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CliC (NEG)
Climate and Cryosphere
Recent, current and planned activities
Aike Beckmann
11.11.2005
I. RECENT ACTIVTIES
 global climate studies with coupled ice-ocean models
 elements of interannual and interdecadal variability:
ACWs, SAM, Antarctic Dipole, Weddell Polynya
(AWI, UCL, NYU, TAMU)
 climate change scenarios (coupled AIO)
(UCL)
 role of cryospheric components in Southern Ocean:
- sea ice (AWI)
- ice shelves (ISOMIP)
- icebergs (BAS, AWI, more needed)
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I. RECENT ACTIVTIES cont’d
 cryospheric processes and phenomena
 parameterization of vertical mixing beneath sea ice
(TAMU, AWI)
 ice shelf-ocean interaction parameterization
(AWI, UoH)
 sensitivity of sea ice-ocean system to the hydrological
cycle (ice shelf melting, precipitation) (Jap)
 dynamical and thermodynamical effects of tides on sea
ice (needed)
 coupled A-I-O simulations of (coastal) polynyas
(more needed, two-component studies exist: I-O:
AWI, MPI, CSIRO; A-I: Aus)
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I. RECENT ACTIVTIES cont’d
 interdisciplinary, model development, etc.
 tracer (CFCs, Helium, Tritium, Neon) studies: (AWI)
 biology and biogeochemical cycles: (AWI; plans at
UCL/ULB, ODU)
 ice model development: (UCL, UoH)
 paleo experiments A-I-O: (plans at UCL)
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II. CURRENT ACTIVITIES
 Sponsoring of AOMIP
 Sponsoring of SIMIP2
 Coordination for IPY
 to determine the present environmental status of the
polar regions by quantifying their spatial and temporal
variability
 to quantify, and understand, past and present natural
and anthropogenic change in the polar regions, in order
to improve predictions
 to advance our understanding of polar-global
teleconnections, and of the processes controlling these
interactions
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III: PLANNED ACTIVITIES
 IMPLEMENTATION OF CliC PROJECT AREAS (CPA)
 CPA1: The terrestrial cryosphere and hydrometeorology
of cold regions
 CPA2: Glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets, and their
relation to sea level
 CPA3: The marine cryosphere and its interactions
with high latitude oceans and atmosphere
 CPA4: Links between the cryosphere and global
climate
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CPA3:
The marine cryosphere and its interactions
with high latitude oceans and atmosphere
What will be the nature of changes in sea-ice distribution and
mass balance in both polar regions in response to climate
change and variability?
 Observational data sets and re-analyses of oceanographic and
sea-ice quantities
 Reduced uncertainties regarding past variability and trends in
sea-ice coverage
 Improved understanding of water mass transformation in
polar regions
 Improved model predictions of future changes to sea-ice
cover in both hemispheres
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CPA4:
Links between the cryosphere and global
climate
What is the impact of changes in the cryosphere on the oceanic and
atmospheric circulation? What is the likelihood of abrupt climate
changes resulting from regime changes in the cryosphere?
 Improved regional and global models of high latitude
climate
 Improved knowledge of cryosphere-related feedbacks to
the rest of the climate system
 Understanding of the cryospheric processes that underlie
global tele-connectivity in climate
 Better knowledge of abrupt climate changes associated
with impacts of the cryosphere on the rest of the global
climate system
 Clearer view on the role of cryosphere in global water,
energy and carbon cycles
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APPENDIX: ICED
ICED brings together climatologists, oceanographers,
biogeochemists, ecosystem and fisheries scientists to
generate unique Antarctic circumpolar databases and models
ICED is a natural descendant of recent global programmes with a
Southern Ocean dimension:
 the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS), which
focused on the carbon cycle;
 GLOBEC,
 the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE);
 a number of programmes of CCAMLR; and
 the completed Biological Investigations of Marine
Antarctic Systems and Stocks (BIOMASS) programme.
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APPENDIX: ICED
ICED addresses three globally important questions:
 how do climate processes affect the dynamics of
circumpolar ecosystems?
 how does ecosystem structure affect circumpolar ocean
biogeochemical cycles?
 how should ecosystem structure and dynamics be
included in the development of sustainable approaches to
managing exploitation?
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The End
 Thank you.
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