88 research outputs found
Spatial distribution of dust's optical properties over the Sahara and Asia inferred from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
There is great uncertainty regarding the role of
mineral dust aerosols in Earthâs climate system. One reason
for this uncertainty is that the optical properties of mineral
dust, such as its single scattering albedo (the ratio of
scattering to total extinction), are poorly constrained because
ground observations are limited to a few locations and satellite
standard products are not available due to the excessively
bright surface of the desert in the visible wavelength, which
makes robust retrievals difficult. Here, we develop a method
to estimate the spatial distributions of the aerosol single scattering
albedo (Ï0) and optical depth (Ïa), with daily 1⊠à 1
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spatial resolution using data from the Moderate Resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) as well as model simulations
of radiative transfer. This approach is based on the
âcritical surface reflectanceâ method developed in the literature,
which estimates Ï0 from the top of the atmospheric
radiance. We estimate the uncertainties in Ï0 over the Sahara
(Asia) to be approximately 0.020 and 0.010 (0.023 and
0.017) for bands 9 and 1, respectively, while the uncertainty
in Ïa is approximately 0.235 and 0.228 (0.464 and 0.370)
for bands 9 and 1, respectively. The 5â95 % range of the
spatial distribution of Ï0 over the Sahara (Asia) is approximately
0.90â0.94 and 0.96â0.99 (0.87â0.94 and 0.89â0.97)
for bands 9 and 1, respectively, and that of Ïa over the Sahara
(Asia) is approximately 0.8â1.4 and 0.8â1.7 (0.7â2.0
and 0.7â1.9) for bands 9 and 1, respectively. The results for
the Sahara indicate a good correlation between Ï0 and the
surface reflectance, and between Ï0 and Ïa. However, the relationships
between Ï0, Ïa, and surface reflectance are less
clear in Asia than in the Sahara, and the Ï0 values are smaller
than those in the Sahara. The regions with small Ï0 values
are consistent with the regions where coal-burning smoke
and carbonaceous aerosols are reported to be transported in
previous studies. Because the coal-burning and carbonaceous
aerosols are known to be more absorptive and have smaller
Ï0 values than dust aerosols, our results indicate that the dust
aerosols in Asia are contaminated by these anthropogenic
aerosols. The spatial distribution of dust optical properties
obtained in our work could be useful in understanding the
role of dust aerosols in Earthâs climate system, most likely
through future collaboration with regional and global modelling
studies.The authors are grateful to the Open
CLASTER project for allowing us to use the RSTAR package for
this research. We would like to thank the AERONET project and its
staff for establishing and maintaining the Tamanrasset, Agoufou,
Banizoumbou and Saada sites considered in this investigation.
We would also like to thank the SKYNET project and its staff
for establishing and maintaining the Dunhuang site. Finally,
we appreciate the valuable discussions and support provided
by Ben Johnson, Satoru Fukuda, Yosuke Sato, Eiji Oikawa,
Makiko Hashimoto, Yasushi Mitomi and Matthew Collins. One
of the authors was supported by projects by JAXA/EarthCARE
and GCOM/C, MEXT/VL for Climate System Diagnostics,
MOE/Global Environment Research Fund A-1101, NIES/GOSAT,
and MEXT/RECCA/SALSA
Decomposing uncertainties in the future terrestrial carbon budget associated with emission scenarios, climate projections, and ecosystem simulations using the ISI-MIP results
We examined the changes to global net primary production (NPP), vegetation biomass carbon (VegC), and soil organic carbon (SOC) estimated by six global vegetation models (GVMs) obtained from the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project. Simulation results were obtained using five global climate models (GCMs) forced with four representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios. To clarify which component (i.e., emission scenarios, climate projections, or global vegetation models) contributes the most to uncertainties in projected global terrestrial C cycling by 2100, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and wavelet clustering were applied to 70 projected simulation sets. At the end of the simulation period, changes from the year 2000 in all three variables varied considerably from net negative to positive values. ANOVA revealed that the main sources of uncertainty are different among variables and depend on the projection period. We determined that in the global VegC and SOC projections, GVMs are the main influence on uncertainties (60 % and 90 %, respectively) rather than climate-driving scenarios (RCPs and GCMs). Moreover, the divergence of changes in vegetation carbon residence times is dominated by GVM uncertainty, particularly in the latter half of the 21st century. In addition, we found that the contribution of each uncertainty source is spatiotemporally heterogeneous and it differs among the GVM variables. The dominant uncertainty source for changes in NPP and VegC varies along the climatic gradient. The contribution of GVM to the uncertainty decreases as the climate division becomes cooler (from ca. 80 % in the equatorial division to 40 % in the snow division). Our results suggest that to assess climate change impacts on global ecosystem C cycling among each RCP scenario, the long-term C dynamics within the ecosystems (i.e., vegetation turnover and soil decomposition) are more critical factors than photosynthetic processes. The different trends in the contribution of uncertainty sources in each variable among climate divisions indicate that improvement of GVMs based on climate division or biome type will be effective. On the other hand, in dry regions, GCMs are the dominant uncertainty source in climate impact assessments of vegetation and soil C dynamics
