1. |
- Brierley, Chris M., et al.
(author)
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Large-scale features and evaluation of the PMIP4-CMIP6 midHolocene simulations
- 2020
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In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 16:5, s. 1847-1872
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The mid-Holocene (6000 years ago) is a standard time period for the evaluation of the simulated response of global climate models using palaeoclimate reconstructions. The latest mid-Holocene simulations are a palaeoclimate entry card for the Palaeoclimate Model Intercomparison Project (PMIP4) component of the current phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) - hereafter referred to as PMIP4-CMIP6. Here we provide an initial analysis and evaluation of the results of the experiment for the mid-Holocene. We show that state-of-the-art models produce climate changes that are broadly consistent with theory and observations, including increased summer warming of the Northern Hemisphere and associated shifts in tropical rainfall. Many features of the PMIP4-CMIP6 simulations were present in the previous generation (PMIP3-CMIP5) of simulations. The PMIP4-CMIP6 ensemble for the mid-Holocene has a global mean temperature change of -0.3 K, which is -0.2K cooler than the PMIP3-CMIP5 simulations predominantly as a result of the prescription of realistic greenhouse gas concentrations in PMIP4-CMIP6. Biases in the magnitude and the sign of regional responses identified in PMIP3-CMIP5, such as the amplification of the northern African monsoon, precipitation changes over Europe, and simulated aridity in mid-Eurasia, are still present in the PMIP4-CMIP6 simulations. Despite these issues, PMIP4-CMIP6 and the mid-Holocene provide an opportunity both for quantitative evaluation and derivation of emergent constraints on the hydrological cycle, feedback strength, and potentially climate sensitivity.
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2. |
- Feng, Ran, et al.
(author)
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Past terrestrial hydroclimate sensitivity controlled by Earth system feedbacks
- 2022
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 13:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite tectonic conditions and atmospheric CO2 levels (pCO2) similar to those of present-day, geological reconstructions from the mid-Pliocene (3.3-3.0 Ma) document high lake levels in the Sahel and mesic conditions in subtropical Eurasia, suggesting drastic reorganizations of subtropical terrestrial hydroclimate during this interval. Here, using a compilation of proxy data and multi-model paleoclimate simulations, we show that the mid-Pliocene hydroclimate state is not driven by direct CO2 radiative forcing but by a loss of northern high-latitude ice sheets and continental greening. These ice sheet and vegetation changes are long-term Earth system feedbacks to elevated pCO2. Further, the moist conditions in the Sahel and subtropical Eurasia during the mid-Pliocene are a product of enhanced tropospheric humidity and a stationary wave response to the surface warming pattern, which varies strongly with land cover changes. These findings highlight the potential for amplified terrestrial hydroclimate responses over long timescales to a sustained CO2 forcing.
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3. |
- Kageyama, Masa, et al.
(author)
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A multi-model CMIP6-PMIP4 study of Arctic sea ice at 127 ka : sea ice data compilation and model differences
- 2021
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In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 17:1, s. 37-62
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Last Interglacial period (LIG) is a period with increased summer insolation at high northern latitudes, which results in strong changes in the terrestrial and marine cryosphere. Understanding the mechanisms for this response via climate modelling and comparing the models' representation of climate reconstructions is one of the objectives set up by the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project for its contribution to the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Here we analyse the results from 16 climate models in terms of Arctic sea ice. The multi-model mean reduction in minimum sea ice area from the pre industrial period (PI) to the LIG reaches 50 % (multi-model mean LIG area is 3.20×106 km2, compared to 6.46×106 km2 for the PI). On the other hand, there is little change for the maximum sea ice area (which is 15–16×106 km2 for both the PI and the LIG. To evaluate the model results we synthesise LIG sea ice data from marine cores collected in the Arctic Ocean, Nordic Seas and northern North Atlantic. The reconstructions for the northern North Atlantic show year-round ice-free conditions, and most models yield results in agreement with these reconstructions. Model–data disagreement appear for the sites in the Nordic Seas close to Greenland and at the edge of the Arctic Ocean. The northernmost site with good chronology, for which a sea ice concentration larger than 75 % is reconstructed even in summer, discriminates those models which simulate too little sea ice. However, the remaining models appear to simulate too much sea ice over the two sites south of the northernmost one, for which the reconstructed sea ice cover is seasonal. Hence models either underestimate or overestimate sea ice cover for the LIG, and their bias does not appear to be related to their bias for the pre-industrial period. Drivers for the inter-model differences are different phasing of the up and down short-wave anomalies over the Arctic Ocean, which are associated with differences in model albedo; possible cloud property differences, in terms of optical depth; and LIG ocean circulation changes which occur for some, but not all, LIG simulations. Finally, we note that inter-comparisons between the LIG simulations and simulations for future climate with moderate (1 % yr−1) CO2 increase show a relationship between LIG sea ice and sea ice simulated under CO2 increase around the years of doubling CO2. The LIG may therefore yield insight into likely 21st century Arctic sea ice changes using these LIG simulations.
