SeaRISE experiments revisited: potential sources of spread in multi-model projections of the Greenland ice sheet
The present paper revisits the future surface-climate experiments on the Greenland ice sheet proposed by the Sea-level Response to Ice Sheet Evolution (SeaRISE; Bindschadler et al., 2013) study. The projections of the different SeaRISE participants show dispersion, which has not been examined in det...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2016-01-01
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| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | http://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/43/2016/tc-10-43-2016.pdf |
| Summary: | The present paper revisits the future surface-climate experiments on the
Greenland ice sheet proposed by the Sea-level Response to Ice Sheet Evolution
(SeaRISE; Bindschadler et al., 2013) study. The projections of the different
SeaRISE participants show dispersion, which has not been examined in detail
to date. A series of sensitivity experiments are conducted and analyzed using
the ice-sheet model for integrated Earth-system studies (IcIES) by
replacing one or more formulations of the model parameters with those adopted
in other model(s). The results show that large potential sources of the
dispersion among the projections of the different SeaRISE participants are
differences in the initialization methods and in the surface mass balance
methods, and both aspects have almost equal impact on the results. The
treatment of ice-sheet margins in the simulation has a secondary impact on
the dispersion. We conclude that spinning up the model using fixed topography
through the spin-up period while the temperature is allowed to evolve
according to the surface temperature history is the preferred representation,
at least for the experiment configuration examined in the present paper. A
benchmark model experimental setup that most of the numerical models can
perform is proposed for future intercomparison projects, in order to evaluate
the uncertainties relating to pure ice-sheet model flow characteristics. |
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| ISSN: | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |