SGER: Coupling an Ice Sheet Model to Community Climate System Model (CCSM)

该奖项支持将最先进的冰盖模型与社区气候系统模型(CCSM)相结合的研究，从而能够对冰盖的生长和衰退以及由此产生的气候和碳循环反馈进行百年和千年尺度的模拟。温室效应模拟将包括冰盖融化对气候和海平面的影响，而不是规定冰盖的高度和范围。此外，模型师还将能够对主要的古气候事件进行长期模拟，例如劳伦蒂冰盖的消退。这项工作之所以重要，是因为人们还没有完全了解冰川-间冰期转变的机制，而且最近的研究表明，冰盖对全球变暖可能非常敏感。这项工作的广泛影响将是改善对海平面上升和冰盖融化的其他潜在严重社会经济影响的预测。格陵兰冰盖的融化可能会使全球海平面上升7米。西南极冰盖的融化可能会额外增加5米。数以亿计的人生活在海平面几米以内。社区气候系统模式(CCSM)将与冰盖模式相结合，在美国和世界各地的许多大学和实验室使用。气候变化科学委员会是IPCC评估报告的主要贡献者，该报告提供了关于气候变化科学和影响的国际共识。

This award supports research to couple a state-of-the-art ice sheet model to the Community Climate System Model (CCSM), thus allowing for century- and millennial-scale simulations of ice sheet growth and decay and of the resulting feedbacks on climate and the carbon cycle. Instead of prescribing ice sheet elevation and extent, greenhouse- warming simulations will include the effects of ice sheet melting on climate and sea level. Also, modelers will be able to run long-term simulations of major paleoclimate events such as the retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet. This work is important because mechanisms of glacial-interglacial transitions are not fully understood, and because recent research suggests that ice sheets could be highly sensitive to global warming. The broad impact of this work will be to improve predictions of sea level rise and other potentially severe socioeconomic effects of ice sheet melting. Melting of the Greenland ice sheet could raise global sea level by up to 7 meters. Melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet could contribute an additional 5 meters. Hundreds of millions of people live within a few meters of sea level. The Community Climate System Model (CCSM), to which the ice sheet model will be coupled, is used at numerous universities and laboratories in the United States and around the world. CCSM is a leading contributor to the IPCC assessment reports that provide an international consensus on climate change science and impacts.