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4. |
- Kageyama, Masa, et al.
(author)
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The PMIP4 contribution to CMIP6-Part 1 : Overview and over-arching analysis plan
- 2018
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In: Geoscientific Model Development. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1991-959X .- 1991-9603. ; 11:3, s. 1033-1057
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper is the first of a series of four GMD papers on the PMIP4-CMIP6 experiments. Part 2 (OttoBliesner et al., 2017) gives details about the two PMIP4-CMIP6 interglacial experiments, Part 3 (Jungclaus et al., 2017) about the last millennium experiment, and Part 4 (Kageyama et al., 2017) about the Last Glacial Maximum experiment. The mid-Pliocene Warm Period experiment is part of the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP) Phase 2, detailed in Haywood et al. (2016). The goal of the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) is to understand the response of the climate system to different climate forcings for documented climatic states very different from the present and historical climates. Through comparison with observations of the environmental impact of these climate changes, or with climate reconstructions based on physical, chemical, or biological records, PMIP also addresses the issue of how well state-of-the-art numerical models simulate climate change. Climate models are usually developed using the present and historical climates as references, but climate projections show that future climates will lie well outside these conditions. Palaeoclimates very different from these reference states therefore provide stringent tests for state-of-the-art models and a way to assess whether their sensitivity to forcings is compatible with palaeoclimatic evidence. Simulations of five different periods have been designed to address the objectives of the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6): the millennium prior to the industrial epoch (CMIP6 name: past1000); the mid-Holocene, 6000 years ago (midHolocene); the Last Glacial Maximum, 21 000 years ago (lgm); the Last Interglacial, 127 000 years ago (lig127k); and the mid-Pliocene Warm Period, 3.2 million years ago (midPliocene-eoi400). These climatic periods are well documented by palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental records, with climate and environmental changes relevant for the study and projection of future climate changes. This paper describes the motivation for the choice of these periods and the design of the numerical experiments and database requests, with a focus on their novel features compared to the experiments performed in previous phases of PMIP and CMIP. It also outlines the analysis plan that takes advantage of the comparisons of the results across periods and across CMIP6 in collaboration with other MIPs.
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5. |
- Kageyama, Masa, et al.
(author)
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The PMIP4 contribution to CMIP6-Part 4 : Scientific objectives and experimental design of the PMIP4-CMIP6 Last Glacial Maximum experiments and PMIP4 sensitivity experiments
- 2017
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In: Geoscientific Model Development. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1991-959X .- 1991-9603. ; 10:11, s. 4035-4055
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 000 years ago) is one of the suite of paleoclimate simulations included in the current phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). It is an interval when insolation was similar to the present, but global ice volume was at a maximum, eustatic sea level was at or close to a minimum, greenhouse gas concentrations were lower, atmospheric aerosol loadings were higher than today, and vegetation and land-surface characteristics were different from today. The LGM has been a focus for the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) since its inception, and thus many of the problems that might be associated with simulating such a radically different climate are well documented. The LGM state provides an ideal case study for evaluating climate model performance because the changes in forcing and temperature between the LGM and pre-industrial are of the same order of magnitude as those projected for the end of the 21st century. Thus, the CMIP6 LGM experiment could provide additional information that can be used to constrain estimates of climate sensitivity. The design of the Tier 1 LGM experiment (lgm) includes an assessment of uncertainties in boundary conditions, in particular through the use of different reconstructions of the ice sheets and of the change in dust forcing. Additional (Tier 2) sensitivity experiments have been designed to quantify feedbacks associated with land-surface changes and aerosol loadings, and to isolate the role of individual forcings. Model analysis and evaluation will capitalize on the relative abundance of paleoenvironmental observations and quantitative climate reconstructions already available for the LGM.
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6. |
- Ljung, Karl, et al.