Impact of bioenergy crop expansion on climateâcarbon cycle feedbacks in overshoot scenarios
Stringent mitigation pathways frame the deployment of second-generation bioenergy crops combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS) to generate negative CO2 emissions. This bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) technology facilitates the achievement of the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. Here, we use five state-of-the-art Earth system models (ESMs) to explore the consequences of large-scale BECCS deployment on the climateâcarbon cycle feedbacks under the CMIP6 SSP5-3.4-OS overshoot scenario keeping in mind that all these models use generic crop vegetation to simulate BECCS. First, we evaluate the land cover representation by ESMs and highlight the inconsistencies that emerge during translation of the data from integrated assessment models (IAMs) that are used to develop the scenario. Second, we evaluate the land-use change (LUC) emissions of ESMs against bookkeeping models. Finally, we show that an extensive cropland expansion for BECCS causes ecosystem carbon loss that drives the acceleration of carbon turnover and affects the CO2 fertilization effect- and climate-change-driven land carbon uptake. Over the 2000â2100 period, the LUC for BECCS leads to an offset of the CO2 fertilization effect-driven carbon uptake by 12.2â% and amplifies the climate-change-driven carbon loss by 14.6â%. A human choice on land area allocation for energy crops should take into account not only the potential amount of the bioenergy yield but also the LUC emissions, and the associated loss of future potential change in the carbon uptake. The dependency of the land carbon uptake on LUC is strong in the SSP5-3.4-OS scenario, but it also affects other Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) scenarios and should be taken into account by the IAM teams. Future studies should further investigate the trade-offs between the carbon gains from the bioenergy yield and losses from the reduced CO2 fertilization effect-driven carbon uptake where BECCS is applied
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Quantifying uncertainties in soil carbon responses to changes in global mean temperature and precipitation
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest carbon pool in terrestrial ecosystems and may play a key role in biospheric feedbacks with elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in a warmer future world. We examined the simulation results of seven terrestrial biome models when forced with climate projections from four representative-concentration-pathways (RCPs)-based atmospheric concentration scenarios. The goal was to specify calculated uncertainty in global SOC stock projections from global and regional perspectives and give insight to the improvement of SOC-relevant processes in biome models. SOC stocks among the biome models varied from 1090 to 2650 Pg C even in historical periods (ca. 2000). In a higher forcing scenario (i.e., RCP8.5), inconsistent estimates of impact on the total SOC (2099â2000) were obtained from different biome model simulations, ranging from a net sink of 347 Pg C to a net source of 122 Pg C. In all models, the increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration in the RCP8.5 scenario considerably contributed to carbon accumulation in SOC. However, magnitudes varied from 93 to 264 Pg C by the end of the 21st century across biome models. Using the time-series data of total global SOC simulated by each biome model, we analyzed the sensitivity of the global SOC stock to global mean temperature and global precipitation anomalies (ÎT and ÎP respectively) in each biome model using a state-space model. This analysis suggests that ÎT explained global SOC stock changes in most models with a resolution of 1â2 °C, and the magnitude of global SOC decomposition from a 2 °C rise ranged from almost 0 to 3.53 Pg C yrâ1 among the biome models. However, ÎP had a negligible impact on change in the global SOC changes. Spatial heterogeneity was evident and inconsistent among the biome models, especially in boreal to arctic regions. Our study reveals considerable climate uncertainty in SOC decomposition responses to climate and CO2 change among biome models. Further research is required to improve our ability to estimate biospheric feedbacks through both SOC-relevant and vegetation-relevant processes
Using the past to constrain the future: how the palaeorecord can improve estimates of global warming
Climate sensitivity is defined as the change in global mean equilibrium
temperature after a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration and provides a
simple measure of global warming. An early estimate of climate sensitivity,
1.5-4.5{\deg}C, has changed little subsequently, including the latest
assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The persistence of such large uncertainties in this simple measure casts
doubt on our understanding of the mechanisms of climate change and our ability
to predict the response of the climate system to future perturbations. This has
motivated continued attempts to constrain the range with climate data, alone or
in conjunction with models. The majority of studies use data from the
instrumental period (post-1850) but recent work has made use of information
about the large climate changes experienced in the geological past.
