × 105 km2 decade−1. For the Arctic, both climatology and linear trend are better reproduced. Sea ice volume (SIV) is also evaluated in this study, and this is a first attempt to evaluate the SIV in all CMIP5 models. Compared with the GIOMAS and PIOMAS data, the SIV values in both the Antarctic and the Arctic are too small, especially for the Antarctic in spring and winter. The GIOMAS Antarctic SIV in September is 19.1 × 103 km3, while the corresponding Antarctic SIV of CMIP5 MME is 13.0 × 103 km3 (almost 32% less). The Arctic SIV of CMIP5 in April is 27.1 × 103 km3, which is also less than that from PIOMAS SIV (29.5 × 103 km3). This means that the sea ice thickness simulated in CMIP5 is too thin, although the SIE is fairly well simulated.

scholarly journals Perspectives on future sea ice and navigability in the Arctic

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 5473-5482
Author(s):  
Jinlei Chen ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
Wentao Du ◽  
Junming Guo ◽  
Min Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Circulation Pattern ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Concentration ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Sea Ice Thickness ◽  
Transportation Accessibility ◽  
Decadal Rate

Abstract. The retreat of sea ice has been found to be very significant in the Arctic under global warming. It is projected to continue and will have great impacts on navigation. Perspectives on the changes in sea ice and navigability are crucial to the circulation pattern and future of the Arctic. In this investigation, the decadal changes in sea ice parameters were evaluated by the multi-model from the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 6, and Arctic navigability was assessed under two shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) and two vessel classes with the Arctic transportation accessibility model. The sea ice extent shows a high possibility of decreasing along SSP5-8.5 under current emissions and climate change. The decadal rate of decreasing sea ice extent will increase in March but decrease in September until 2060, when the oldest ice will have completely disappeared and the sea ice will reach an irreversible tipping point. Sea ice thickness is expected to decrease and transit in certain parts, declining by −0.22 m per decade after September 2060. Both the sea ice concentration and volume will thoroughly decline at decreasing decadal rates, with a greater decrease in volume in March than in September. Open water ships will be able to cross the Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage between August and October during the period from 2045 to 2055, with a maximum navigable percentage in September. The time for Polar Class 6 (PC6) ships will shift to October–December during the period from 2021 to 2030, with a maximum navigable percentage in October. In addition, the central passage will be open for PC6 ships between September and October during 2021–2030.

scholarly journals Perspectives on future sea ice and navigability in the Arctic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinlei Chen ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
Wentao Du ◽  
Junming Guo ◽  
Min Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Open Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Concentration ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Sea Ice Thickness ◽  
Northwest Passage ◽  
Ice Concentration ◽  
Transportation Accessibility

Abstract. The retreat of sea ice is very significant in the Arctic under global warming. It is projected to continue and have great impacts on navigation. In this investigation, decadal changes in sea ice parameters were evaluated by multimodel from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6, and Arctic navigability was assessed under two shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) and two vessel classes within the Arctic transportation accessibility model. The sea ice extent is expected to decrease along the SSP5-8.5 scenario with a high possibility under current emissions and climate change. The decadal decreasing rate will increase in March but decrease in September until 2060 when the oldest ice completely disappears and sea ice changes reach an irreversible tipping point. The sea ice thickness will decrease and transit in parts of the Arctic and will decline overall by −0.22 m per decade after September 2060. Both the sea ice concentration and volume will thoroughly decline with decreasing decadal rates, while the decrease in volume will be higher in March than in September. Open water ships will be able to cross the Northeast Passage and Northwest Passage in August–October 2045–2055, with a maximum navigable area in September. The opportunistic crossing time for polar class 6 (PC6) ships will advance to October–December in 2021–2030, while the maximum navigable area will be seen in October. In addition, the Central Passage will also open for PC6 ships during September–October in 2021–2030.

scholarly journals Recent changes in Antarctic Sea Ice

2015 ◽  
Vol 373 (2045) ◽  
pp. 20140163 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Turner ◽  
J. Scott Hosking ◽  
Thomas J. Bracegirdle ◽  
Gareth J. Marshall ◽  
Tony Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Intrinsic Variability ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Amundsen Sea ◽  
Near Surface

