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Title: The Scenario Model Intercomparison Project (ScenarioMIP) for CMIP6

Journal Article · · Geoscientific Model Development (Online)

Projections of future climate change play a fundamental role in improving understanding of the climate system as well as characterizing societal risks and response options. The Scenario Model Intercomparison Project (ScenarioMIP) is the primary activity within Phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) that will provide multi-model climate projections based on alternative scenarios of future emissions and land use changes produced with integrated assessment models. In this paper, we describe ScenarioMIP's objectives, experimental design, and its relation to other activities within CMIP6. The ScenarioMIP design is one component of a larger scenario process that aims to facilitate a wide range of integrated studies across the climate science, integrated assessment modeling, and impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability communities, and will form an important part of the evidence base in the forthcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments. At the same time, it will provide the basis for investigating a number of targeted science and policy questions that are especially relevant to scenario-based analysis, including the role of specific forcings such as land use and aerosols, the effect of a peak and decline in forcing, the consequences of scenarios that limit warming to below 2 °C, the relative contributions to uncertainty from scenarios, climate models, and internal variability, and long-term climate system outcomes beyond the 21st century. To serve this wide range of scientific communities and address these questions, a design has been identified consisting of eight alternative 21st century scenarios plus one large initial condition ensemble and a set of long-term extensions, divided into two tiers defined by relative priority. Some of these scenarios will also provide a basis for variants planned to be run in other CMIP6-Endorsed MIPs to investigate questions related to specific forcings. Harmonized, spatially explicit emissions and land use scenarios generated with integrated assessment models will be provided to participating climate modeling groups by late 2016, with the climate model simulations run within the 2017–2018 time frame, and output from the climate model projections made available and analyses performed over the 2018–2020 period.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1340842
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-118670; KP1703030
Journal Information:
Geoscientific Model Development (Online), Vol. 9, Issue 9; ISSN 1991-9603
Publisher:
European Geosciences Union
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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LS3MIP (v1.0) contribution to CMIP6: The Land Surface, Snow and Soil moisture Model Intercomparison Project - Aims, setup and expected outcome text January 2016
Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project (ISMIP6) contribution to CMIP6 journal January 2016
The Polar Amplification Model Intercomparison Project (PAMIP) contribution to CMIP6: investigating the causes and consequences of polar amplification text January 2019
The Land Use Model Intercomparison Project (LUMIP) contribution to CMIP6: Rationale and experimental design text January 2016
Volcanic Radiative Forcing From 1979 to 2015 text January 2018
A protocol for an intercomparison of biodiversity and ecosystem services models using harmonized land-use and climate scenarios text January 2018
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The Polar Amplification Model Intercomparison Project (PAMIP) contribution to CMIP6: investigating the causes and consequences of polar amplification text January 2019
Framework for High-End Estimates of Sea Level Rise for Stakeholder Applications text January 2019
A protocol for an intercomparison of biodiversity and ecosystem services models using harmonized land-use and climate scenarios journal January 2018
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Effect of border policy on exposure and vulnerability to climate change journal October 2020
The Arctic surface climate in CMIP6: status and developments since CMIP5 preprint January 2019
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