Collaborative Proposal: Multi-Scale Modeling: Assessing the role of eastern boundary upwelling regions and their ecosystems on climate variability using a fully coupled model

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Intellectual meritThis is a multi-institutional research project to study the regional atmosphere-ocean interactions, and the global ramifications, that result from a more accurate treatment of the eastern boundary coastal upwelling regions of California, Peru-Chile and Benguela, their ecosystems and biogeochemistry in a fully coupled global multi-scale climate model. The novel computational development provides the ability to selectively increase the resolution of the ocean component in desired regions while keeping the two-way coupling to the atmosphere. This project will address the question of physical and biological mechanisms affecting the CO2 air-sea exchange and export in these regions and the climate variability in the present, and under future scenarios, for the selected regions from physical, ecosystem and biogeochemical perspectives. As a study of the role of continental shelves in the climate system, and by addressing known biases/deficiencies in current climate models, it will contribute to our understanding of the climate system and improve projections of climate change. By directly including a biogeochemical model, this study can begin to address climate change impacts on the ecosystems of three of the most productive oceanic regions, and the ecosystems interaction with climateBroader ImpactsThe proposed research has significant impacts to many communities on several levels. By studying regions that are commercially significant, this project will contribute to the knowledge that is needed for future ocean resource management. The inclusion of an ocean model (ROMS) that has been extensively used for ecosystem studies, brings the climate, biogeochemical and ecosystem communities closer together and will permit the study of the role of climate change on ecosystems including higher trophic levels all the way to human activity. The project also contributes significant technical developments to the climate modeling community. The results will lead to the availability of a regional ocean model fully embedded within a global climate model and linked to all its components, including a multi-resolution atmosphere, land surface and sea ice models. By working within the NCAR Community Climate System Model framework all the technical developments will become part of the model that is accessible to the scientific community and can benefit emerging interdisciplinary programs. This project includes the training of three post-doctoral scientists one at University of Maine and two at U.C. Santa Cruz. All the academic institutions involved have a significant track record in teaching of both undergraduate and graduate students and outreach activities. Outreach and teaching activities are also an important part of the mission at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) where regular summer colloquia (organized by the advanced studies program) educate graduate students on various aspects of the climate system and its modeling, and well-visited websites are maintained for both the scientific community and the public.