(author)
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The last termination in the central South Atlantic
- 2015
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In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 123, s. 193-214
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lake sediments and peat deposits from two basins on Nightingale Island (37 degrees S), in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, South Atlantic, have been analyzed. The studies were focused on the time period 16.2-10.0 cal ka BP, determined by 36 C-14 dates from the two sequences. A wide variety of proxies were used, including pollen and diatom analyzes, biogenic silica content, C and N analyzes, stable isotopes (C-13 and N-15), elemental concentrations and magnetic susceptibility measurements, to detect environmental changes that can be related to shifts of the circulation belts of the Southern Ocean. In addition, climate model simulations were carried out. We find that the sediments are underlain by a >2 cal ka BP long hiatus, possibly representing a dried-out lake bed. The climate simulations corroborate that the area might have been exposed to arid conditions as a consequence of the Heinrich I event in the north and a southward displacement of the ITCZ. The development on the island after 16.2 cal ka BP is determined by the position of the Subtropical Front (STF) and the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies (SHW). The period 16.2-14.75 cal ka BP was characterized by varying influence from SHW and with STF situated south of Tristan da Cunha, ending with a humidity peak and cooler conditions. The stable conditions 14.7-14.1 cal ka BP with cool and fairly arid conditions imply that STF and SHW were both north of the islands during the first part of the Antarctic Cold Reversal. The most unstable period, 14.1-12.7 cal ka BP, indicates incessant latitudinal shifts of the zonal circulation, perhaps related to climate variability in the Northern Hemisphere and bipolar seesaw mechanisms as the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) varied. At 12.7 cal ka BP the Holocene warming began with a gradually drier and warmer climate as a result of a dampened AMOC during the Younger Dryas cooling in the north with ITCZ, STF and SHW being displaced southwards. Peak warming seems to have occurred in the earliest part of the Holocene, but this period was also characterized by humidity shifts, possibly an effect of retraction and expansion phases of SHW during AMOC variations in the north. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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7. |
- Otto-Bliesner, Bette L., et al.
(author)
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Large-scale features of Last Interglacial climate : results from evaluating the lig127k simulations for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6)–Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project (PMIP4)
- 2021
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In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 17:1, s. 63-94
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The modeling of paleoclimate, using physically based tools, is increasingly seen as a strong out-of-sample test of the models that are used for the projection of future climate changes. New to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) is the Tier 1 Last Interglacial experiment for 127 000 years ago (lig127k), designed to address the climate responses to stronger orbital forcing than the midHolocene experiment, using the same state-of-the-art models as for the future and following a common experimental protocol. Here we present a first analysis of a multi-model ensemble of 17 climate models, all of which have completed the CMIP6 DECK (Diagnostic, Evaluation and Characterization of Klima) experiments. The equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) of these models varies from 1.8 to 5.6 ∘C. The seasonal character of the insolation anomalies results in strong summer warming over the Northern Hemisphere continents in the lig127k ensemble as compared to the CMIP6 piControl and much-reduced minimum sea ice in the Arctic. The multi-model results indicate enhanced summer monsoonal precipitation in the Northern Hemisphere and reductions in the Southern Hemisphere. These responses are greater in the lig127k than the CMIP6 midHolocene simulations as expected from the larger insolation anomalies at 127 than 6 ka.New synthesis for surface temperature and precipitation, targeted for 127 ka, have been developed for comparison to the multi-model ensemble. The lig127k model ensemble and data reconstructions are in good agreement for summer temperature anomalies over Canada, Scandinavia, and the North Atlantic and for precipitation over the Northern Hemisphere continents. The model–data comparisons and mismatches point to further study of the sensitivity of the simulations to uncertainties in the boundary conditions and of the uncertainties and sparse coverage in current proxy reconstructions.The CMIP6–Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project (PMIP4) lig127k simulations, in combination with the proxy record, improve our confidence in future projections of monsoons, surface temperature, and Arctic sea ice, thus providing a key target for model evaluation and optimization.
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8. |
- Ren, Xin, et al.
(author)
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The hydrological cycle and ocean circulation of the Maritime Continent in the Pliocene : results from PlioMIP2
- 2023
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In: Climate of the Past. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 19:10, s. 2053-2077
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Maritime Continent (MC) forms the western boundary of the tropical Pacific Ocean, and relatively small changes in this region can impact the climate locally and remotely. In the mid-Piacenzian warm period of the Pliocene (mPWP; 3.264 to 3.025 Ma) atmospheric CO2 concentrations were ∼ 400 ppm, and the subaerial Sunda and Sahul shelves made the land–sea distribution of the MC different to today. Topographic changes and elevated levels of CO2, combined with other forcings, are therefore expected to have driven a substantial climate signal in the MC region at this time. By using the results from the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 2 (PlioMIP2), we study the mean climatic features of the MC in the mPWP and changes in Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) with respect to the preindustrial. Results show a warmer and wetter mPWP climate of the MC and lower sea surface salinity in the surrounding ocean compared with the preindustrial. Furthermore, we quantify the volume transfer through the ITF; although the ITF may be expected to be hindered by the subaerial shelves, 10 out of 15 models show an increased volume transport compared with the preindustrial.In order to avoid undue influence from closely related models that are present in the PlioMIP2 ensemble, we introduce a new metric, the multi-cluster mean (MCM), which is based on cluster analysis of the individual models. We study the effect that the choice of MCM versus the more traditional analysis of multi-model mean (MMM) and individual models has on the discrepancy between model results and data. We find that models, which reproduce modern MC climate well, are not always good at simulating the mPWP climate anomaly of the MC. By comparing with individual models, the MMM and MCM reproduce the preindustrial sea surface temperature (SST) of the reanalysis better than most individual models and produce less discrepancy with reconstructed sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) than most individual models in the MC. In addition, the clusters reveal spatial signals that are not captured by the MMM, so that the MCM provides us with a new way to explore the results from model ensembles that include similar models.
