CAREER: Simulating, Understanding, and Quantifying Albedo Feedback

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

Research under this CAREER award will elucidate the role of surface albedo feedback in climate variability and sensitivity. The following outstanding issues will be addressed (i) What does our current knowledge of snow and ice albedo imply about climate sensitivity? (ii) Do snow and sea ice albedo feedback behave differently? (iii) How does albedo feedback impact the geographical and seasonal distribution of the climate change signal? (iv) Do models need albedo feedback to simulate the observed distribution of the climate change signal? (v) What is the impact of albedo feedback on internal variability? (vi) Is it possible to extract information about albedo feedback contribution to the real climate's sensitivity to a future external forcing based on the observed record of climate variability? The PI will perform a series of sensitivity experiments with the UCLA General Circulation Mode and Community Climate System Model (CCSM) to answer the above questions. For the integration of education, the PI will introduce undergraduate students at Harvey Mudd and Biklent Univ. Ankara Turkey, to projects related to the climate change experiments. Graduate students will be involved in evaluating the climate change simulations in a graduate course the PI will be teaching. This research is important because it will improve knowledge about processes important to issues of climate change and will help educate future scientists.