In contrast to the Arctic, total sea ice extent (SIE) across the Southern Ocean has increased since the late 1970s, with the annual mean increasing at a rate of 186×10 3  km 2 per decade (1.5% per decade; p <0.01) for 1979–2013. However, this overall increase masks larger regional variations, most notably an increase (decrease) over the Ross (Amundsen–Bellingshausen) Sea. Sea ice variability results from changes in atmospheric and oceanic conditions, although the former is thought to be more significant, since there is a high correlation between anomalies in the ice concentration and the near-surface wind field. The Southern Ocean SIE trend is dominated by the increase in the Ross Sea sector, where the SIE is significantly correlated with the depth of the Amundsen Sea Low (ASL), which has deepened since 1979. The depth of the ASL is influenced by a number of external factors, including tropical sea surface temperatures, but the low also has a large locally driven intrinsic variability, suggesting that SIE in these areas is especially variable. Many of the current generation of coupled climate models have difficulty in simulating sea ice. However, output from the better-performing IPCC CMIP5 models suggests that the recent increase in Antarctic SIE may be within the bounds of intrinsic/internal variability.

scholarly journals Assessment and Ranking of Climate Models in Arctic Sea Ice Cover Simulation: From CMIP5 to CMIP6

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 3609-3627
Author(s):  
Zili Shen ◽  
Anmin Duan ◽  
Dongliang Li ◽  
Jinxiao Li
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Internal Variability ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Arctic Sea

AbstractThe capability of 36 models participating in phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) and their 24 CMIP5 counterparts in simulating the mean state and variability of Arctic sea ice cover for the period 1979–2014 is evaluated. In addition, a sea ice cover performance score for each CMIP5 and CMIP6 model is provided that can be used to reduce the spread in sea ice projections through applying weighted averages based on the ability of models to reproduce the historical sea ice state. Results show that the seasonal cycle of the Arctic sea ice extent (SIE) in the multimodel ensemble (MME) mean of the CMIP6 simulations agrees well with observations, with a MME mean error of less than 15% in any given month relative to the observations. CMIP6 has a smaller intermodel spread in climatological SIE values during summer months than its CMIP5 counterpart. In terms of the monthly SIE trends, the CMIP6 MME mean shows a substantial reduction in the positive bias relative to the observations compared with that of CMIP5. The spread of September SIE trends is very large, not only across different models but also across different ensemble members of the same model, indicating a strong influence of internal variability on SIE evolution. Based on the assumptions that the simulations of CMIP6 models are from the same distribution and that models have no bias in response to external forcing, we can infer that internal variability contributes to approximately 22% ± 5% of the September SIE trend over the period 1979–2014.

scholarly journals The Antarctic Sea Ice Response to the Ozone Hole in Climate Models

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 1336-1342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sigmond ◽  
John C. Fyfe
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Ozone Hole ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Sea Ice Extent

Abstract It has been suggested that the increase of Southern Hemisphere sea ice extent since the 1970s can be explained by ozone depletion in the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere. In a previous study, the authors have shown that in a coupled atmosphere–ocean–sea ice model the ozone hole does not lead to an increase but to a decrease in sea ice extent. Here, the robustness of this result is established through the analysis of models from phases 3 and 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3 and CMIP5). Comparison of the mean sea ice trends in CMIP3 models with and without time-varying stratospheric ozone suggests that ozone depletion is associated with decreased sea ice extent, and ozone recovery acts to mitigate the future sea ice decrease associated with increasing greenhouse gases. All available historical simulations with CMIP5 models that were designed to isolate the effect of time-varying ozone concentrations show decreased sea ice extent in response to historical ozone trends. In most models, the historical sea ice extent trends are mainly driven by historical greenhouse gas forcing, with ozone forcing playing a secondary role.

scholarly journals Observation-based selection of climate models projects Arctic ice-free summers around 2035

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Docquier ◽  
Torben Koenigk
Keyword(s):  
Model Selection ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Area And Volume

AbstractArctic sea ice has been retreating at an accelerating pace over the past decades. Model projections show that the Arctic Ocean could be almost ice free in summer by the middle of this century. However, the uncertainties related to these projections are relatively large. Here we use 33 global climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6) and select models that best capture the observed Arctic sea-ice area and volume and northward ocean heat transport to refine model projections of Arctic sea ice. This model selection leads to lower Arctic sea-ice area and volume relative to the multi-model mean without model selection and summer ice-free conditions could occur as early as around 2035. These results highlight a potential underestimation of future Arctic sea-ice loss when including all CMIP6 models.

