Transient Climate Evolution of the last 21,000 years (TraCE-21): Understanding Deglacial Climate Changes using CCSM

该项目的总体目标是利用国家大气研究中心(NCAR)社区气候系统模式(CCSM)完成一套同步耦合的大气环流模式(GCM)，模拟过去21,000年的瞬变气候演变。研究人员有两个主要的科学目标。首先，他们建议探索过去21,000年来气候变化的强迫机制，特别强调最后一次冰川消融期间的突然事件。其次，他们建议测试CCSM和代理记录对于瞬变气候响应和突发气候事件的保真度。该项目有两个指导性的科学问题：1)气候系统如何对短暂的气候强迫做出反应，以及个体强迫作用(如日照、大气温室气体、大陆冰盖和融水)的贡献是什么？2)大西洋温盐-气候系统和热带季风-生态系统突然变化的机制是什么？主要的更广泛的影响包括为更广泛的科学界提供关于气候重建的潜在新视角，并为博士后学者和研究生提供强大的专业和教育经验。

This general goal of the project is to complete a set of synchronously coupled general circulation model (GCM) simulations of transient climate evolution of the last 21,000 years using the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Climate System Model (CCSM). The researchers have two primary science aims. First, they propose to explore the forcing mechanisms of the climate change over the past 21,000 years with particular emphasis on abrupt events during the last deglaciation. Second, they propose to test the fidelity of the CCSM and proxy records against each other for transient climate responses and abrupt climate events. The project has two guiding science questions: 1) How does the climate system respond to transient climate forcings, and what is the contribution from individual forcing functions such as insolation, atmospheric greenhouse gases, continental ice sheets and meltwater? and 2) What are the mechanisms of the abrupt changes in the Atlantic thermohaline-climate system and the tropical monsoon-ecosystem?The primary broader impacts involve providing the wider science community with a potentially new perspective on climate reconstructions and providing a strong professional and educational expereince for a post doctoral scholar and a graduate student.