A Collaborative Effort Toward Adding an Interactive Dynamical Vegetation Component to the NCAR Community Climate System Model (CCSM) Land Model

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of this study is to improve the capability of the Community Climate System Model (CCSM) by helping to develop and implement a dynamic vegetation component into the CCSM land model. The present land model, while providing detailed information of water, heat, momentum, and carbon dioxide (CO2) exchanges between land/atmosphere, uses a prescribed vegetation structure and coverage and thus cannot assess important feedbacks between vegetation and climate. A dynamic vegetation model, whose vegetation structure and coverage is most compatible with the land model prescription, has been chosen to integrate into the CCSM land model. Major-coupled experiments will consist of a pre-industrial model run, enhanced CO2 experiments, and a paleo-simulation of the mid-Holocene (6000 years ago). The work is important because it will increase our understanding of vegetation-climate interactions, on both paleo and shorter time-scales.