Metrics for the Evaluation of the Southern Ocean in Coupled Climate Models and Earth System Models
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Russell_et_al-2018-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research%3A_Oceans.pdf
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2.61 MB
Format
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Author(s)
Russell, Joellen L.
Kamenkovich, Igor
Bitz, Cecilia
Gille, Sarah T.
Goodman, Paul J.
Hallberg, Robert
Johnson, Kenneth
Khazmutdinova, Karina
Marinov, Irina
Mazloff, Matthew
Date Issued
May 2018
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Citation
Russell, Joellen L., Igor Kamenkovich, Cecilia Bitz, Raffaele Ferrari, Sarah T. Gille, Paul J. Goodman, Robert Hallberg, et al. “Metrics for the Evaluation of the Southern Ocean in Coupled Climate Models and Earth System Models.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 123, 5 (May 2018): 3120–3143 © 2018 American Geophysical Union
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The Southern Ocean is central to the global climate and the global carbon cycle, and to the climate's response to increasing levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases, as it ventilates a large fraction of the global ocean volume. Global coupled climate models and earth system models, however, vary widely in their simulations of the Southern Ocean and its role in, and response to, the ongoing anthropogenic trend. Due to the region's complex water-mass structure and dynamics, Southern Ocean carbon and heat uptake depend on a combination of winds, eddies, mixing, buoyancy fluxes, and topography. Observationally based metrics are critical for discerning processes and mechanisms, and for validating and comparing climate and earth system models. New observations and understanding have allowed for progress in the creation of observationally based data/model metrics for the Southern Ocean. Metrics presented here provide a means to assess multiple simulations relative to the best available observations and observational products. Climate models that perform better according to these metrics also better simulate the uptake of heat and carbon by the Southern Ocean. This report is not strictly an intercomparison, but rather a distillation of key metrics that can reliably quantify the "accuracy" of a simulation against observed, or at least observable, quantities. One overall goal is to recommend standardization of observationally based benchmarks that the modeling community should aspire to meet in order to reduce uncertainties in climate projections, and especially uncertainties related to oceanic heat and carbon uptake.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC013461
