Simulated pre-industrial climate in Bergen Climate Model (version 2): model description and large-scale circulation features

The Bergen Climate Model (BCM) is a fully-coupled atmosphere-ocean-sea-ice model that provides state-of-the-art computer simulations of the Earth's past, present, and future climate. Here, a pre-industrial multi-century simulation with an updated version of BCM is described and compared to observational data. The model is run without any form of flux adjustments and is stable for several centuries. The simulated climate reproduces the general large-scale circulation in the atmosphere reasonably well, except for a positive bias in the high latitude sea level pressure distribution. Also, by introducing an updated turbulence scheme in the atmosphere model a persistent cold bias has been eliminated. For the ocean part, the model drifts in sea surface temperatures and salinities are considerably reduced compared to earlier versions of BCM. Improved conservation properties in the ocean model have contributed to this. Furthermore, by choosing a reference pressure at 2000 m and including thermobaric effects in the ocean model, a more realistic meridional overturning circulation is simulated in the Atlantic Ocean. The simulated sea-ice extent in the Northern Hemisphere is in general agreement with observational data except for summer where the extent is somewhat underestimated. In the Southern Hemisphere, large negative biases are found in the simulated sea-ice extent. This is partly related to problems with the mixed layer parametrization, causing the mixed layer in the Southern Ocean to be too deep, which in turn makes it hard to maintain a realistic sea-ice cover here. However, despite some problematic issues, the pre-industrial control simulation presented here should still be appropriate for climate change studies requiring multi-century simulations

Terrestrial processes affecting unlithified coastal erosion disparities in central fjords of Svalbard

Terrestrial influences of coastal cliff morphology and hydrological impact on coastal erosion in unlithified cliff sediments in the inner fjords of Svalbard are assessed. Differential global positioning system measurements have been taken annually over the past two to four years at four field sites in central Svalbard. Measurements were combined with aerial imagery using ArcGIS and the Digital Shoreline Analysis System to calculate rates of erosion in varying geomorphological cliff types. A total of 750 m of coast was divided into two main cliff types: ice-poor and ice-rich tundra cliffs and further divided based on their sediment depositional character and processes currently acting upon sediments. The results show that the most consistent erosion rates occur in the ice-poor cliffs (0.34 m/yr), whereas the most irregular and highest rates occur in ice-rich cliffs (0.47 m/yr). Throughout the study, no waves were observed to reach cliff toes, and therefore erosion rates are considered to reflect an effect of terrestrial processes, rather than wave action. Terrestrial hydrological processes are the driving factors for cliff erosion through winter precipitation for ice-poor cliffs and summer precipitation for ice-rich cliffs. Sediment removal from the base of the cliffs appears to be mainly conducted by sea ice and the ice foot during break up as waves did not reach the base of the studied cliffs during the observed period