Mitali Gautam / Earth & Environmental Sciences / Faculty Mentor: Arne Winguth
Simulating intervals such as the Permian Triassic Mass Extinction that are potentially exacerbated by climate system feedbacks is crucial for validating future climate predictions under heightened greenhouse gas levels, during transitions to hothouse conditions. Here, we develop and prescribe boundary conditions consistent with the reconstructed topography at 1ºx1º resolution for the CESM1.3 model for model intercomparison projects. Sensitivity experiments forced with these boundary conditions and various CO2 levels, relative to present-atmospheric levels of 280 ppmv, and aerosol loadings (using BAM) can resolve the competing effects of greenhouse warming and aerosol-induced increases in cloud-optical thickness and cooling. In this study we aim to derive the estimates for the global mean surface temperature (GMST) from the most recent, high-resolution datasets for selective locations of interest for synthesis with the GMSTs derived from the modeled data to quantify the climate sensitivity. Such synthesis can provide valuable insights into how Earth’s climate responded to extreme warming events in the past and how it might respond under similar conditions in the future as well as bridging the gap for quantifying climate feedbacks leading to the largest biotic crisis in the geologic past.
Leave a Reply