Enhanced research program on the long-range climatic effects of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide and sulfate aerosols. Final report

Consistent with the objectives to extract as much as possible from existing models on the role of the oceans in the greenhouse effect and to improve various aspects of the coupled system, the authors made significant progress in three areas. (1) In a series of manuscripts, they documented how the El...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Washington, W.M., Meehl, G.A.
Other Authors: United States. Department of Energy. Office of Energy Research.
Format: Report
Language:English
Published: National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States) 1997
Subjects:
Ice
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2172/468553
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc680628/
Description
Summary:Consistent with the objectives to extract as much as possible from existing models on the role of the oceans in the greenhouse effect and to improve various aspects of the coupled system, the authors made significant progress in three areas. (1) In a series of manuscripts, they documented how the El Nino-Southern Oscillation operates in the model and how it is enhanced with increased carbon dioxide. (2) In studies with collaborators Branstator, Karoly, and Karl, they explored the possible carbon dioxide ``fingerprint`` in zonal mean temperatures, the effects of changes in extratropical teleconnections, and the regional effects of low-frequency variability and climate change. (3) They experimented with an advanced version of the NCAR community climate model (CCM0) that also includes the Ramanathan and Collins cirrus albedo feedback mechanism. This model was run with a mixed layer and was tested with the 1{degree} 20-level Semtner and Chervin ocean model. The latter includes the Arctic Ocean and dynamic sea ice, both showing realistic results. The authors completed the coupling of the advanced models. The dynamic ocean model was a 1{degree}x1{degree} version of the Semtner-Chervin 1/2{degree}x1/2{degree} ocean model with 20 vertical levels. The 1{degree}x1{degree} version of the Semtner-Chervin model used in this research explicitly resolved some aspects of the mesoscale eddies as did the parent model. The new coupled model system for greenhouse gas simulations on climate change was tested on multidecadal runs.