Transient simulations of the present and the last interglacial climate using the Community Climate System Model version 3: effects of orbital acceleration.

Varma, Vidya, Prange, Matthias and Schulz, Michael (2016) Transient simulations of the present and the last interglacial climate using the Community Climate System Model version 3: effects of orbital acceleration. Open Access Geoscientific Model Development, 9 (11). pp. 3859-3873. DOI 10.5194/gmd-9-3859-2016.

[thumbnail of gmd-9-3859-2016.pdf]
Preview
Text
gmd-9-3859-2016.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0.

Download (14MB) | Preview

Supplementary data:

Abstract

Numerical simulations provide a considerable aid in studying past climates. Out of the various approaches taken in designing numerical climate experiments, transient simulations have been found to be the most optimal when it comes to comparison with proxy data. However, multi-millennial or longer simulations using fully coupled general circulation models are computationally very expensive such that acceleration techniques are frequently applied. In this study, we compare the results from transient simulations of the present and the last interglacial with and without acceleration of the orbital forcing, using the comprehensive coupled climate model CCSM3 (Community Climate System Model version 3). Our study shows that in low-latitude regions, the simulation of long-term variations in interglacial surface climate is not significantly affected by the use of the acceleration technique (with an acceleration factor of 10) and hence, large-scale model–data comparison of surface variables is not hampered. However, in high-latitude regions where the surface climate has a direct connection to the deep ocean, e.g. in the Southern Ocean or the Nordic Seas, acceleration-induced biases in sea-surface temperature evolution may occur with potential influence on the dynamics of the overlying atmosphere.

Document Type: Article
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: Yes
Publisher: Copernicus Publications (EGU)
Projects: PalMod in-kind
Date Deposited: 13 Sep 2018 11:07
Last Modified: 01 Feb 2019 15:02
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/44281

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item