SGER: Model Intercomparison: Thermohaline Circulation and Its Relation to Surface Fluxes

SGER：模型比较：温盐环流及其与地表通量的关系

• 批准号: 0447804
• 负责人: Shan Sun
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-09-01 至 2005-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0447804&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SGER; Model; Intercomparison; Thermohaline; Circulation

Three climate modeling centers in the U.S. (CCSM (NCAR), GFDL and GISS) will be releasing in September 2004, model simulations of the global climates of the late 19th and 20th centuries. These will be available as input to the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report and also for general studies by climate scientists. The is a research project to use these model data sets, along with the best available observations of the past climate, to analyze the ability of global climate models to simulate the climate of the late 19th and 20th centuries. The thermohaline circulation (THC) in the Atlantic plays an important role in regulating climate by accounting for nearly half of the poleward heat transport. However, there is a dearth of analytic tools for displaying quantitative details of the THC in a model. The PI will extract regional details of the 3-D circulation in potential density space (i.e., isopycnal as well as diapycnal mass flux components) from the archives of the models, using the method he has already developed. The PI has gained considerable experience in applying the same technique to output from z coordinate models. In other words, well-tested algorithms are available today for converting z coordinate model fields to isopycnal coordinates in a manner allowing isopycnal and diapycnal mass fluxes to be extracted. His study aims to shed light on the role of THC fluctuations in mediating atmosphere-ocean interactions on decadal time scales in the various coupled models. He will also investigate decadal variability linked to anthropogenic forcings in the past century, hoping to provide a stepping stone for follow-up studies of mechanisms which in the Third IPCC Assessment led to the large fluctuations in THC strength in greenhouse gas-forced simulations. Broader Impacts: The Ocean's THC circulation strongly influences the climate of the North Atlantic and Western Europe. Its stability may be affected by global warming. This research has the potential to improve understanding of the physics that control the strength of the THC and thus, possible large-scale climate changes in the future. This would be important information for better-informed environmental policy decisions.This is a grant under the U.S. Climate Change Science Program's, Climate Variability and Predictability Program (CLIVAR).

美国的三个气候模拟中心(CCSM(NCAR)、GFDL和GISS)将于2004年9月发布19世纪末和20世纪全球气候的模型模拟。这些资料将作为下一份政府间气候变化专门委员会(气专委)评估报告的参考资料，也可供气候科学家进行一般性研究。这是一个研究项目，利用这些模型数据集，以及对过去气候的最佳可用观测，分析全球气候模型模拟19世纪末和20世纪气候的能力。大西洋温盐环流(THC)在调节气候方面起着重要作用，它占向极地热量输送的近一半。然而，缺乏用于在模型中显示THC的定量细节的分析工具。PI将使用他已经开发的方法，从模式档案中提取位势密度空间(即等日质量通量分量和日质量通量分量)中三维环流的区域细节。PI在将同样的技术应用于z坐标模型的输出方面获得了相当多的经验。换句话说，目前已有经过良好测试的算法可用于将z坐标模型场转换为等轴面坐标，其方式允许提取等轴面和日质量通量。他的研究旨在阐明在不同的耦合模式中，THC波动在十年时间尺度上调节大气-海洋相互作用中的作用。他还将调查过去一个世纪与人为强迫有关的年代际变化，希望为后续研究在第三次政府间气候变化专门委员会评估中导致温室气体强迫模拟中THC强度大幅波动的机制提供垫脚石。更广泛的影响：海洋的THC环流强烈影响北大西洋和西欧的气候。其稳定性可能会受到全球变暖的影响。这项研究有可能提高对控制THC强度的物理学的理解，从而提高对未来可能发生的大规模气候变化的理解。这将是更明智的环境政策决策的重要信息。这是美国气候变化科学计划气候可变性和可预测性计划(CLIVAR)下的一项拨款。