The CMIP6 Sea-Ice Model Intercomparison Project (SIMIP): understanding sea ice through climate-model simulations
A better understanding of the role of sea ice for the changing climate of our planet is the central aim of the diagnostic Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6)-endorsed Sea-Ice Model Intercomparison Project (SIMIP). To reach this aim, SIMIP requests sea-ice-related variables from climate-m...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2016-09-01
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| Series: | Geoscientific Model Development |
| Online Access: | http://www.geosci-model-dev.net/9/3427/2016/gmd-9-3427-2016.pdf |
| Summary: | A better understanding of the role of sea ice for the changing climate of our
planet is the central aim of the diagnostic Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6
(CMIP6)-endorsed Sea-Ice Model Intercomparison Project (SIMIP). To reach this aim, SIMIP requests sea-ice-related variables from climate-model simulations that allow for a better
understanding and, ultimately, improvement of biases and errors in sea-ice
simulations with large-scale climate models. This then allows us to better
understand to what degree CMIP6 model simulations relate to reality, thus
improving our confidence in answering sea-ice-related questions based on
these simulations. Furthermore, the SIMIP protocol provides a standard for
sea-ice model output that will streamline and hence simplify the analysis of
the simulated sea-ice evolution in research projects independent of CMIP. To
reach its aims, SIMIP provides a structured list of model output that allows
for
an examination of the three main budgets that govern the evolution of sea
ice, namely the heat budget, the momentum budget, and the mass budget. In this
contribution, we explain the aims of SIMIP in more detail and outline how its
design allows us to answer some of the most pressing questions that sea ice
still poses to the international climate-research community. |
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| ISSN: | 1991-959X 1991-9603 |