scholarly journals Modeled Arctic sea ice evolution through 2300 in CMIP5 extended RCPs

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1383-1406 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Hezel ◽  
T. Fichefet ◽  
F. Massonnet
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice Extent

Abstract. Almost all global climate models and Earth system models that participated in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) show strong declines in Arctic sea ice extent and volume under the highest forcing scenario of the Radiative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) through 2100, including a transition from perennial to seasonal ice cover. Extended RCP simulations through 2300 were completed for a~subset of models, and here we examine the time evolution of Arctic sea ice in these simulations. In RCP2.6, the summer Arctic sea ice extent increases compared to its minimum following the peak radiative forcing in 2044 in all 9 models. RCP4.5 demonstrates continued summer Arctic sea ice decline due to continued warming on longer time scales. These two scenarios imply that summer sea ice extent could begin to recover if and when radiative forcing from greenhouse gas concentrations were to decrease. In RCP8.5 the Arctic Ocean reaches annually ice-free conditions in 7 of 9 models. The ensemble of simulations completed under the extended RCPs provide insight into the global temperature increase at which sea ice disappears in the Arctic and reversibility of declines in seasonal sea ice extent.

scholarly journals CMIP5 Projections of Arctic Amplification, of the North American/North Atlantic Circulation, and of Their Relationship

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (13) ◽  
pp. 5254-5271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Barnes ◽  
Lorenzo M. Polvani
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Arctic Amplification ◽  
Arctic Warming ◽  
The North ◽  
Sequence Of Events

Abstract Recent studies have hypothesized that Arctic amplification, the enhanced warming of the Arctic region compared to the rest of the globe, will cause changes in midlatitude weather over the twenty-first century. This study exploits the recently completed phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) and examines 27 state-of-the-art climate models to determine if their projected changes in the midlatitude circulation are consistent with the hypothesized impact of Arctic amplification over North America and the North Atlantic. Under the largest future greenhouse forcing (RCP8.5), it is found that every model, in every season, exhibits Arctic amplification by 2100. At the same time, the projected circulation responses are either opposite in sign to those hypothesized or too widely spread among the models to discern any robust change. However, in a few seasons and for some of the circulation metrics examined, correlations are found between the model spread in Arctic amplification and the model spread in the projected circulation changes. Therefore, while the CMIP5 models offer some evidence that future Arctic warming may be able to modulate some aspects of the midlatitude circulation response in some seasons, the analysis herein leads to the conclusion that the net circulation response in the future is unlikely to be determined solely—or even primarily—by Arctic warming according to the sequence of events recently hypothesized.

scholarly journals Constraining projections of summer Arctic sea ice

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 1383-1394 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Massonnet ◽  
T. Fichefet ◽  
H. Goosse ◽  
C. M. Bitz ◽  
G. Philippon-Berthier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Thickness Distribution ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Volume Characteristics

Abstract. We examine the recent (1979–2010) and future (2011–2100) characteristics of the summer Arctic sea ice cover as simulated by 29 Earth system and general circulation models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5 (CMIP5). As was the case with CMIP3, a large intermodel spread persists in the simulated summer sea ice losses over the 21st century for a given forcing scenario. The 1979–2010 sea ice extent, thickness distribution and volume characteristics of each CMIP5 model are discussed as potential constraints on the September sea ice extent (SSIE) projections. Our results suggest first that the future changes in SSIE with respect to the 1979–2010 model SSIE are related in a complicated manner to the initial 1979–2010 sea ice model characteristics, due to the large diversity of the CMIP5 population: at a given time, some models are in an ice-free state while others are still on the track of ice loss. However, in phase plane plots (that do not consider the time as an independent variable), we show that the transition towards ice-free conditions is actually occurring in a very similar manner for all models. We also find that the year at which SSIE drops below a certain threshold is likely to be constrained by the present-day sea ice properties. In a second step, using several adequate 1979–2010 sea ice metrics, we effectively reduce the uncertainty as to when the Arctic could become nearly ice-free in summertime, the interval [2041, 2060] being our best estimate for a high climate forcing scenario.

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