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9. |
- Renoult, Martin, 1996-
(author)
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Paleoclimate perspective on Earth's climate sensitivity and feedbacks
- 2022
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The addition of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere due to human activities is the main driver of global warming. How much the Earth will warm in the future is often represented by the Earth's equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS), the long-term temperature response considering the effect of climate feedbacks after an abrupt and sustained doubling of atmospheric CO2 from pre-industrial concentration. Assessing ECS is critical as it is one of the most relevant metric to evaluate global temperature change by 2100 in a fast warming climate. However, there have been considerable difficulties in constraining ECS for more than a century. In recent years, there has been a focus on alternative lines of evidence to elicit ECS, such as the study of past climates.The work of this thesis investigates the evidence on ECS and climate feedbacks obtained from paleoclimates. In our studies, we use past climate reconstructions and climate modelling to estimate ECS out of the cold Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the warm Pliocene. Our work focuses on the statistical relationship existing between simulated past temperatures and ECS following the emergent constraint theory, and how the physics of modelled paleoclimates can affect such relationship. We explore further how climate feedbacks behave and depart from a linear behaviour in extreme cold conditions by performing simulations of snowball Earth states.This thesis demonstrates that both LGM and Pliocene are relevant candidates to elicit ECS and highlights the contribution of paleoclimates in understanding modern and future climate change. In particular, we show that the Pliocene is a robust constraint on ECS under the emergent constraint theory despite large observational uncertainties. Our estimate of ECS using the most recent generation of climate models is 4.8 K, which lies in the high end of previous assessment from Pliocene evidence. On the contrary, the LGM constraint is weak due to substantial differences in ice sheet forcing as well as differences in the behaviour of climate feedbacks in cold temperatures in climate models. Our results suggest that LGM simulated temperatures are challenging to use in emergent constraint framework on ECS. An alternative difficulty in using the LGM arises from the lack of high ECS models in the ensemble. Our results indicate that the minimum global temperature for the LGM state is around 0°C, where the strengthening of the sea-ice albedo feedback with cooling temperatures and a substantial contribution of cloud feedbacks will then move the climate towards a snowball state. Highly sensitivity models are most likely to fail at simulating the LGM when approaching these low temperatures.The thesis highlights the importance of using a variety of models with different sensitivity to simulate paleoclimates and use them in estimating ECS and feedbacks. Warm paleoclimates such as the Pliocene are likely the best candidates to infer ECS. These estimates of ECS are dependent on geological reconstructions which are continuously improving. Assessments on the role of past climates in constraining ECS and feedbacks are therefore key elements in understanding both paleoclimates and future climate change and should be considered with great interest.
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10. |
- Scussolini, Paolo, et al.
(author)
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Agreement between reconstructed and modeled boreal precipitation of the Last Interglacial
- 2019
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In: Science Advances. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 2375-2548. ; 5:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The last extended time period when climate may have been warmer than today was during the Last Interglacial (LIG; ca. 129 to 120 thousand years ago). However, a global view of LIG precipitation is lacking. Here, seven new LIG climate models are compared to the first global database of proxies for LIG precipitation. In this way, models are assessed in their ability to capture important hydroclimatic processes during a different climate. The models can reproduce the proxy-based positive precipitation anomalies from the preindustrial period over much of the boreal continents. Over the Southern Hemisphere, proxy-model agreement is partial. In models, LIG boreal monsoons have 42% wider area than in the preindustrial and produce 55% more precipitation and 50% more extreme precipitation. Austral monsoons are weaker. The mechanisms behind these changes are consistent with stronger summer radiative forcing over boreal high latitudes and with the associated higher temperatures during the LIG.
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