Future Development in Climate System Modeling:
Climate-Chemistry Interactions
Outline
Scientific Motivation
Examples of Coupling Between Chemistry and Climate
Potential Feedbacks between Chemistry and Climate
Computational Requirements
Further Complexity
Scientific Issues of Coupled Chemistry and Climate
Anthropogenic Climate Change is driven by changes in atmospheric chemical composition
Click here for figures
Chemical composition depends on climate state of the atmosphere
Links between chemical state and climate state need to be accounted for in Climate System Models
Aerosol-Chemistry-Climate Interaction
Direct Effect on Shortwave Energy
Indirect Effect on Clouds and Shortwave Energy
Effect on Photolysis Rates
Effect on Heterogeneous Chemistry
Requirements for Climate Modeling
- Predict mass of aerosol {Direct effect}
- Predict chemical composition {Sea salt, mineral dusts, organic carbon, elemental carbon, sulfate}
- Predict number size distribution {Indirect effect}
Links between Hydrologic Cycle and Chemistry
Diagram
Figures
Climate-Chemistry Feedbacks (
click here)
Computational Requirements for Climate Models of the Future (
click here)
Further Complexity
Biogeochemical Cycles
Why? Need to predict not specify amounts of CO2, CH4, N2O
These gases are integrally tied to the biosphere
Stratospheric Chemistry
- Why? Largest temperature response occurs in the middle atmosphere
- Tropospheric ozone is strongly affected by cross tropopause transport
Global Aerosol Modeling (
click here)