In this review, we first outline approaches that estimate climate sensitivity
using instrumental climate observations and then summarise attempts to use the
record of climate change on geological timescales. We examine the limitations
of these studies and suggest ways in which the power of the palaeoclimate
record could be better used to reduce uncertainties in our predictions of
climate sensitivity.Comment: The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in
Progress in Physical Geography, 31(5), 2007 by SAGE Publications Ltd, All
rights reserved. \c{opyright} 2007 Edwards, Crucifix and Harriso
A quantitative evaluation of the issue of drought definition: a source of disagreement in future drought assessments
Droughts are anticipated to intensify in many parts of the world due to climate change. However, the issue of drought definition, namely the diversity of drought indices, makes it difficult to compare drought assessments. This issue is widely known, but its relative importance has never been quantitatively evaluated in comparison to other sources of uncertainty. Here, encompassing three drought categories (meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological droughts) with four temporal scales of interest, we evaluated changes in the drought frequency using multi-model and multi-scenario simulations to identify areas where the definition issue could result in pronounced uncertainties and to what extent. We investigated the disagreement in the signs of changes between drought definitions and decomposed the variance into four main factors: drought definitions, greenhouse gas concentration scenarios, global climate models, and global water models, as well as their interactions. The results show that models were the primary sources of variance over 82% of the global land area. On the other hand, the drought definition was the dominant source of variance in the remaining 17%, especially in parts of northern high-latitudes. Our results highlight specific regions where differences in drought definitions result in a large spread among projections, including areas showing opposite signs of significant changes. At a global scale, 7% of the variance resulted independently from the definition issue, and that value increased to 44% when 1st and 2nd order interactions were considered. The quantitative results suggest that by clarifying hydrological processes or sectors of interest, one could avoid these uncertainties in drought assessments to obtain a clearer picture of future drought change
The timing of unprecedented hydrological drought under climate change
Droughts that exceed the magnitudes of historical variation ranges could occur increasingly frequently under future climate conditions. However, the time of the emergence of unprecedented drought conditions under climate change has rarely been examined. Here, using multimodel hydrological simulations, we investigate the changes in the frequency of hydrological drought (defined as abnormally low river discharge) under high and low greenhouse gas concentration scenarios and existing water resource management measures and estimate the time of the first emergence of unprecedented regional drought conditions centered on the low-flow season. The times are detected for several subcontinental-scale regions, and three regions, namely, Southwestern South America, Mediterranean Europe, and Northern Africa, exhibit particularly robust results under the high-emission scenario. These three regions are expected to confront unprecedented conditions within the next 30 years with a high likelihood regardless of the emission scenarios. In addition, the results obtained herein demonstrate the benefits of the lower-emission pathway in reducing the likelihood of emergence. The Paris Agreement goals are shown to be effective in reducing the likelihood to the unlikely level in most regions. However, appropriate and prior adaptation measures are considered indispensable when facing unprecedented drought conditions. The results of this study underscore the importance of improving drought preparedness within the considered time horizons
Visualizing the Interconnections Among Climate Risks
It is now widely recognized that climate change affects multiple sectors in virtually every part of the world. Impacts on one sector may influence other sectors, including seemingly remote ones, which we call âinterconnections of climate risks.â While a substantial number of climate risks are identified in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report, there have been few attempts to explore the interconnections between them in a comprehensive way. To fill this gap, we developed a methodology for visualizing climate risks and their interconnections based on a literature survey. Our visualizations highlight the need to address climate risk interconnections in impact and vulnerability studies. Our risk maps and flowcharts show how changes in climate impact natural and socioeconomic systems, ultimately affecting human security, health, and wellâbeing. We tested our visualization approach with potential users and identified likely benefits and issues. Our methodology can be used as a communication tool to inform decision makers, stakeholders, and the general public of the cascading risks that can be triggered by climate change
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