Transcript Teaching Paleoclimate and Future Climate to

Teaching Paleoclimate and Future Climate
to Undergraduates Through EdGCM
Linda Sohl
Columbia University and
NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
EdGCM:
Educational Global Climate Model
http://edgcm.columbia.edu
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
WHAT is a GCM and
WHY use one in the classroom?
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
Cartesian Grid General Circulation Models
(Henderson-Sellers, 1985)
(Hansen et al., 1983)
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
Snowball_sim2.R Model II 8/24/2000
Owner: Dr. Mark Chandler, [email protected]
Group: Paleoclimate Group
This experiment simulates a time period approximately 600 million years ago. There is evidence that a “super” ice age occurred that
effected even tropical continents. Did the Earth freeze over entirely???
Object modules:
MainC9
DiagC9
RadC9
FFTC9
UTILC9
Data input files:
7=G8X10_600Ma
9=NOV1910.rsf_snowball
15=O8X10_600Ma
17=
25=Modern_OceanTransports
19=CD8X10_600Ma
23=V8X10_600Ma
26=Z8X101_600Ma
21=RTAU.G25L15
22=RPLK25
29=Snowball_Earth_Regions
From here…
Label and Namelist:
Snowball_sim2 (Snowball Earth Experiment: 600 million years ago)
&INPUTZ
TAUI=10176.,IYEAR=1900,
KOCEAN=1, SRCOR=.95485638151,
S0X=1.,CO2=.31746031746031,
USET=0.,TAUE=35040.,
USESLP=-12.,
ISTART=3,KCOPY=2,NDPRNT=-1,TAUE=10177.,TAUP=95616.,
&END
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
… to here
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
Objectives
1)
Allow teachers to run a NASA global climate model
on a desktop computer, encouraging students to
participate in the full scientific process including:
experiment design, running simulations, analyzing
data and reporting results.
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
Objectives
1)
Allow teachers to run a NASA global climate model
on a desktop computer, encouraging students to
participate in the full scientific process including:
experiment design, running simulations, analyzing
data and reporting results.
2)
Students come away with a deeper appreciation of
the climate science, and are better equipped to
evaluate conflicting perspectives on climate
change as presented by the media.
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
Using EdGCM in the Classroom
• Can be used for a range of activities from lab exercises
to full-semester projects
• Modular approach makes it possible to emphasize key
aspects of models and/or the modeling process
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
How to Teach About Paleoclimate and
Future Climate In Two (Easy) Labs
EdGCM labs are linked to lectures on
 Paleoclimate proxies and climate reconstruction
from the geologic record
 IPCC projections for future climate change
Emphasis is on understanding what models can and cannot do,
and how their performance is validated
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
Lab 1 - Paleoclimate Simulations
LGM and Mid-Pliocene Warm Interval
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Students are introduced to the main components
of EdGCM: Setup Simulations, Analyze Output,
Scientific Visualization
Paleoclimate simulations are qualitatively
assessed against climate reconstructions based
on proxy data
Comparisons of paleoclimate output with a
modern “control run” establish a sense of natural
climate variability
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
Last Glacial Maximum
temperature anomalies
Mid-Pliocene Warm Interval
temperature anomalies
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
Lab 2 - Future Climate Simulations
Global Warming Scenarios
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Students compare the outcome of scenarios with
gradually increasing CO2, instantaneous
doubling of CO2, and a scenario of their own
design
Comparison of these results with paleoclimate
simulations conveys the magnitude of anthropogenic forcing vs. natural climate variability
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
Take-Away Points
• Models are imperfect representations of the
world, BUT
• Overall consistency of model output with proxy
data and between models (ensemble runs)
demonstrates that we are on the right track!
• Models therefore have the capability to provide
useful insights for both past and future climates
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008
Acknowledgments
Colleagues at Columbia /
The EdGCM Project
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Mark Chandler
Ken Mankoff
Steven Richards
Support provided by NASA’s
Earth Science programs and the
NSF Paleoclimate Program
SERC New Tools Workshop,
February 2008