Intermediate Complexity Models

2005 ◽  
pp. 117-163
Keyword(s):  
Intermediate Complexity

scholarly journals Changes in Local and Global Climate Feedbacks in the Absence of Interactive Clouds: Southern Ocean–Climate Interactions in Two Intermediate-Complexity Models

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 755-772
Author(s):  
Patrik L. Pfister ◽  
Thomas F. Stocker
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Lapse Rate ◽  
Climate Feedback ◽  
Ocean Heat Uptake ◽  
Albedo Feedback ◽  
Intermediate Complexity ◽  
Global Mean ◽  
Over Time

AbstractThe global-mean climate feedback quantifies how much the climate system will warm in response to a forcing such as increased CO2 concentration. Under a constant forcing, this feedback becomes less negative (increasing) over time in comprehensive climate models, which has been attributed to increases in cloud and lapse-rate feedbacks. However, out of eight Earth system models of intermediate complexity (EMICs) not featuring interactive clouds, two also simulate such a feedback increase: Bern3D-LPX and LOVECLIM. Using these two models, we investigate the causes of the global-mean feedback increase in the absence of cloud feedbacks. In both models, the increase is predominantly driven by processes in the Southern Ocean region. In LOVECLIM, the global-mean increase is mainly due to a local longwave feedback increase in that region, which can be attributed to lapse-rate changes. It is enhanced by the slow atmospheric warming above the Southern Ocean, which is delayed due to regional ocean heat uptake. In Bern3D-LPX, this delayed regional warming is the main driver of the global-mean feedback increase. It acts on a near-constant local feedback pattern mainly determined by the sea ice–albedo feedback. The global-mean feedback increase is limited by the availability of sea ice: faster Southern Ocean sea ice melting due to either stronger forcing or higher equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) reduces the increase of the global mean feedback in Bern3D-LPX. In the highest-ECS simulation with 4 × CO2 forcing, the feedback even becomes more negative (decreasing) over time. This reduced ice–albedo feedback due to sea ice depletion is a plausible mechanism for a decreasing feedback also in high-forcing simulations of other models.

scholarly journals Erratum to: The earth system model of intermediate complexity CLIMBER-3α. Part I: description and performance for present-day conditions

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-151
Author(s):  
Marisa Montoya ◽  
Alexa Griesel ◽  
Anders Levermann ◽  
Juliette Mignot ◽  
Matthias Hofmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Earth System Model ◽  
System Model ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Intermediate Complexity ◽  
The Earth ◽  
And Performance
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