Abstract
Abstract. The mid-Pliocene Warm Period (3.29 to 2.97 Ma BP) has been identified as an analogue for the future, with the potential to help understand climate processes in a warmer than modern world. Sets of climate proxies, combined to provide boundary conditions for Global Climate Model (GCM) simulations of the mid-Pliocene, form the basis for the international, data-driven Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP). Here, we outline the strategy for implementing pre-industrial (modern) and mid-Pliocene forcings and boundary conditions into the GENESIS version 3 GCM, as part of PlioMIP. We describe the prescription of greenhouse gas concentrations and orbital parameters and the implementation of geographic boundary conditions such as land-ice-sea distribution, topography, sea surface temperatures, sea ice extent, vegetation, soils, and ice sheets. We further describe model-specific details including spin-up and integration times. In addition, the global climatology of the mid-Pliocene as simulated by the GENESIS v3 GCM is analyzed and compared to the pre-industrial control simulation. The simulated climate of the mid-Pliocene warm interval is found to differ considerably from pre-industrial. We identify model sensitivity to imposed forcings, and internal feedbacks that collectively affect both local and far-field responses. Our analysis points out the need to assess both the direct impacts of external forcings and the combined effects of indirect, internal feedbacks. This paper provides the basis for assessing model biases within the PlioMIP framework, and will be useful for comparisons with other studies of mid-Pliocene climates.
Highlights
The mid-Piacenzian or mid-Pliocene Warm Period (3.29 to 2.97 Ma BP, hereafter Pliocene), had global mean surface temperatures in the range of those projected for the end of the 21st century
Basic climatological parameters are analyzed to describe the general mid-Pliocene climatology simulated by the GENESIS v3 Global Climate Model (GCM) in response to forcings and boundary conditions described above
At mid and high latitudes, the North Atlantic/ Arctic Oscillation (NAO/AO) pattern is affected by a smaller Pliocene Greenland Ice Sheet and the combined feedbacks associated with sea-surface temperatures (SST) and sea ice in the Arctic
Summary
The mid-Piacenzian or mid-Pliocene Warm Period (3.29 to 2.97 Ma BP, hereafter Pliocene), had global mean surface temperatures in the range of those projected for the end of the 21st century. Planned analyses focus on the intercomparison of two experiments using atmosphereonly (Experiment 1) and coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Circulation Models (Experiment 2) Both mid-Pliocene experiments are compared to a pre-industrial control run to quantify climate change and to identify biases. We present the implementation of boundary conditions and experimental design of Experiment 1 of PlioMIP, using the atmospheric and land components of the GENESIS v3 GCM following the strategy presented in Haywood et al (2010). This detailed documentation will prove valuable for further PlioMIP planned intercomparisons, and will help to better assess model-specific biases. In addition to the implementation of boundary conditions, basic results of surface air temperatures, precipitation rates and energy balance are analyzed, along with differences between simulations of pre-industrial climate and the mid-Pliocene warm period
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
