CMIP5 Beaufort Sea Projections, 1950-2100

• Main Authors: Flato, Greg, Pal, Badal, Merryfield, William
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Cryospheric Information Network 2013
• Subjects: Beaufort Sea; Climate change; Climate hazards; Climatic models; Extreme weather; Sea ice; Wind speed; Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5443/11811; https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/?doi_id=11811

Climate model data describing sea ice, surface winds and sea level pressure at a grid of locations in the Beaufort Sea region were extracted from various simulations contributing to phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), a component of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment. Simulations of historical (pre-2005) and future climate under the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 emissions scenarios are considered. Data is in ASCII format, with one line per grid location, time interval (daily except 6-hourly for pressure), and variable type (sea ice, wind or pressure). Some of these variables were not available for certain models. The datasets are detailed further in the README file (README_CMIP5_Beaufort_Sea_Projections_24jul2014.txt). : Purpose: Sea ice and extreme winds are two important environmental factors affecting activities in the Beaufort Sea region. Climate model simulations provide a means of estimating how these influences may change in a warming climate. Because climate models differ in their detailed properties and regional changes in particular contain a component of natural climate variability that differs between simulations, multiple simulations from multiple models are analysed. : Summary: Data contains information on sea ice, surface winds and surface atmospheric pressures simulated by multiple climate models at a grid of locations in the Beaufort Sea regions. Both the historical period (pre-2005) and future scenarios (2006-2100) are provided.