Climate Sensitivity of the Community Climate System Model, Version 4
Abstract
Equilibrium climate sensitivity of the Community Climate System Model Version 4 (CCSM4) is 3.20°C for 1° horizontal resolution in each component. This is about a half degree Celsius higher than in the previous version (CCSM3). The transient climate sensitivity of CCSM4 at 1° resolution is 1.72°C, which is about 0.2°C higher than in CCSM3. These higher climate sensitivities in CCSM4 cannot be explained by the change to a preindustrial baseline climate. We use the radiative kernel technique to show that from CCSM3 to CCSM4, the global mean lapse-rate feedback declines in magnitude, and the shortwave cloud feedback increases. These two warming effects are partially canceled by cooling due to slight decreases in the global mean water-vapor feedback and longwave cloud feedback from CCSM3 to CCSM4. A new formulation of the mixed-layer, slab ocean model in CCSM4 attempts to reproduce the SST and sea ice climatology from an integration with a full-depth ocean, and it is integrated with a dynamic sea ice model. These new features allow an isolation of the influence of ocean dynamical changes on the climate response when comparing integrations with the slab ocean and full-depth ocean. The transient climate response of the full-depth ocean version is 0.54more »
- Authors:
-
- Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
- Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1029980
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER64433
Journal ID: ISSN 0894-8755
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FG02-07ER64433
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Climate
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 25; Journal Issue: 9; Journal ID: ISSN 0894-8755
- Publisher:
- American Meteorological Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Climate sensitivity, Climate change, Ocean Heat Uptake, Climate Feedback
Citation Formats
Bitz, Cecilia M., Shell, K. M., Gent, P. R., Bailey, D. A., Danabasoglu, G., Armour, K. C., Holland, M. M., and Kiehl, J. T. Climate Sensitivity of the Community Climate System Model, Version 4. United States: N. p., 2012.
Web. doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00290.1.
Bitz, Cecilia M., Shell, K. M., Gent, P. R., Bailey, D. A., Danabasoglu, G., Armour, K. C., Holland, M. M., & Kiehl, J. T. Climate Sensitivity of the Community Climate System Model, Version 4. United States. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00290.1
Bitz, Cecilia M., Shell, K. M., Gent, P. R., Bailey, D. A., Danabasoglu, G., Armour, K. C., Holland, M. M., and Kiehl, J. T. Tue .
"Climate Sensitivity of the Community Climate System Model, Version 4". United States. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00290.1. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1029980.
@article{osti_1029980,
title = {Climate Sensitivity of the Community Climate System Model, Version 4},
author = {Bitz, Cecilia M. and Shell, K. M. and Gent, P. R. and Bailey, D. A. and Danabasoglu, G. and Armour, K. C. and Holland, M. M. and Kiehl, J. T.},
abstractNote = {Equilibrium climate sensitivity of the Community Climate System Model Version 4 (CCSM4) is 3.20°C for 1° horizontal resolution in each component. This is about a half degree Celsius higher than in the previous version (CCSM3). The transient climate sensitivity of CCSM4 at 1° resolution is 1.72°C, which is about 0.2°C higher than in CCSM3. These higher climate sensitivities in CCSM4 cannot be explained by the change to a preindustrial baseline climate. We use the radiative kernel technique to show that from CCSM3 to CCSM4, the global mean lapse-rate feedback declines in magnitude, and the shortwave cloud feedback increases. These two warming effects are partially canceled by cooling due to slight decreases in the global mean water-vapor feedback and longwave cloud feedback from CCSM3 to CCSM4. A new formulation of the mixed-layer, slab ocean model in CCSM4 attempts to reproduce the SST and sea ice climatology from an integration with a full-depth ocean, and it is integrated with a dynamic sea ice model. These new features allow an isolation of the influence of ocean dynamical changes on the climate response when comparing integrations with the slab ocean and full-depth ocean. The transient climate response of the full-depth ocean version is 0.54 of the equilibrium climate sensitivity when estimated with the new slab ocean model version for both CCSM3 and CCSM4. We argue the ratio is the same in both versions because they have about the same zonal mean pattern of change in ocean surface heat flux, which broadly resembles the zonal mean pattern of net feedback strength.},
doi = {10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00290.1},
journal = {Journal of Climate},
number = 9,
volume = 25,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012},
month = {Tue May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012}
}
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