Warm mid-Pliocene conditions without high climate sensitivity: the CCSM4-Utrecht (CESM 1.0.5) contribution to the PlioMIP2

Baatsen, Michiel L. J.; von der Heydt, Anna S.; Kliphuis, Michael A.; Oldeman, Arthur M.; Weiffenbach, Julia E.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-657-2022

Articles | Volume 18, issue 4

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-657-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

PlioMIP Phase 2: experimental design, implementation and scientific...

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-657-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 18, issue 4

Research article

|

06 Apr 2022

Research article |

| 06 Apr 2022

Warm mid-Pliocene conditions without high climate sensitivity: the CCSM4-Utrecht (CESM 1.0.5) contribution to the PlioMIP2

Michiel L. J. Baatsen, Anna S. von der Heydt, Michael A. Kliphuis, Arthur M. Oldeman, and Julia E. Weiffenbach

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-657-2022-supplement

Data sets

The Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 2: large-scale climate features and climate sensitivity (https://esgf-node.llnl.gov/search/cmip6/) Alan M. Haywood, Julia C. Tindall, Harry J. Dowsett, Aisling M. Dolan, Kevin M. Foley, Stephen J. Hunter, Daniel J. Hill, Wing-Le Chan, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Christian Stepanek, Gerrit Lohmann, Deepak Chandan, W. Richard Peltier, Ning Tan, Camille Contoux, Gilles Ramstein, Xiangyu Li, Zhongshi Zhang, Chuncheng Guo, Kerim H. Nisancioglu, Qiong Zhang, Qiang Li, Youichi Kamae, Mark A. Chandler, Linda E. Sohl, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, Ran Feng, Esther C. Brady, Anna S. von der Heydt, Michiel L. J. Baatsen, and Daniel J. Lunt https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2095-2020

Short summary

The Pliocene was a period during which atmospheric CO₂ was similar to today (i.e. ~ 400 ppm). We present the results of model simulations carried out within the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 2 (PlioMIP2) using the CESM 1.0.5. We find a climate that is much warmer than today, with augmented polar warming, increased precipitation, and strongly reduced sea ice cover. In addition, several leading modes of variability in temperature show an altered behaviour.