Abstracts
SEARCH Open Science Meeting
October 27, 2003
Seattle, Washington, USA
Simulated Changes in the North Atlantic Climate in an Ensemble of CO2 Increase Experiments with the Bergen Climate Model
Asgeir Sorteberg1, Tore Furevik2, Nils Gunnar Kvamsto3, Helge Drange4
1Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Beregen, Allegaten 70, Bergen, 5007, Norway, Phone 475-558-2693, Fax 475-558-9883, asgeir.sorteberg@gfi.uib.no
2Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, Allegaten 70, Bergen, 5007, Norway, Phone 475-558-2691, Fax 475-558-9883
3Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, Allegaten 70, Bergen, 5007, Norway, nilsg@gfi.uib.no
4Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Edv. Griegs vei 3, Bergen, 5059, Norway, Phone 475-520-5800, Fax 475-520-0050, helge.drange@nersc.no
A coupled global Climate Model (Bergen Climate Model) has been applied to perform a 5-member ensemble of 1% per year CO2 increase experiments. Initial conditions have been taken from 300-years control integration with the BCM. Each experiment has been initialized at different strengths of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and integrated for 80 years until doubling of CO2 was reached.
The response of the Arctic to increased CO2 showed a large spread with the difference related to the initial state and the fate of the AMOC. The differences were especially pronounced for wintertime where the simulations starting with low AMOC gave higher Arctic temperature and precipitation changes (approx. 30-40% increase in change during wintertime). The increased warming in the low initial AMOC state simulations seems related to the additive effect of a small reduction in the AMOC which maintain the oceanic energy transport into the Arctic and the warming due to increased CO2.
The results emphasize the role of the initial state and fate of the AMOC in modelled Arctic response to increased greenhouse gases and might provide helpful in determining the uncertainties in climate change simulations related to oceanic energy transport and the feedback of the changes in oceanic energy transport on the atmospheric energy transport.
Abstract Categories: Changes in the Atmosphere
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