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Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., 5, 837-871, 2012
www.geosci-model-dev-discuss.net/5/837/2012/ doi:10.5194/gmdd-5-837-2012 © Author(s) 2012. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. |
Mid-Pliocene climate modelled using the UK Hadley Centre Model: PlioMIP Experiments 1 and 2
1BRIDGE, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK
2School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
Abstract. The Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP) project is a sub-project of the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) whose objective is to compare predictions of the mid-Pliocene climate from the widest possible range of general circulation models. The mid-Pliocene (3.3–3.0 Ma) is the most recent sustained period of greater warmth and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration than the pre-industrial times and as such has potential to inform predictions of our warming climate in the coming century. This paper describes the UK contribution to PlioMIP using the Hadley Centre Model both in atmosphere-only mode (HadAM3, PlioMIP Experiment 1) and atmosphere-ocean coupled mode (HadCM3, PlioMIP Experiment 2). The coupled model predicts a greater overall warming (3.3 °C) relative to the control than the atmosphere-only (2.5 °C). The Northern Hemisphere latitudinal temperature gradient is greater in the coupled model with a warmer equator and colder Arctic than the atmosphere-only model, which is constrained by sea surface temperatures from Pliocene proxy reconstructions. The atmosphere-only model predicts a reduction in equatorial precipitation and south Asian monsoon intensity whereas the coupled models shows and increase in the intensity of these systems. Sensitivity studies using alternative boundary conditions for both the Pliocene and the control simulations are presented, which indicate the sensitivity of the mid-Pliocene warming to uncertainties in both pre-industrial and mid-Pliocene climate.
Citation: Bragg, F. J., Lunt, D. J., and Haywood, A. M.: Mid-Pliocene climate modelled using the UK Hadley Centre Model: PlioMIP Experiments 1 and 2, Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., 5, 837-871, doi:10.5194/gmdd-5-837-2012, 2012.